Assessment, Diagnosis and Treatment Planning

Question 1

Certain issues must receive priority attention in any assessment. These issues include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) a potentially serious health problem
B) a current legal mandate affecting the client
C) the client’s motivation to change her behavior
D) what the client perceives as being her primary problem.

Answer 1

C) the client’s motivation to change her behavior

Question 2

When exploring the problem with a client in your first face-to-face meeting, all of the following are likely to be appropriate interventions, EXCEPT:

A) responding empathically to the client’s feelings if she is upset.
B) expressing your alternative view of the client’s situation so she can gain more clarity.
C) allowing the client to speak freely about her problem before questioning her.
D) using open-ended questions to encourage the client to share more elaborate information.

Answer 2

B) expressing your alternative view of the client’s situation so she can gain more clarity.

Question 3

When performing a coping assessment of a client, you would want to keep in mind that :

A) the effectiveness of a person’s coping skills and patterns tends to remain more or less stable over time.
B) a person must problem-solve before he can deal effectively with his emotional reactions to stress.
C) the effectiveness of a person’s coping skills and patterns usually varies in different contexts.
D) people with an external locus of control tend to cope effectively with stress.

Answer 3

C) the effectiveness of a person’s coping skills and patterns usually varies in different contexts.

Question 4

Your client reports that he has been experiencing problems with sexual functioning since he started taking an antidepressant medication. He is upset about this problem. Your BEST intervention is to:

A) take a sexual history to collect more information about the symptom
B) encourage him to schedule an appointment with the medical professional who prescribed the medication
C) educate the client about his medication and its side-effects.
D) discuss with the client the possibility of changing his dosage or switching to a different medication.

Answer 4

B) encourage him to schedule an appointment with the medical professional who prescribed the medication

Question 5

On a prescription, the abbreviation BID means which of the following?

A) Every day.
B) Bedtime
C) Twice daily
D) Before meals

Answer 5

C) Twice daily

Question 6

An initial assessment for suspected drug abuse or dependence is LEAST likely to include which of the following steps?

A) Use of screening instruments
B) Evaluation for independent mental disorders
C) Taking a drug -related history
D) Interviewing collateral sources

Answer 6

B) Evaluation for independent mental disorders

Question 7

The term “anhedonia” is used to describe:

A) difficulties with emotional regulation involving a tendency to express “too much” emotion
B) an inability to feel joy or express many pleasurable emotions
C) elation or euphoria that is inconsistent with the client’s life situation.
D) contradictory emotions that occur at the same time within a person.

Answer 7

B) an inability to feel joy or express many pleasurable emotions

Question 8

A client who giggles when discussing the recent death of her mother is displaying which of the following?

A) Loose associations
B) Circumstantiality
C) Inappropriate affect
D) limited emotional range

Answer 8

C) Inappropriate affect

Question 9

A muted or apathetic response to stimuli that would normally evoke a stronger response (e.g. a ct discusses a traumatic life event in a detached, matter-of-fact way) is referred to as:

A) loosedned associations
B) emotionally dysregulation
C) dysphoria
D) flat affect or emotional blunting

Answer 9

D) flat affect or emotional blunting

Question 10

A client states she believes the messages on the radio are being broadcast especially to her. The client is displaying which of the following?

A) An illusion.
B) A hallucination
C) a delusion
D) Flight of ideas

Answer 10

C) a delusion

Question 11

Which of the following is an example of vegetative symptom?

A) Delirium.
B) Mood swings.
C) weight loss.
D) Abrupt personality change.

Answer 11

C) weight loss.

Question 12

A person with psychosis is out of touch with reality and is MOST likely to exhibit which of the following?

A) Flat affect, hypervigilence, and/or hallucinations
B) Hallucinations, delusions, and/or loose associations.
C) Delusions, sleep-wake cycle changes, and/or social withdrawal.
D) Hallucinations, delusions and/or memory loss.

Answer 12

B) Hallucinations, delusions, and/or loose associations.

Question 13

More than one answer is correct; choose each correct answer.  Signs or symptoms commonly associated with mania include: 
A) pressured speech
B) anhedonia
C) incoherence
D) vigilance and scanning 
E) poor social judgement

Answer 13

A) pressured speech
C) incoherence
E) poor social judgement

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT an example of an ego function?

A) Self-regulation
B) Reality-testing capacity
C) Social-role functioning
D) Thought processes

Answer 14

C) Social-role functioning

Question 15

Social functioning when applied to an individual is defined as his motivation, capacity, and opportunity to perform his major social roles as defined by his community and culture, and to:

A) regulate the degree of intimacy and distance in his relationships.
B) meet his basic needs, including performing tasks necessary for daily living
C) regulate his level of dependence and independence in his relationships.
D) limit uncomfortable affect in a way that results in adaptive functioning.

Answer 15

B) meet his basic needs, including performing tasks necessary for daily living

Question 16

Which of the following clients is MOST likely to be optimally motivated to change at the beginning of the helping process?

A) A person who has come voluntarily and is very anxious about her problem
B) A person who has come voluntarily and displays a moderate level of anxiety about her problem
C) A court referred client who, while very anxious, is able to participate in the interview.
D) A court-referred client who displays moderate level of anxiety about her problem.

Answer 16

B) A person who has come voluntarily and displays a moderate level of anxiety about her problem

Question 17

Your client has exhibited a strong desire to change, but she frequently changes the subject during your interviews and arrived late to her second interview. This MOST likely illustrates which of the following?

A) Resistance to change.
B) Ambivalence
C) Indecisiveness
D) Unrealistic expectations

Answer 17

A) Resistance to change.

Question 18

Your client complains of dizziness, double vision, and forgetfulness. Based on this information, the BEST referral for your client would be:

A) a psychiatrist
B) a psychologist
C) a neurologist
D) an occupational therapist

Answer 18

C) a neurologist

Question 19

In a session with a family, using the technique known as __________ allows you to create a situation in which you can observe their interactions directly.

A) enactment
B) self-monitoring
C) functional assessment
D) a genogram

Answer 19

A) enactment

Question 20

During a home visit, a client tells you that she would like her sister, who is visiting from across town, to be present during the interview. Your BEST response is to:

A) urge the client to accept a private interview with your because you will be collecting sensitive information.
B) respect the client’s preference and allow the sister to attend the interview
C) reschedule the interview for another day
D) firmly explain to the client the need for privacy during the interview and remind her of the interview’s purpose.

Answer 20

B) respect the client’s preference and allow the sister to attend the interview

Question 21

You would use a genogram with a client to obtain information about which of the following?

A) type, frequency and quality of contacts with significant others
B) The social environment
C) Family patterns and history
D) How family members interact in common situations

Answer 21

C) Family patterns and history

Question 22

Behavioral assessments assume that a behavior can be most effectively understood by focusing on the environmental variables (antecedents and consequences) that control it. Assessment of these particular variables is known as:

A) self-monitoring
B) functional analysis
C) behavioral observation
D) cognitive-behavioral assessment

Answer 22

B) functional analysis

Question 23

When using a mental status exam, you would ask a client to interpret a common proverb in order to assess his:

A) intelligence level
B) perception
C) abstract thinking ability
D) judgement and insight

Answer 23

C) abstract thinking ability

Question 24

The client is a 10-year-old girl with behavioral problems at school and at home. Which of the following would be MOST useful for assessing these problems?

A) the CAGE-AID
B) the WISC-IV
C) Conner’s Rating Scales-Revised
D) the Halstead-Reitan

Answer 24

C) Conner’s Rating Scales-Revised

Question 25

The Rorschach may be used to

A) diagnose developmental disabilities.
B) to make general predictions about behavioral patterns
C) localize brain damage
D) make behavioral predictions

Answer 25

B) to make general predictions about behavioral patterns