LMSW Test Questions Winter 2022
1. According to Beck, a depressed person does not see the positive aspects of his/her situation because
of:
a. Precipitating factors
b. Lack of support
c. A dysfunctional schema
d. Lack of adaptive coping strategies ans: c. A dysfunctional schema
2. It is necessary to obtain informed consent prior to giving out data about a patient. Which of the
following statements is MOST correct regarding this issue?
a. You must obtain informed consent from your patient in most situations, but not in all situations.
b. If a significant other requests information about your patient, you may release it without informed
consent.
c. If you are going to consult with a colleague, you must have informed consent from your patient.
d. You must always have informed consent from your patient. ans: a. You must obtain informed consent
from your patient in most situations, but not in all situations.
3. A soldier with combat-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder desires to return to combat. What is the
first thing you should do?
a. Allow the soldier full self-determination, returning when he deems appropriate.
b. Inform the client that return will likely cause an increase in symptoms and is not advised.
c. Contact the commanding officer to determine if this is an option for the soldier.
d. Assess progress in treatment and current level of functioning. ans: d. Assess progress in treatment
and current level of functioning.
4. A man is referred by his primary care provider and presents with a diagnosis of Hypochondriasis.
What is the FIRST crucial step in treatment?
a. History taking
b. Establishment of trust and appreciation for the patient's problems
c. Education about the link between stress, emotions and lifestyle and physical health
d. Treatment planning ans: b. Establishment of trust and appreciation for the patient's problems
5. Client: "I'm depressed. I've lost my hair at a much quicker rate than I thought possible. I'm terribly
embarrassed to go out in public. I'm feeling extremely anxious and uneasy about my baldness." Social
Worker: "You're anxious and uneasy about the transformations that are a natural process of aging." The
social worker's response is:
a. Encouragement
b. Summarization
c. Paraphrase
,d. Reflection of feeling ans: d. Reflection of feeling
6. How do you find the median of a set with an even number of items?
a. The larger of the two middle numbers is the median.
b. The two middle numbers are both medians.
c. Find the average of the two middle numbers.
d. A set with an even number of items does not have a median. ans: c. Find the average of the two
middle numbers.
7. A young, beginning social worker has some intrapersonal and interpersonal struggles with women in
authority positions that stem from her poor relationship with her mother. The social worker's client is a
female 50-ish successful CEO of an Internet start-up. The social worker is likely to struggle in therapy due
to:
a. Counter-resistance
b. Counter-transference
c. Transference
d. Resistance ans: b. Counter-transference
8. When treating elder adults with depression, the BEST approach to treatment is:
a. Cognitive behavioral therapy coupled with family interventions.
b. Significant reliance on psychiatry because medication management is most important.
c. Treatment of elder adults is similar to other adults, so no significant alterations are needed.
d. Coordination between medical and mental health due to the influence of medical conditions on
psychiatric symptomatology. ans: d. Coordination between medical and mental health due to the
influence of medical conditions on psychiatric symptomatology.
9. Professional ethics and professional values differ in which of the following:
a. Values are a subset of ethics.
b. Values deal with what is right or wrong in practice, and ethics deals with the principles of practice.
c. Values and ethics are basically the same and are evaluated based on the specific situation.
d. When a social worker makes a judgment that is ethical, you can assume it is a judgment that also
upholds professional values. ans: b. Values deal with what is right or wrong in practice, and ethics deals
with the principles of practice.
10. What is the first thing to assess in on-site basic crisis intervention, such as in the aftermath of a
natural disaster?
a. Immediate needs for physical safety, food and clothing
b. Trauma response
c. Future mental health risk
d. Needs for various concrete services (e.g., transportation, alternate housing) ans: a. Immediate needs
for physical safety, food and clothing
, 7-year-old child is refusing to sleep in his own bed at night. When the parents sit with him in his room,
he is fine. When they leave the room, he begins to cry. When they come back in, he stops crying. This is
an example of
Operant conditioning
Classical conditioning
Punishment cycles
Higher order conditioning ans: operant conditioning
Older individuals are often misdiagnosed with Alzheimer's when, in fact, the more accurate diagnosis is
Anxiety
Depression
Thyroid Disorder
Delirium ans: Depression. Approximately 55% of the elderly suffer from depression and are often
misdiagnosed with Alzheimer's or Dementia. Anxiety (answer #1) is not correct, although anxiety can be
a problem in older adults; anxiety is not a characteristic that would be a symptom of Alzheimer's.
Thyroid disorder (answer #3) is not correct because this condition is a malfunction of the thyroid gland,
resulting in a variety of medical symptoms, usually not similar to symptoms of Alzheimer's. Delirium
(answer #4) is not correct, as Delirium is characterized by a disturbance of consciousness and a change
in cognition that develop over a short period of time.
A social worker is seeing a new client, who is a college student, for therapy. After speaking with the
client about her current enrollment at the university, the social worker spent a significant amount of
time urging the client to work less so she could focus on school. The social worker wants the client to get
all "A" grades this semester because she reminds him of his daughter at that same stage in life, as well
as the anxieties that he experienced during that time in his life. The client really wants to please the
social worker because he reminds her of her dad. Which of the following is reflected in the client?
Transference
Counter-transference
Projection
A dual relationship ans: Tranference. In a therapeutic context, transference refers to redirection of a
client's feelings from a significant person to the social worker. Counter-transference (answer #2) is
incorrect because this is the redirection of a social worker's feelings toward a client, or more generally
speaking a social worker's emotional entanglement with a client, which was reflected in the first part of
the question; however, this does not describe what is being reflected in this client. Projection (answer
#3) is demonstrated when a person's own unacceptable or threatening feelings are repressed and then
attributed to someone else, which is not occurring in this case example. A dual relationship (answer #4)
is incorrect, as this refers to a situation where multiple roles exist (not just perceived) between a social
worker and a client, such as an actual father and daughter relationship between a social worker and
client.
A client was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She immediately began to learn everything she
could about the illness: reading books, journal articles, and the latest experimental research. The client's
response to her diagnosis is representative of which defense mechanism?
Intellectualization
Regression
Sublimation
Repression ans: Intellectualization
1. According to Beck, a depressed person does not see the positive aspects of his/her situation because
of:
a. Precipitating factors
b. Lack of support
c. A dysfunctional schema
d. Lack of adaptive coping strategies ans: c. A dysfunctional schema
2. It is necessary to obtain informed consent prior to giving out data about a patient. Which of the
following statements is MOST correct regarding this issue?
a. You must obtain informed consent from your patient in most situations, but not in all situations.
b. If a significant other requests information about your patient, you may release it without informed
consent.
c. If you are going to consult with a colleague, you must have informed consent from your patient.
d. You must always have informed consent from your patient. ans: a. You must obtain informed consent
from your patient in most situations, but not in all situations.
3. A soldier with combat-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder desires to return to combat. What is the
first thing you should do?
a. Allow the soldier full self-determination, returning when he deems appropriate.
b. Inform the client that return will likely cause an increase in symptoms and is not advised.
c. Contact the commanding officer to determine if this is an option for the soldier.
d. Assess progress in treatment and current level of functioning. ans: d. Assess progress in treatment
and current level of functioning.
4. A man is referred by his primary care provider and presents with a diagnosis of Hypochondriasis.
What is the FIRST crucial step in treatment?
a. History taking
b. Establishment of trust and appreciation for the patient's problems
c. Education about the link between stress, emotions and lifestyle and physical health
d. Treatment planning ans: b. Establishment of trust and appreciation for the patient's problems
5. Client: "I'm depressed. I've lost my hair at a much quicker rate than I thought possible. I'm terribly
embarrassed to go out in public. I'm feeling extremely anxious and uneasy about my baldness." Social
Worker: "You're anxious and uneasy about the transformations that are a natural process of aging." The
social worker's response is:
a. Encouragement
b. Summarization
c. Paraphrase
,d. Reflection of feeling ans: d. Reflection of feeling
6. How do you find the median of a set with an even number of items?
a. The larger of the two middle numbers is the median.
b. The two middle numbers are both medians.
c. Find the average of the two middle numbers.
d. A set with an even number of items does not have a median. ans: c. Find the average of the two
middle numbers.
7. A young, beginning social worker has some intrapersonal and interpersonal struggles with women in
authority positions that stem from her poor relationship with her mother. The social worker's client is a
female 50-ish successful CEO of an Internet start-up. The social worker is likely to struggle in therapy due
to:
a. Counter-resistance
b. Counter-transference
c. Transference
d. Resistance ans: b. Counter-transference
8. When treating elder adults with depression, the BEST approach to treatment is:
a. Cognitive behavioral therapy coupled with family interventions.
b. Significant reliance on psychiatry because medication management is most important.
c. Treatment of elder adults is similar to other adults, so no significant alterations are needed.
d. Coordination between medical and mental health due to the influence of medical conditions on
psychiatric symptomatology. ans: d. Coordination between medical and mental health due to the
influence of medical conditions on psychiatric symptomatology.
9. Professional ethics and professional values differ in which of the following:
a. Values are a subset of ethics.
b. Values deal with what is right or wrong in practice, and ethics deals with the principles of practice.
c. Values and ethics are basically the same and are evaluated based on the specific situation.
d. When a social worker makes a judgment that is ethical, you can assume it is a judgment that also
upholds professional values. ans: b. Values deal with what is right or wrong in practice, and ethics deals
with the principles of practice.
10. What is the first thing to assess in on-site basic crisis intervention, such as in the aftermath of a
natural disaster?
a. Immediate needs for physical safety, food and clothing
b. Trauma response
c. Future mental health risk
d. Needs for various concrete services (e.g., transportation, alternate housing) ans: a. Immediate needs
for physical safety, food and clothing
, 7-year-old child is refusing to sleep in his own bed at night. When the parents sit with him in his room,
he is fine. When they leave the room, he begins to cry. When they come back in, he stops crying. This is
an example of
Operant conditioning
Classical conditioning
Punishment cycles
Higher order conditioning ans: operant conditioning
Older individuals are often misdiagnosed with Alzheimer's when, in fact, the more accurate diagnosis is
Anxiety
Depression
Thyroid Disorder
Delirium ans: Depression. Approximately 55% of the elderly suffer from depression and are often
misdiagnosed with Alzheimer's or Dementia. Anxiety (answer #1) is not correct, although anxiety can be
a problem in older adults; anxiety is not a characteristic that would be a symptom of Alzheimer's.
Thyroid disorder (answer #3) is not correct because this condition is a malfunction of the thyroid gland,
resulting in a variety of medical symptoms, usually not similar to symptoms of Alzheimer's. Delirium
(answer #4) is not correct, as Delirium is characterized by a disturbance of consciousness and a change
in cognition that develop over a short period of time.
A social worker is seeing a new client, who is a college student, for therapy. After speaking with the
client about her current enrollment at the university, the social worker spent a significant amount of
time urging the client to work less so she could focus on school. The social worker wants the client to get
all "A" grades this semester because she reminds him of his daughter at that same stage in life, as well
as the anxieties that he experienced during that time in his life. The client really wants to please the
social worker because he reminds her of her dad. Which of the following is reflected in the client?
Transference
Counter-transference
Projection
A dual relationship ans: Tranference. In a therapeutic context, transference refers to redirection of a
client's feelings from a significant person to the social worker. Counter-transference (answer #2) is
incorrect because this is the redirection of a social worker's feelings toward a client, or more generally
speaking a social worker's emotional entanglement with a client, which was reflected in the first part of
the question; however, this does not describe what is being reflected in this client. Projection (answer
#3) is demonstrated when a person's own unacceptable or threatening feelings are repressed and then
attributed to someone else, which is not occurring in this case example. A dual relationship (answer #4)
is incorrect, as this refers to a situation where multiple roles exist (not just perceived) between a social
worker and a client, such as an actual father and daughter relationship between a social worker and
client.
A client was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She immediately began to learn everything she
could about the illness: reading books, journal articles, and the latest experimental research. The client's
response to her diagnosis is representative of which defense mechanism?
Intellectualization
Regression
Sublimation
Repression ans: Intellectualization
