First 32

Question 1

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

Answer 1

c) the family

Question 2

You are seeing a husband and a 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.

Answer 2

a) only tell his wife if he gives you permission

Question 3

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

Answer 3

c) experiencing marriage and family problems.

Question 4

Family counselors generally believe in

a) circular/reciprocal causality (e.g. dynamics of family members)
b) linear causality
c) random causality
d) dream analysis

Answer 4

a) circular/reciprocal causality (e.g. dynamics of family members)

Question 5

Cybernetics is a concept used by family therapists. It is usually associated with the work of

a) Frued and Ellis
b) Norbert Wiener
c) Virginia Satir
d) behavioral family therapists and cognitive family therapists

Answer 5

b) Norbert Wiener

Question 6

A family that is stable and reaches an equilibrium is in a state of

a) adaptability
b) enmeshment
c) Nonsummativity
d) homeostasis

Answer 6

d) homeostasis

Question 7

Adaptability is the ability of the family to balance

a) ego strength
b) stability and change
c) morphostasis and morphogenesis
d) b and c

Answer 7

d) b and c (stability and change / morphostasis and morphgenesis)

Question 8

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

Answer 8

a) Virginia Satir

Question 9

In regards to family therapy and defensive postures or stress positions, 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 fear of rejection

Answer 9

d) you try and please everybody out of a fear of rejection

Question 10

The placater is a people pleaser under stress while the blamer

a) will sacrifice others to feel good about himself
b) will often way “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

Answer 10

d) all of the above

Question 11

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

Answer 11

c) is likely to engage in the defense mechanism of intellectualization

Question 12

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

Answer 12

a) will distract the family from the problem via constantly talking about irrelevant topics

Question 13

Virginia Satir is considered a leading figure in experiential family therapy. BLANK is sometimes called the dean of experiential family therapy.

a) Ludwig von Bertalanffy
b) Gregory Bateson
c) Carl Whitaker
d) Murray Bowen

Answer 13

c) Carl Whitaker

Question 14

Carl Whitaker’s interaction with the family could best be described as

a) quiet and empathic
b) joining the family and experiencing it as fi he were a family member
c) a reality therapist
d) a cognitive behavior therapist

Answer 14

b) joining the family and experiencing it as if he were a family member

Question 15

According to Whitaker

a) a co-therapist is helpful
b) a co-therapist should never be used
c) a co-therpiast would be used only with blended families
d) all of the above could be true

Answer 15

a) a co-therapist is helpful

Question 16

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

Answer 16

b) Carl Whitaker

Question 17

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 ca use the family car and go out with your friends.” Which theorist is primarily guiding her intervention strategy?

a) David Premark’s principle or law
b) Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson
c) B. F. Skinner
d) all of the above

Answer 17

a) David Premark’s principle or law

Question 18

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

Answer 18

d) quid pro quo

Question 19

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 beings.

Answer 19

d) the period before the behavior modification beings

Question 20

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

Answer 20

d) time-out, a procedure that most behaviorists feel is a form of extinction

Question 21

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, Mrs. chance will consider leaving the marriage
d) this situation will have virtually no impact on this couple’s marriage

Answer 21

a) there is a good chance that Mrs. Chance will consider leaving the marriage

Question 22

A couple is having sexual problems that stem from anxiety. A marriage counselor who is a strict behaviorist would most likely

a) dispute the couple’s irrational thinking
b) prescribe thought stoping
c) rely on systematic desensitization procedures
d) rely primarily on paraphrasing and reflection

Answer 22

c) rely on systematic desensitization procedures

Question 23

A family counselor notices that the husband in a blended family is having obsessive sexual thoughts about a woman living down the street. A strict behaviorist would most likely

a) analyze the man’s dreams
b) have him chart the incidence of the behavior, but do little else
c) practice thought stopping
d) rely primarily on Joseph Wolpe’s systematic desensitization

Answer 23

c) practice thought stopping

Question 24

All of the techniques listed below would be used by a behavioristic family therapist except

a) family sculpting
b) a functional analysis of behavior followed by operant conditioning
c) modeling
d) changing and extinction

Answer 24

a) family sculpting

Question 25

Which statement is true of families

a) the divorce rate has decreased markedly in the last several years
b) remarriage today is uncommon
c) remarriage today is common
d) the divorce rate in the US hovers at about 10%

Answer 25

c) remarriage today is common

Question 26

The theory of psychodynamic family counseling is primarily associated with

a) William Glasser
b) Sigmund Freud
c) Virginia Satir and Carl Whitaker
d) Nathan Ackerman

Answer 26

d) Nathan Ackerman

Question 27

In psychoanalytic family therapy the word OBJECT means

a) a dream
b) a significant other with whom a child wishes to bond
c) transference
d) countertransference

Answer 27

b) a significant other with whom a child wishes to bond

Question 28

In psychoanalytic family therapy the term introjects really means that the client

a) internalizes the positive and negative characteristics of the objects within themselves
b) possesses internal verbalizations
c) possesses a finite number of problem solving options
d) possesses the internal motivation to solve his or her own difficulties

Answer 28

a) internalizes the positive and negative characteristics of the objects within themselves

Question 29

Pick the best example(s) of the psychoanalytic concept of splitting

a) a client who realistically perceives her therapist as a very empathic person
b) a client who realistically perceives her therapist as only having good qualities
c) a client who sees her therapist as all bad
d) b and c

Answer 29

d) b and c

Question 30

A 72-year-old woman you are counseling in a family reminds you of your mother and this is bringing up unresolved childhood issues for you as the counselor. This is an example of

a) positive transference
b) negative transference
c) countertransference
d) ambivalent transference

Answer 30

c) countertransference

Question 31

A family actually changes the structure of their family system. According to Watzlawick, Weakling, and Fisch, the family has achieved

a) second-order change that is more desirable than fist-order change
b) first-order change that is more desirable than second-order change
c) mediation
d) a Greek chorus

Answer 31

a) second-order change that is more desirable than first-order change

first-order is superficial or temporary while second-order involves actual change in the family structure

Question 32

A woman sees her husband as all good sometimes and all bad at others. An analytically trained family therapist who believes in object relations would see this as

a) ambivalent transference
b) splitting
c) dysthymia
d) psychotic behavior

Answer 32

b) splitting