ASWB Masters Exam 2019 -100% Correct Answers & Explanations

ASWB Masters Exam 2019 -100% Correct Answers & Explanations A female client comes to see a social worker to discuss her relationship issues. According to the psychosocial perspective, the social worker should: a. have her tell you about the issues affecting her life b. begin training behavioral techniques c. provide a referral to a psychologist for testing d. refer to a marriage and family therapist Correct Answer: a. have her tell you about the issues affecting her life Always take time to listen and explore your clients' needs and feelings. Exploration and learning are vital parts of the beginning of therapy. Clients often needs to feel heard and understood. Often, you may be the only person in their life who will listen and hear their feelings, thoughts, ideas, etc. As a new clinical social worker you find yourself being told by your supervisor you need to be more confrontational. This seems at odds with the social work mission, until your supervisor explains the primary purpose of confrontation is to: a. demonstrate accurate understanding b. help a client change her view of a problem c. make a client aware of inconsistencies d. help the client identify alternatives to her present behavior Correct Answer: c. make a client aware of inconsistencies Clients often have inconsistent views and values concerning a specific problem. This is a HUMAN problem we all fight with. Conflicts between what a client 'thinks' should be the solution and what the actual solution will be is the bread and butter of therapy. Just because we know we should do something does not mean we will act in the appropriate manner. You have been hired by a private, non-profit agency, which works with the HIV/AIDS population. The primary function of your unit is to educate sexually active individuals about the disease and to help them understand the importance of testing, life- style changes, and treatment if necessary. What is the BEST way to describe your agency's type of prevention? a. crisis intervention b. tertiary prevention c. secondary prevention d. primary prevention Correct Answer: C. secondary prevention Secondary prevention, also called "screening", refers to measures that detect disease before it is symptomatic. The goal of secondary prevention is to identify and detect disease in its earliest stages, before noticeable symptoms develop, when it is most likely to be treated successfully. With early detection and diagnosis, it may be possible to cure a disease, slow its progression, prevent or minimize complications, and limit disability. Crisis intervention is a particular type of intervention geared towards a specific circumstance, which can overwhelm the client. Crisis intervention, may be provided a the Primary, Secondary, or event Tertiary levels of intervention. Crisis intervention is not limited to scope. Tertiary prevention efforts focus on people already affected by disease and attempt to reduce resultant disability and restore functionality. Tertiary prevention programs aim to improve the quality of life for people with various diseases by limiting complications and disabilities, reducing the severity and progression of disease, and providing prevention, tertiary prevention involves actual treatment of the disease and is conducted primarily by health care providers, rather than public health agencies. Primary prevention is the inhibition of the development of disease before it occurs. Primary prevention measures fall into two categories. The first category includes actions to protect against disease and disability, such as getting immunizations, ensuring the supply of safe drinking water, applying dental sealants to prevent tooth decay, and guarding against accidents. General action to promote health is the other category of primary prevention measures. Health promotion includes the basic activities of a healthy lifestyle: good nutrition and hygiene, adequate exercise and rest, and avoidance of environmental and health risks. You have been hired as a social work case manager for an urban based agency. Your mission is to assess the needs of the client, the client's family, and to arrange for, coordinate, monitor, evaluate and advocate for a package of multiple services to meet the specific client's complex needs. Social work case management is distinct from other forms of case management because it address all of the following EXCEPT: a. the client's Biopsychosocial status and the state of the social system in which the client operates b. the need for the client to accept the services provided because they are identified as necessary by the social work case manager c. intervention occurs at both client (micro) and system (macro) levels d. the need for the social worker to develop and maitain a therapeutic relationship with the client Correct Answer: b. the need for the client to accept the services provided because they are identified as necessary by the social work case manager Social Work always allows the client the right of self- determination. Just because you (the professional social worker) believes the client needs a certain service does not obligate the client to accept or utilize that service. The client is always in control. You are sitting in a case staffing meeting at your agency while several other social workers are discussing their new cases and receiving feedback and suggestions. Of the four following situations, which one WOULD NOT lend itself to family therapy...? a. A 17 year-old son who needs to separate psychologically from his family b. A couple with two children that has decided to divorce c. A separated couple with two children, one child in the family has an eating disorder d. An enmeshed family, where improvement in one member is likely to cause distress in the other members Correct Answer: A. A 17 year-old son who needs to separate psychologically from his family This is a situation where one member of structural unit needs to leave (or be pushed out) of the structural unit. Individual therapy and crisis intervention during the separation are the best possible therapy choices. Family therapy may be appropriate after the separation and after a set period of time has passed, in order to explore the new role. Terri showed up for his appointment very upset and anxious. She stated she is frightened because she has begun hearing the voices again. The voices that tell her she should kill herself. She has been hearing these voices for approximately 5 years and has two prior suicide attempts over this time. She states that the voices have become stronger over the past week. She says she had received a call from her mother that a friend from high school had completed a suicide attempt. Your FIRST intervention should be... a. complete a depression screen b. discuss the need for immediate inpatient hospitalization c. begin a complete suicide risk assessment d. ask Terri about her current medication compliance Correct Answer: c. begin a complete suicide risk assessment In the realm of suicide risk, the loss of a friend or family member is a serious risk indicator. The shorter the time between the known suicide and the present, generally the greater the risk. This one fact along with her continual cycle of hearing voices is enough to put you on HIGH ALERT. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder appears to have a genetic component. Numerous studies have identified components of the disorder, including obsessive thoughts which often produce anxiety and by which the individual uses repetitive actions to reduce the anxiety. Which of the following statements DOES NOT describe our knowledge of this disorder? a. among first degree relatives there are four times as many cases of OCD than among non-relatives. b. we have discovered the specific genetic etiology of this disorder. c. twin studies consistently show higher concordance of OCD in monozygotic than in dizygotic twins. d. concordance ranges (both twins having the disorder) from monozygotic twins is great than 80%. Correct Answer: B. we have discovered the specific genetic etiology of this disorder. We have not been able to locate a specific genetic etiology for this disorder. You have begun working with a family in which there is a verified history of incestuous relationships. Of the following characteristics, which one is MOST often found in families in which incestuous relationships have occurred? a. enmeshment of family members b. relaxed attitude toward sexuality c. symbiotic mother- child relationships d. distorted communication problem Correct Answer: a. enmeshment of family members Enmeshment is the inappropriate closeness of family members against a backdrop, of course, of developmental appropriateness. As defined in Minuchin (1974), "family structure is the invisible set of functional demands that organizes the ways in which family members interact. A family is a system that operates through transactional patterns. Repeated transactions establish patterns of how, when, and with whom to relate, and these patterns underpin the system." You accept a referral from an agency on a 65-year old client. During the initial interview you learn he has been physically abusive to his wife of 40 years and he appears very depressed. He relates that two of his children will not talk to him and did not call him for his birthday this year. You quickly find you dislike this client intensely and have difficulty feeling any empathy for this client and his situation. that evening after the session you realize he reminds you of your spouse's step-father who was abusive to your spouse during their childhood. You should... a. share your feelings with the client b. talk to your supervisor about your reactions toward this client c. accept your feelings as part of the therapeutic process when working with abusers d. continue your sessions with the client and ignore your feelings Correct Answer: B. talk to your supervisor about your reactions toward this client Let your supervisor know how you feel, why you feel the way you do and how it might affect your interactions. Then, work with your supervisor on how you can either use this awareness to help the interactions with your client or whether you need to be replaced by another social worker. There will be clients you can work with and clients that 'trigger you' in ways that make therapeutic interactions impossible. This type of a reaction is due to the human condition. Don't run from it. You have been asked to work with a family with a known history of father-daughter incest. As you evaluate this family system, you should expect to see all of the following concerns in relationships EXCEPT... a. Daughter- father communication will be distorted and symbolic b. family structure is very strict, with highly moralistic expectations c. reversal between mother-daughter roles and expectations d. highly supportive and sharing daughter-mother relationship Correct Answer: d. highly supportive and sharing daughter- mother relationship It would be very unusual for you to see a highly supportive mother-daughter relationship, given the role reversals and changes in role expectations which sustain the father-daughter incest cycle. You would expect to see a,b, and c. You are seeing a client who brings in a plastic bag full of prescription bottles. Most are empty but you locate one which is half full. You realize from this prescription the client probably is being treated for a seizure disorder. The medication you discovered was... a. oxycontin b. depakote c. zoloft d. ability Correct Answer: b. depakote. Depakote is useful to control seizures and seizure disorder. Oxycontin is a powerful opiate- based pain medication. Zoloft is a Serotonin Selective Re-uptake inhibitor used for treatment of Depression. Abilify is used to treat Bipolar Disorders and as a supplement to treat Major Depressive Disorder. You work for a local mental health agency and have been seeing a client for 11 sessions in individual therapy. At the beginning of your next session the client reveals they are sexually attracted to you and have been having sexual fantasies about you for several sessions. They tell you they cannot imagine not coming to see you. You are caught completely off-guard and do your bet to try to process the information with the client. It becomes clear the client is fixated on the admission. Your BEST response is to... a. terminate the session and tell the client you need to reschedule with another counselor b. continue the session and ignore the revelation c. stop the session and bring your clinical supervisor into the room d. accept the revelation and continue processing in therapy Correct Answer: c. stop the session and bring your clinical supervisor into the room The key to understanding this situation lies in the word "fixated". As a competent therapist, you would like to keep helping the client process the information, but when dealing with a fixated belief system, you are actually dealing with a very strong projection as a defense mechanism and extreme transference. The client is responding to their projection onto you, not reality. Getting a knowledgeable third- party in the room will allow the projection to be properly handled, will keep you client safe and will probably protect you during any future malpractice claim. You have been asked by a colleague to consult with a young couple who have two children, ages 6 and 2. They have recently been told their 6-year-old child has an Affective Disorder. The diagnosis was made after a school referral to a clinical social worker. The FIRST thing you should do for this couple is... a. complete a thorough BioPsychosocial Assessment of the family b. empower the parents through education about the disorder c. refer the family to a support group for families with children of similar diagnoses. d. help the parents identify different social supports for the child. Correct Answer: b. empower the parents through education about the disorder. This family is coming from another clinician. You need to assume that an assessment has been done already. The couple's primary problem is they do not know or seem to be aware of the issues addressed in an Affective Disorder. In truth, it is difficult to address an affective disorder without knowing more about the type (e.g Bipolar, Unipolar, etc). This family system needs information and knowledge in order to understand the tasks and obstacles in their future. You have been working with a client who has been describing a behavior which causes them to feel uncomfortable, distressed, and burdened. According to tenets of Ego psychology, this type of behavior would be BEST described as... a. Ego Synthesis b. Ego Dystonic