AMFTRB Exam 2026 UPDATED EXAM ACTUAL
LATEST VERSIONS 330 QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT VERIFIED ANSWERS WITH
RATIONALES (100% CORRECT) A+ GRADED
ASSURED
"Family process" (peer-reviewed journal) - CORRECT ANSWER: Founded by Don Jackson and
Nathan Ackerman, edited by Jay Haley (1962)
"flight into health" - CORRECT ANSWER: When a previously depressed or suicidal patient
suddenly stops stating suicidal intention and/or appears calm and happy in a very quick time
period. This may be a warning sign that the patient has decided to complete suicide. Defense
against lessening/lifting repression. Client states they are "all better."
"stuck family" (Adlerian) - CORRECT ANSWER: parents assume roles based on their
expectations of the children
(Kaplan) A sexual disorder that is NOT considered a disturbance in the genital-vascongestive
phase is... - CORRECT ANSWER: premature ejaculation
2 Essential Theme's of Bowen's theory - CORRECT ANSWER: 1) Individuality
2) Togetherness
4 interlocking dimensions of relationships developed by Nagy, Contextual Family Therapy -
CORRECT ANSWER: 1) Facts - those that are unavoidable, such as ethnicity, gender, illness,
etc, and those that are avoidable, such as the family's "created reality," understanding and
choices;
2) Psychology - each individual's emotional development, cognitions and meanings;
,3) Transactions - communication sequences, roles, structure and power alignments between
individuals and
4) Relational Ethics - fairness, trust, reliability, loyalty and reciprocity (the "ledger").
4 main components of Rogerian technique - CORRECT ANSWER: 1) empathy
2) congruence
3) acceptance
4) concreteness
5 steps to motivational interviewing - CORRECT ANSWER: 1. Expressing empathy for the
client;
2. Developing discrepancy between where the client is at in his/her life and where they would
like to be in their lives-and how substances interfere with them moving forward.
3. Avoiding argument about the addict's possible lack of readiness for change.
4. Rolling with the resistance, which is accepting and understanding the client's fear to change.
5. Supporting self-efficacy by trying to instill hope that the client can make positive changes in
his/her life.
6 characteristic of a double bind - CORRECT ANSWER: 1) Communication involves 2 or more
people who are involved in an important emotional relationship.
2) The pattern of communication and the relationship is a repeated experience.
3) The communication involves a primary negative injunction--or a command not to do (some
act) or not to NOT do (some act), either of which come with a threat of punishment.
4) A second abstract injunction is given that contradicts the primary injunction but at a more
abstract level and is usually nonverbal. This also occurs under the threat of punishment.
5) A third negative injunction both demands a response and prevents escape, effectively binding
the recipient to the environment in which these patterns exist.
6) When the above double bind messages have been communicated enough times, the individual
has become conditioned which no longer requires all of the above mentioned criteria to be
present in order to elicit the same intensity in response (panic, rage, schizophrenia).
,A CBT assumption regarding couple's therapy is... - CORRECT ANSWER: The initial focus of
tx is on partners' behaviors, with little explicit attention to their cognitive beliefs/emotions.
A cognitive-behavioral assumption is that if partners begin to behave more positively towards
each other, then they will begin to think and feel differently towards each other.
A child is using the same toy in play therapy. What might this suggest? - CORRECT ANSWER:
The play therapy is working.
A client is disheveled, hearing voices, and hasn't slept in 48 hours. What should the therapist do?
- CORRECT ANSWER: Have the client hospitalized.
A Multigenerational Family Therapist working with a couple and domestic violence -
CORRECT ANSWER: assess for DV and reduce emotional reactivity
A therapist is treating a client who suspects that he may have HIV. He hasn't been feeling well
lately, reports engaging in frequent unprotected sex, and avoids testing because it is "too scary".
He asks you, "why bother talking about a disease when there is no cure"? What would be the
next step in your treatment planning with this client? - CORRECT ANSWER: Begin the process
of pre-test counseling.
You need to adjust your treatment plan to where the client is currently.
According to communications theory, there is no such thing as a simple message. Instead,
communication commonly consists of two levels. These are: - CORRECT ANSWER: surface
and metacommunication
The surface level contains overt content and the metacommunication represents the context in
which the overt message is delivered (e.g., the voice tone, gesturing, body language). It qualifies,
contradicts, or comments on the surface level. When a metacommunication contradicts the
surface level (as in a double-bind), interpersonal distress may result.
, According to family systems theory, wholeness refers to.... - CORRECT ANSWER: the
interdependence between the parts of a system. Working on spousal problems will change a
child's behavior because when the dyad begins to relate differently, the child's role changes.
Change in one part of the system affects all other parts.
According to Glasser, the founder of reality therapy, most mental disorders are the result of
irresponsibility, which leads to the development of: - CORRECT ANSWER: "failure identity"
According to Margaret Mahler, "individuation" involves: - CORRECT ANSWER: recognizing
the individual existence of self and others.
According to Mahler (1975), a child undergoing the process of moving from being a member of
a mother-child unit to becoming a family member goes through "separation" and "individuation."
Separation refers to the child's disengagement and differentiation from the mother, while
individuation involves the development of an inner representation of the mother, a time sense, a
capacity for testing reality, and an awareness of the existence of others discrete from his/her own
existence.
According to Masters and Johnson research, what percentage of couples experience sexual
dysfunction? - CORRECT ANSWER: 50%
According to structural family therapy, the structural requirements for a new union are: -
CORRECT ANSWER: accommodation and boundary making
According to the DSM-5, the characteristic symptoms of Substance Use Disorder can be
categorized in terms of which of the following? - CORRECT ANSWER: - Impaired control
- social impairment
- risky use
- pharmacological criteria (tolerance/withdrawal)
Accurate Empathy (Rogers) - CORRECT ANSWER: therapist's ability to see the world as the
client does and to accurately convey that understanding to the client.
LATEST VERSIONS 330 QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT VERIFIED ANSWERS WITH
RATIONALES (100% CORRECT) A+ GRADED
ASSURED
"Family process" (peer-reviewed journal) - CORRECT ANSWER: Founded by Don Jackson and
Nathan Ackerman, edited by Jay Haley (1962)
"flight into health" - CORRECT ANSWER: When a previously depressed or suicidal patient
suddenly stops stating suicidal intention and/or appears calm and happy in a very quick time
period. This may be a warning sign that the patient has decided to complete suicide. Defense
against lessening/lifting repression. Client states they are "all better."
"stuck family" (Adlerian) - CORRECT ANSWER: parents assume roles based on their
expectations of the children
(Kaplan) A sexual disorder that is NOT considered a disturbance in the genital-vascongestive
phase is... - CORRECT ANSWER: premature ejaculation
2 Essential Theme's of Bowen's theory - CORRECT ANSWER: 1) Individuality
2) Togetherness
4 interlocking dimensions of relationships developed by Nagy, Contextual Family Therapy -
CORRECT ANSWER: 1) Facts - those that are unavoidable, such as ethnicity, gender, illness,
etc, and those that are avoidable, such as the family's "created reality," understanding and
choices;
2) Psychology - each individual's emotional development, cognitions and meanings;
,3) Transactions - communication sequences, roles, structure and power alignments between
individuals and
4) Relational Ethics - fairness, trust, reliability, loyalty and reciprocity (the "ledger").
4 main components of Rogerian technique - CORRECT ANSWER: 1) empathy
2) congruence
3) acceptance
4) concreteness
5 steps to motivational interviewing - CORRECT ANSWER: 1. Expressing empathy for the
client;
2. Developing discrepancy between where the client is at in his/her life and where they would
like to be in their lives-and how substances interfere with them moving forward.
3. Avoiding argument about the addict's possible lack of readiness for change.
4. Rolling with the resistance, which is accepting and understanding the client's fear to change.
5. Supporting self-efficacy by trying to instill hope that the client can make positive changes in
his/her life.
6 characteristic of a double bind - CORRECT ANSWER: 1) Communication involves 2 or more
people who are involved in an important emotional relationship.
2) The pattern of communication and the relationship is a repeated experience.
3) The communication involves a primary negative injunction--or a command not to do (some
act) or not to NOT do (some act), either of which come with a threat of punishment.
4) A second abstract injunction is given that contradicts the primary injunction but at a more
abstract level and is usually nonverbal. This also occurs under the threat of punishment.
5) A third negative injunction both demands a response and prevents escape, effectively binding
the recipient to the environment in which these patterns exist.
6) When the above double bind messages have been communicated enough times, the individual
has become conditioned which no longer requires all of the above mentioned criteria to be
present in order to elicit the same intensity in response (panic, rage, schizophrenia).
,A CBT assumption regarding couple's therapy is... - CORRECT ANSWER: The initial focus of
tx is on partners' behaviors, with little explicit attention to their cognitive beliefs/emotions.
A cognitive-behavioral assumption is that if partners begin to behave more positively towards
each other, then they will begin to think and feel differently towards each other.
A child is using the same toy in play therapy. What might this suggest? - CORRECT ANSWER:
The play therapy is working.
A client is disheveled, hearing voices, and hasn't slept in 48 hours. What should the therapist do?
- CORRECT ANSWER: Have the client hospitalized.
A Multigenerational Family Therapist working with a couple and domestic violence -
CORRECT ANSWER: assess for DV and reduce emotional reactivity
A therapist is treating a client who suspects that he may have HIV. He hasn't been feeling well
lately, reports engaging in frequent unprotected sex, and avoids testing because it is "too scary".
He asks you, "why bother talking about a disease when there is no cure"? What would be the
next step in your treatment planning with this client? - CORRECT ANSWER: Begin the process
of pre-test counseling.
You need to adjust your treatment plan to where the client is currently.
According to communications theory, there is no such thing as a simple message. Instead,
communication commonly consists of two levels. These are: - CORRECT ANSWER: surface
and metacommunication
The surface level contains overt content and the metacommunication represents the context in
which the overt message is delivered (e.g., the voice tone, gesturing, body language). It qualifies,
contradicts, or comments on the surface level. When a metacommunication contradicts the
surface level (as in a double-bind), interpersonal distress may result.
, According to family systems theory, wholeness refers to.... - CORRECT ANSWER: the
interdependence between the parts of a system. Working on spousal problems will change a
child's behavior because when the dyad begins to relate differently, the child's role changes.
Change in one part of the system affects all other parts.
According to Glasser, the founder of reality therapy, most mental disorders are the result of
irresponsibility, which leads to the development of: - CORRECT ANSWER: "failure identity"
According to Margaret Mahler, "individuation" involves: - CORRECT ANSWER: recognizing
the individual existence of self and others.
According to Mahler (1975), a child undergoing the process of moving from being a member of
a mother-child unit to becoming a family member goes through "separation" and "individuation."
Separation refers to the child's disengagement and differentiation from the mother, while
individuation involves the development of an inner representation of the mother, a time sense, a
capacity for testing reality, and an awareness of the existence of others discrete from his/her own
existence.
According to Masters and Johnson research, what percentage of couples experience sexual
dysfunction? - CORRECT ANSWER: 50%
According to structural family therapy, the structural requirements for a new union are: -
CORRECT ANSWER: accommodation and boundary making
According to the DSM-5, the characteristic symptoms of Substance Use Disorder can be
categorized in terms of which of the following? - CORRECT ANSWER: - Impaired control
- social impairment
- risky use
- pharmacological criteria (tolerance/withdrawal)
Accurate Empathy (Rogers) - CORRECT ANSWER: therapist's ability to see the world as the
client does and to accurately convey that understanding to the client.
