PSS Ethical Problem-Solving and Confidentiality 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A peer specialist learns their supervisor is routinely sharing clients' personal recovery stories in staff meetings without consent. What is the most appropriate first step?
- Ignore it since the supervisor has authority
- Document the concern and raise it with the supervisor directly (Correct answer)
- Immediately report to the state licensing board
- Discuss the clients' stories with co-workers to gauge reactions
Correct answer: Document the concern and raise it with the supervisor directly
Addressing the concern directly with the supervisor first follows proper chain-of-command and gives the opportunity for correction before escalation.
Question 2: A person in recovery discloses they occasionally use marijuana, which is illegal in their state. The peer specialist has no mandatory reporting obligation for this. What should the peer specialist do?
- Report it to law enforcement immediately
- Terminate services to avoid liability
- Maintain confidentiality and continue supportive services (Correct answer)
- Disclose it in the next team meeting as a safety concern
Correct answer: Maintain confidentiality and continue supportive services
Illegal substance use by an adult that does not trigger mandatory reporting obligations is protected under confidentiality and does not justify disclosure.
Question 3: Which ethical principle requires a peer specialist to act in the best interest of the person being served, even when that conflicts with the specialist's own preferences?
- Autonomy
- Nonmaleficence
- Beneficence (Correct answer)
- Justice
Correct answer: Beneficence
Beneficence means actively promoting the well-being of the person served, prioritizing their interests over personal preferences.
Question 4: A peer specialist is asked to co-facilitate a support group. One group member later discloses something privately to the peer specialist that was not shared in the group. How should this information be handled?
- Share it with the group because all members should have equal information
- Keep it confidential unless a disclosure exception applies (Correct answer)
- Tell the group facilitator so they can address it in the next session
- Document it in the group's shared notes
Correct answer: Keep it confidential unless a disclosure exception applies
Private disclosures outside a group setting are subject to standard confidentiality rules, separate from group dynamics.
Question 5: When a peer specialist realizes mid-session that a situation exceeds their competency, the ethical response is to:
- Continue, since stopping would harm the therapeutic relationship
- Refer or consult with a supervisor while supporting the person appropriately (Correct answer)
- Ask the person to find a different provider immediately
- Attempt to handle it based on personal experience
Correct answer: Refer or consult with a supervisor while supporting the person appropriately
Recognizing the limits of one's scope and seeking supervision or referral is a core ethical responsibility in peer support.
Question 6: A peer specialist's friend works at a pharmacy and mentions seeing a mutual acquaintance picking up mental health medication. The peer specialist should:
- Ask for more details to provide better peer support to that person
- Disregard the information and not act on it professionally (Correct answer)
- Bring it up with the person during their next session
- Document it in case it becomes relevant
Correct answer: Disregard the information and not act on it professionally
Unsolicited third-party information about a person's health should not be acted upon professionally or introduced into the support relationship.
Question 7: A peer specialist faces a values conflict: their personal religious beliefs conflict with a person's lifestyle choices. The ethical obligation is to:
- Share their religious perspective to help the person reflect
- Provide nonjudgmental support regardless of personal beliefs (Correct answer)
- Refer the person out to avoid discomfort
- Limit topics of conversation to avoid the conflict
Correct answer: Provide nonjudgmental support regardless of personal beliefs
Peer specialists must set aside personal values that could interfere with providing nonjudgmental, person-centered support.
PSS Ethical Problem-Solving and Confidentiality 2
A peer specialist learns their supervisor is routinely sharing clients' personal recovery stories in staff meetings without consent.
What is the most appropriate first step?