Counseling Families, Diagnosis, and Advanced Concepts Flashcards
A married couple brings their two children to counseling for behavioral
problems. The 14-year-old daughter stays out late and
their 17-year-old son is using drugs. According to most marriage
and family therapists the identified patient would be
a. the 17-year-old son.
b. the 14-year old-daughter.
c. the family.
d. both children.
c. the family.
You are seeing a husband and wife for marriage counseling.
During one of the sessions you decide to see them separately.
The husband tells you he has seen an attorney because he is
filing for divorce. He has not told his wife and indicates that he
will not do so. You feel the wife has a right to know this because
it will help her plan for the future. You should
a. only tell his wife if he gives you permission.
b. communicate his intent to his wife since ethics guidelines
state you may do so when a member of the couple
is contemplating divorce.
c. not tell the wife since research indicates that women
respond more positively to divorce when they have less
time to think about it.
d. terminate the husband unless he tells her.
a. only tell his wife if he gives you permission.
You are supervising a licensing candidate who is primarily interested in marriage and family counseling. You are very attracted to her and have sex with her. According to ethics guidelines
a. this is perfectly ethical, since this is a student and not a
client.
b. this is unethical.
c. this is perfectly ethical, since this is a supervisee and not
a client.
d. a and c are both correct.
b. this is unethical.
The fastest growing clientele for professional counselors are
persons
a. experiencing bipolar disorder.
b. experiencing suicidal ideation.
c. experiencing marriage and family problems.
d. who abuse their children.
c. experiencing marriage and family problems.
Family counselors generally believe in
a. circular/reciprocal causality (e.g., dynamics of family
members) .
b. linear causality.
c. random causality.
d. dream analysis.
a. circular/reciprocal causality (e.g., dynamics of family
members) .
Cybernetics is a concept used by family therapists. It is usually
associated with the work of
a. Freud and Ellis.
b. Norbert Wiener.
c. Virginia Satir.
d. behavioral family therapists and cognitive family therapists.
b. Norbert Wiener.
A family that is stable and reaches an equilibrium is in a state
of
a. adaptability.
b. enmeshment.
c. Nonsummativity.
d. homeostasis.
d. homeostasis.
Adaptability is the ability of the family to balance
a. ego strength.
b. stability and change.
c. morphostasis and morphogenesis.
d. b and c.
d. b and c.
A family wants to see you for counseling; however, they have a
very limited income and can’t afford to pay. You therefore agree
to see the family for free (i.e., pro bono). The term that best
describes your actions would be
a. aspirational ethics.
b. mandatory ethics.
c. empathy.
d. all of the above.
a. aspirational ethics.
Experiential conjoint family therapy is closely related to the
work of
a. Virginia Satir.
b. Albert Ellis.
c. Jay Haley.
d. Salvador Minuchin, the father of structural family
therapy.
a. Virginia Satir.
Virginia Satir felt that a major goal of therapy was to improve
intrafamily communication (i.e., communication between family
members). According to Satir, four basic patterns prevented
good communication under stress. These defensive postures or stress positions are: placating, blaming, being overly reasonable,
and being irrelevant. Placating means
a. you disagree with all the other family members.
b. you pick a favorite family member and agree with him or
her.
c. you ignore the other family members.
d. you try to please everybody out of a fear of rejection.
d. you try to please everybody out of a fear of rejection.
The placater is a people pleaser under stress while the blamer
a. will sacrifice others to feel good about himself.
b. will often say “if it weren’t for you.…”
c. will point the finger at others to avoid dealing with his or
her own issues.
d. all of the above are typical behaviors of the blamer.
d. all of the above are typical behaviors of the blamer.
The person who becomes overly reasonable
a. practices excitation.
b. cries a lot during therapy sessions.
c. is likely to engage in the defense mechanism of intellectualization.
d. has a high degree of emotion.
c. is likely to engage in the defense mechanism of intellectualization.
According to Satir, the individual displaying an irrelevant style
a. will distract the family from the problem via constantly
talking about irrelevant topics.
b. will become a people pleaser.
c. will analyze the situation more than most.
d. all of the above.
a. will distract the family from the problem via constantly
talking about irrelevant topics.
Virginia Satir is considered a leading figure in experiential family
therapy. _______ is sometimes called the dean of experiential
family therapy.
a. Ludwig von Bertalanffy.
b. Gregory Bateson.
c. Carl Whitaker.
d. Murray Bowen.
c. Carl Whitaker.
Carl Whitaker’s interaction with the family could best be described as
a. quiet and empathic.
b. joining the family and experiencing it as if he were a family member.
c. a reality therapist.
d. a cognitive behavior therapist.
b. joining the family and experiencing it as if he were a family member.
According to Whitaker,
a. a cotherapist is helpful.
b. a cotherapist should never be used.
c. a cotherapist should be used only with blended families.
d. all of the above could be true.
a. a cotherapist is helpful.
Psychotherapy of the absurd is primarily related to the work of
a. Virginia Satir.
b. Carl Whitaker.
c. Maxie C. Maultsby, Jr.
d. William Glasser.
b. Carl Whitaker.
A behavioristic marriage and family therapist is counseling the
entire family together. She turns to the 18-year-old son who is
attending community college and says, “You must complete
your sociology essay before you can use the family car and go
out with your friends.” Which theorist is primarily guiding her
intervention strategy?
a. David Premack’s principle or law.
b. Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson
c. B. F. Skinner
d. all of the above
a. David Premack’s principle or law.
A behavioristic marriage and family counselor is counseling the
entire family together. She turns to the 18-year-old son who is
attending community college and says, “I know you like to play
golf. Therefore, every time you cut the grass your father will
take you to play golf. I am going to have you and your dad sign
a contract that you agree with this policy.” Which principle is
primarily guiding her strategy?
a. negative reinforcement.
b. thought stopping.
c. shaping with successive approximations.
d. quid pro quo.
d. quid pro quo.
A male is supervising a female counselor for state licensing. He
tells her that he will continue to supervise her as long as she has
sex with him. This is an example of
a. quid pro quo.
b. a legal but not an ethical violation.
c. a and b.
d. none of the above.
a. quid pro quo.
A behavioristic family counselor suggests that the family chart
the number of times that 6-year-old Billy says “no” when he is
told to do something. The baseline of the chart would refer to
a. the period when positive reinforcement is being implemented.
b. the period when negative reinforcement is being implemented.
c. the period when quid pro quo is being implemented.
d. the period before the behavior modification begins.
d. the period before the behavior modification begins.
The family counselor explains to Mrs. Smith that the next time
that 9-year-old Sally hits her little brother she must sit in the
family room by herself. The counselor is using
a. shaping.
b. shaping with successive approximations.
c. reciprocity.
d. time-out, a procedure that most behaviorists feel is a
form of extinction.
d. time-out, a procedure that most behaviorists feel is a
form of extinction.
Mrs. Chance tells a family therapist that she pays all the bills, does all the cleaning, and brings in 90% of the family’s income. Moreover, Mrs. Chance is convinced that her husband does not appreciate her or show her affection. According to the behavioristic principle of family therapy known as reciprocity
a. there is a good chance that Mrs. Chance will consider
leaving the marriage.
b. it may seem paradoxical; nevertheless, Mrs. Chance will
be more committed to making the marriage work.
c. it may seem paradoxical; nevertheless, Mr. Chance will
consider leaving the marriage.
d. this situation will have virtually no impact on this couple’s
marriage.
a. there is a good chance that Mrs. Chance will consider
leaving the marriage.