CHAPTER 2 THE COUNSELOR: PERSON AND PROFESSIONAL

Question 1

The process of therapists
seeing in their clients patterns of their own
behavior, overidentifying with clients, or meeting
their own needs through their clients.

Answer 1

Countertransference

Question 2

The values and behaviors shared by a

group of individuals.

Answer 2

Culture

Question 3

An ongoing
process that involves a practitioner developing
awareness of beliefs and attitudes, acquiring
knowledge about race and culture, and learning
skills and intervention strategies necessary to work
effectively with culturally diverse populations.

Answer 3

Diversity-competent practitioner

Question 4

A condition that occurs
when helpers feel drained and depleted as a result
of their work. Certain factors, such as constantly
giving without expecting much in return,
can sap helpers’ vitality and motivation. Selfcare
can help to prevent this condition.

Answer 4

Professional burnout

Question 5

1. If counselors hide behind the safety
   of their professional role, their clients
   will likely keep themselves hidden
   in therapy

Answer 5

t

Question 6

2. Empirical research strongly and
consistently supports the centrality
of the therapeutic relationship as a
primary factor contributing to psychotherapy
outcomes.

Answer 6

t

Question 7

3. Clients place more value on the specifi
   c techniques used rather than on
   the personality of the therapist.

Answer 7

f

Question 8

4. Meta-analyses of studies on therapeutic
   effectiveness have shown
   that techniques have relatively little
   effect on therapeutic outcome.

Answer 8

t

Question 9

5. As a therapist, it is your function to
   persuade clients to accept or adopt
   your value system since it has been
   perfected through years of training

Answer 9

f

Question 10

6. It is impossible for human beings to
   maintain a sense of objectivity; thus,
   therapists who attempt to maintain
   objectivity are fooling themselves

Answer 10

f

Question 11

7. If clients express a desire for you to
   give them answers, you should do
   so

Answer 11

f

Question 12

8. It is a professional obligation, not
   an ethical obligation, for counselors
   to develop a sensitivity to their clients’
   cultural differences.

Answer 12

f

Question 13

9. Most beginning counselors have
   ambivalent feelings when meeting
   their fi rst clients.

Answer 13

t

Question 14

10. Judging the appropriate amount of
    self-disclosure is only a problem for
    new counselors.

Answer 14

f

Question 15

11. Counselors who leave their reactions
and selves out of their clinical work
a. are likely to be ineffective counselors
and merely technical experts.
b. are most likely psychodynamic
practitioners who are creating
the analytic framework.
c. are defi nitely practicing in an
unethical manner and might
be violating laws depending on
the state in which they are
practicing.
d. have mastered setting good
boundaries in therapy.

Answer 15

a

Question 16

12. Which of the following statements
about effective counselors is NOT true?
a. Effective counselors have the
courage to leave the security of
the known if they are not satisfi
ed with the way they are.
b. Effective counselors feel adequate
with others and allow others
to feel powerful with them.
c. Effective counselors are certain
that their knowledge about
human nature is correct and feel
obligated to steer their clients
away from making poor decisions.
d. Effective counselors are committed
to living fully rather than settling
for mere existence.

Answer 16

c

Question 17

13. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ refer to aspects
such as the alliance, the relationship,
the personal and interpersonal
skills of the therapist, client
agency, and extra-therapeutic factors.
a. Technical factors
b. Contextual factors
c. Subjective factors
d. Phenomenological factors

Answer 17

b

Question 18

14. There is considerable evidence indicating
that the of the psychotherapist
is inextricably intertwined
with the outcome of psychotherapy.
a. décor of the offi ce
b. socioeconomic status
c. person
d. genetic makeup
e. general attractiveness

Answer 18

c

Question 19

15. Linda, a licensed therapist with strong
negative opinions about homosexuality
and gay marriage, believes that her
clients Joe and Robert should dissolve
their relationship and give heterosexuality
a chance. Linda is
a. being true to her own values;
thus, her advice to Joe and
Robert is ethical.
b. behaving in an illegal manner.
c. not maintaining an objective
stance and seems to be encapsulated
by her worldview.
d. qualifi ed to assess whether or not
Joe and Robert should remain a
couple because she is licensed.

Answer 19

c

Question 20

16. Yi-Lung, a recent immigrant from
Taiwan, has been encouraged by his
American girlfriend to join her in
couples counseling. During the fi rst
session, Yi-Lung seems reluctant
to self-disclose and admits that he
does not believe counseling is the
best way for them to address their
problems. The counselor should
a. try to understand how Yi-Lung
perceives the value of formal
helping.
b. realize that Yi-Lung may have
different expectations about the
helping process based on his cultural
background.
c. take Yi-Lung’s degree of acculturation
into account when working
with him and his girlfriend.
d. all of these.

Answer 20

d

Question 21

17. Which of the following statements
about therapeutic goals is true?
a. Setting goals is inextricably
related to values.
b. Clients initially tend to have a
clear sense of what they expect
from therapy.
c. The exploration of what a client
wants from therapy should
rarely be discussed during the
fi rst few sessions because it can
feel overwhelming to him or her.
d. A client who lacks therapeutic
goals does not belong in therapy.

Answer 21

a

Question 22

18. A counselor trainee makes the following
comment in class: “I would
never work with a counselor who
has been a client in counseling! If
they can’t handle their own problems,
how could they possibly be
effective in helping others?” What
would be an appropriate response
on the part of the instructor?
a. “Our own work as a client can
teach us valuable lessons about
how to creatively facilitate
deeper levels of self-exploration
in clients. And it tends to increase
our appreciation for the
courage our clients display in
their therapeutic journeys.
b. “You’re right! Counselors who
need counseling are probably
unstable and should not interact
with clients.”
c. “I can’t believe we admitted you
into this training program. You
should be ashamed of yourself
for saying that.”
d. “Well, I have been in counseling.
Are you suggesting that I am
ineffective?”

Answer 22

a

Question 23

19. Yolanda, a therapist specializing
in working with adolescents, told a
young pregnant client to strongly
consider giving her child up for
adoption. In Yolanda’s words: “Certainly
you don’t want to eliminate
the possibility of going to college and
ruin your future by having a child at
such a young age, right?” Yolanda is
a. doing the client a favor by being
direct and offering her guidance.
b. exerting infl uence and imposing
her values on the client.
c. merely exposing her own values,
and thus, is behaving ethically.
d. surely projecting her own life
story onto the client.

Answer 23

b

Question 24

20. Understanding the sociopolitical
system of which clients are a part is
a. something that only social workers
do.
b. a requirement only for those
who want to specialize in social
justice issues.
c. necessary in order to become
multiculturally competent.
d. not important for therapists
working in private practice.

Answer 24

c

Question 25

21. Counselors must examine
their expectations, attitudes, biases,
and assumptions about the counseling
process and also about persons
from diverse groups.
a. from all cultural groups
b. from oppressed cultural groups
c. residing in affl uent areas
d. who received their training from
non-accredited programs

Answer 25

a

Question 26

22. Which of the following is NOT a
guideline for increasing your effectiveness
with clients from diverse
backgrounds?
a. Learn more about how your own
cultural background has infl uenced
your thinking and behaving.
b. Learn to pay attention to the common
ground that exists among
people of diverse backgrounds.
c. Use a one-size-fi ts-all approach
in your clinical work
d. Examine where you obtained
your knowledge about culture.

Answer 26

c

Question 27

23. In determining the appropriateness
of self-disclosure, consider
a. what to reveal.
b. when to reveal.
c. how much to reveal.
d. all of these

Answer 27

d

Question 28

24. Tom plans to work with clients who
are mandated by the courts to receive
counseling. Considering they
will be involuntary clients, Tom
should
a. not expect change to occur.
b. not be too concerned about the
informed consent process, since
confi dentiality will not be an issue.
c. make sure that he prepares them
well for the process.
d. plan to counter their resistance
with promises of dramatic
change in order to instill hope in
them.

Answer 28

c

Question 29

25. Students willing to risk making
mistakes in supervised learning situations
and willing to reveal their
self-doubts
a. will fi nd a direction that leads to
growth.
b. will be perceived poorly by their
clinical supervisor.
c. are probably too impulsive and
should develop better boundaries.
d. will be stifl ed in the long run;
thus, they should modify their
approach to learning

Answer 29

a