Certified Peer Support Specialist Exam
Review – 171 Verified Questions with 100%
Correct Answers
Prepared for Exam Candidates
July 11, 2025
,Contents
1 Introduction 6
2 Core Competencies 6
2.1 What is the primary role of a Peer Support Specialist? . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2 What does a person-centered approach entail? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3 What are the OARS tools in Motivational Interviewing? . . . . . . . . . 6
2.4 What does the ”Elicit-Provide-Elicit” tool in Motivational Interviewing
involve? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.5 How do Peer Support Specialists create healing relationships? . . . . . . 6
2.6 What is cultural humility in peer support? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.7 What is the SAMHSA definition of recovery? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.8 What are the four dimensions that support recovery according to SAMHSA? 7
2.9 What is one of the ten guiding principles of recovery according to SAMHSA? 7
2.10 What does the Olmstead decision affirm? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.11 What is active listening? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.12 What is a psychiatric advance directive (PAD)? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.13 What is NOT a harm reduction strategy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.14 What action should a Peer Support Specialist take when a consumer re-
ports situational stress unrelated to their diagnosis? . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.15 What should a Peer Support Specialist do if a consumer wants to attend
a rally but has anxiety? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.16 How should a Peer Support Specialist support a consumer struggling to
create a crisis management plan? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.17 What should a recovery/wellness plan include? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.18 What is a key role of peer recovery support? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.19 What is a benefit of sharing a recovery story? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.20 How should a Peer Support Specialist respond if a consumer says it’s taboo
to discuss struggles with family? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.21 What is the Code of Ethics for a Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist? . . . 8
2.22 Who is considered a consumer in the context of Medi-Cal Peer Support? 8
2.23 What is continued education for a Certificant? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.24 What are core competencies for a Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist? . . 8
2.25 What is county reciprocity in the Medi-Cal Peer Support program? . . . 8
2.26 Who can become a Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist? . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.27 What do Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist services include? . . . . . . . 9
2.28 Who is the certifying entity for Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialists? . . . 9
2.29 What is a recovery-oriented approach? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.30 What should a Peer Support Specialist do if a consumer reports symptoms
of depression? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.31 What is an example of an inappropriate action for a Peer Support Specialist? 9
2.32 What should a Peer Support Specialist do if a former peer asks them on
a date? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.33 What is the purpose of a wellness toolbox? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.34 What does peer support NOT involve? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.35 What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.36 How do Peer Support Specialists promote holistic health? . . . . . . . . . 9
1
, CONTENTS
2.37 What is a key strategy for promoting wellness in peer support? . . . . . 10
2.38 What should Peer Support Specialists avoid when sharing their experiences? 10
2.39 Can Peer Support Specialists manage medications for a consumer? . . . . 10
2.40 What is the role of mutual empowerment in peer support? . . . . . . . . 10
2.41 What does engagement in peer support value? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.42 How should a Peer Support Specialist assist a consumer in identifying
basic needs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.43 What is the goal of peer-driven goal setting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.44 What is a key component of Recovery Systems of Care? . . . . . . . . . 10
2.45 What is the purpose of reflective listening? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.46 Why should Peer Support Specialists be cautious with questions? . . . . 10
2.47 What is the role of affirmations in peer support? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.48 What is the purpose of summaries in Motivational Interviewing? . . . . . 11
2.49 What is the focus of the Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Exam? . . . . 11
2.50 What organization administers the Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Exam? 11
2.51 How many attempts are allowed for the Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist
Exam? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.52 In which languages is the Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Exam offered? 11
2.53 What is the role of the Human Resources Research Organization (Hum-
RRO) in the Medi-Cal exam? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.54 What is a key ethical boundary for Peer Support Specialists? . . . . . . . 11
2.55 How can a Peer Support Specialist support a consumer with social isolation? 11
2.56 What should a Family Peer Support Specialist do to identify informal
supports? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.57 How can a Family Peer Support Specialist validate parents’ experiences? 12
2.58 How should a Family Peer Support Specialist connect parents with others? 12
2.59 What is a key element of crisis management for Peer Support Specialists? 12
2.60 What is the purpose of a Job Task Analysis Survey in the Medi-Cal Peer
Support program? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.61 What is a common sense principle in peer support ethics? . . . . . . . . 12
2.62 What is the WRAP model in peer support? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.63 What is a key principle of harm reduction? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.64 What should a Peer Support Specialist do if a consumer is experiencing a
depressive episode? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.65 What is the benefit of peer support in community settings? . . . . . . . . 12
2.66 What is the role of lived experience in peer support? . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.67 What is an example of a recovery-oriented goal? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.68 What should a Peer Support Specialist avoid in crisis intervention? . . . 13
2.69 What is the purpose of the Stakeholder Advisory Council in the Medi-Cal
Peer Support program? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3 Additional Review Questions 13
3.1 What is the role of hope in recovery? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2 How should a Peer Support Specialist handle a consumer’s confidentiality? 13
3.3 What is a key component of a trauma-informed approach? . . . . . . . . 13
3.4 How can a Peer Support Specialist promote self-advocacy? . . . . . . . . 13
3.5 What is the difference between sympathy and empathy in peer support? 13
3.6 What is a strength-based approach? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Page 2 of 23
Review – 171 Verified Questions with 100%
Correct Answers
Prepared for Exam Candidates
July 11, 2025
,Contents
1 Introduction 6
2 Core Competencies 6
2.1 What is the primary role of a Peer Support Specialist? . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2 What does a person-centered approach entail? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3 What are the OARS tools in Motivational Interviewing? . . . . . . . . . 6
2.4 What does the ”Elicit-Provide-Elicit” tool in Motivational Interviewing
involve? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.5 How do Peer Support Specialists create healing relationships? . . . . . . 6
2.6 What is cultural humility in peer support? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.7 What is the SAMHSA definition of recovery? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.8 What are the four dimensions that support recovery according to SAMHSA? 7
2.9 What is one of the ten guiding principles of recovery according to SAMHSA? 7
2.10 What does the Olmstead decision affirm? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.11 What is active listening? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.12 What is a psychiatric advance directive (PAD)? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.13 What is NOT a harm reduction strategy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.14 What action should a Peer Support Specialist take when a consumer re-
ports situational stress unrelated to their diagnosis? . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.15 What should a Peer Support Specialist do if a consumer wants to attend
a rally but has anxiety? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.16 How should a Peer Support Specialist support a consumer struggling to
create a crisis management plan? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.17 What should a recovery/wellness plan include? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.18 What is a key role of peer recovery support? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.19 What is a benefit of sharing a recovery story? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.20 How should a Peer Support Specialist respond if a consumer says it’s taboo
to discuss struggles with family? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.21 What is the Code of Ethics for a Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist? . . . 8
2.22 Who is considered a consumer in the context of Medi-Cal Peer Support? 8
2.23 What is continued education for a Certificant? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.24 What are core competencies for a Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist? . . 8
2.25 What is county reciprocity in the Medi-Cal Peer Support program? . . . 8
2.26 Who can become a Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist? . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.27 What do Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist services include? . . . . . . . 9
2.28 Who is the certifying entity for Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialists? . . . 9
2.29 What is a recovery-oriented approach? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.30 What should a Peer Support Specialist do if a consumer reports symptoms
of depression? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.31 What is an example of an inappropriate action for a Peer Support Specialist? 9
2.32 What should a Peer Support Specialist do if a former peer asks them on
a date? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.33 What is the purpose of a wellness toolbox? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.34 What does peer support NOT involve? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.35 What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.36 How do Peer Support Specialists promote holistic health? . . . . . . . . . 9
1
, CONTENTS
2.37 What is a key strategy for promoting wellness in peer support? . . . . . 10
2.38 What should Peer Support Specialists avoid when sharing their experiences? 10
2.39 Can Peer Support Specialists manage medications for a consumer? . . . . 10
2.40 What is the role of mutual empowerment in peer support? . . . . . . . . 10
2.41 What does engagement in peer support value? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.42 How should a Peer Support Specialist assist a consumer in identifying
basic needs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.43 What is the goal of peer-driven goal setting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.44 What is a key component of Recovery Systems of Care? . . . . . . . . . 10
2.45 What is the purpose of reflective listening? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.46 Why should Peer Support Specialists be cautious with questions? . . . . 10
2.47 What is the role of affirmations in peer support? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.48 What is the purpose of summaries in Motivational Interviewing? . . . . . 11
2.49 What is the focus of the Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Exam? . . . . 11
2.50 What organization administers the Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Exam? 11
2.51 How many attempts are allowed for the Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist
Exam? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.52 In which languages is the Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Exam offered? 11
2.53 What is the role of the Human Resources Research Organization (Hum-
RRO) in the Medi-Cal exam? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.54 What is a key ethical boundary for Peer Support Specialists? . . . . . . . 11
2.55 How can a Peer Support Specialist support a consumer with social isolation? 11
2.56 What should a Family Peer Support Specialist do to identify informal
supports? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.57 How can a Family Peer Support Specialist validate parents’ experiences? 12
2.58 How should a Family Peer Support Specialist connect parents with others? 12
2.59 What is a key element of crisis management for Peer Support Specialists? 12
2.60 What is the purpose of a Job Task Analysis Survey in the Medi-Cal Peer
Support program? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.61 What is a common sense principle in peer support ethics? . . . . . . . . 12
2.62 What is the WRAP model in peer support? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.63 What is a key principle of harm reduction? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.64 What should a Peer Support Specialist do if a consumer is experiencing a
depressive episode? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.65 What is the benefit of peer support in community settings? . . . . . . . . 12
2.66 What is the role of lived experience in peer support? . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.67 What is an example of a recovery-oriented goal? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.68 What should a Peer Support Specialist avoid in crisis intervention? . . . 13
2.69 What is the purpose of the Stakeholder Advisory Council in the Medi-Cal
Peer Support program? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3 Additional Review Questions 13
3.1 What is the role of hope in recovery? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2 How should a Peer Support Specialist handle a consumer’s confidentiality? 13
3.3 What is a key component of a trauma-informed approach? . . . . . . . . 13
3.4 How can a Peer Support Specialist promote self-advocacy? . . . . . . . . 13
3.5 What is the difference between sympathy and empathy in peer support? 13
3.6 What is a strength-based approach? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Page 2 of 23
