PSS Recovery and Wellness Principles 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The eight dimensions of wellness identified by SAMHSA include all of the following EXCEPT:
- Emotional
- Financial
- Spiritual
- Diagnostic (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Diagnostic
SAMHSA's eight dimensions of wellness are emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual — 'diagnostic' is not one of them.
Question 2: Which principle of recovery acknowledges that recovery can occur even without professional intervention?
- Recovery is person-driven
- Recovery emerges from hope
- Recovery occurs via many pathways (Correct answer)
- Recovery is supported by peers
Correct answer: Recovery occurs via many pathways
The principle that recovery occurs via many pathways recognizes that some people recover through natural supports, spirituality, self-help, or other means without formal treatment.
Question 3: Post-traumatic growth in recovery refers to:
- The elimination of all trauma symptoms through therapy
- Positive psychological changes that emerge from the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances (Correct answer)
- A diagnostic category for trauma survivors who have completed treatment
- The process of forgetting traumatic experiences over time
Correct answer: Positive psychological changes that emerge from the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances
Post-traumatic growth describes meaningful positive change — such as increased resilience, deeper relationships, or new purpose — that can result from surviving adversity.
Question 4: Intellectual wellness in the context of recovery involves:
- Achieving high academic credentials
- Engaging in creative and mentally stimulating activities that expand knowledge and skills (Correct answer)
- Attending formal education programs required by treatment plans
- Completing cognitive assessments to measure recovery progress
Correct answer: Engaging in creative and mentally stimulating activities that expand knowledge and skills
Intellectual wellness is about continuous learning, curiosity, and engaging with ideas in ways that are personally meaningful and fulfilling.
Question 5: A peer specialist who shares their own recovery story to build rapport is using which evidence-supported technique?
- Clinical disclosure
- Reciprocal self-disclosure (Correct answer)
- Transference
- Motivational enhancement
Correct answer: Reciprocal self-disclosure
Reciprocal self-disclosure, where a peer judiciously shares personal experience to build connection and hope, is a core peer support technique distinct from clinical practice.
Question 6: Environmental wellness in recovery is BEST supported by:
- Reducing a person's exposure to all social situations
- Creating safe, stable, and supportive living conditions that promote wellbeing (Correct answer)
- Ensuring the person lives near a treatment facility
- Providing financial incentives to maintain sobriety
Correct answer: Creating safe, stable, and supportive living conditions that promote wellbeing
Environmental wellness focuses on living in safe, clean, and stimulating surroundings that nurture personal growth and wellbeing.
Question 7: In recovery-oriented systems, 'hope' is best understood as:
- An optional component that complements clinical treatment
- A core motivating belief that change and a better future are possible (Correct answer)
- A feeling that only emerges after achieving sobriety milestones
- A spiritual concept not applicable in secular recovery settings
Correct answer: A core motivating belief that change and a better future are possible
Hope is a foundational element of recovery — the belief that a meaningful life is possible fuels the motivation to pursue and sustain change.
PSS Recovery and Wellness Principles 3
The eight dimensions of wellness identified by SAMHSA include all of the following EXCEPT: