COMP EXAM MASTER STUDY SET
(Combined) QUESTIONS WITH NEW
UPDATE SOLUTIONS
/. The therapeutic alliance is thought to consist of all but the following:
a. tasks
b. bonds
c. shared culture
d. goals - Answer-✅c. shared culture
/.The therapeutic alliance is especially critical during which stage of therapy
a. beginning
b. middle
c. end
d. equally important throughout - Answer-✅a. beginning
/.Which is the correct order of the levels of the therapeutic pyramid, starting from the top
(peak) to ending at the bottom (base)?:
a. Way of Being, Alliance, Techniques
b. Alliance, Techniques, Way of Being
c. Way of Being, Techniques, Alliance
d. Techniques, Alliance, Way of Being - Answer-✅d. Techniques, Alliance, Way of
Being
/.Thu Hue noticed that her interventions with the Smith family didn't seem to be working
regardless of which techniques she tried. What should she next consider?
a. The strength of the therapeutic alliance
b. The degree to which she regards the Smiths as humans rather than objects
c. Whether working with families are a good fit for her skill set
d. Her suitability for the profession - Answer-✅a. The strength of the therapeutic
alliance
/.You are working with the Nguyen family. The parents are excited to be coming in so
their son, Thomas, can do better in school. Thomas doesn't want to be there and views
you as just another adult telling him what to do. What is an immediate clinical issue for
you to address, and what is one way you address it?
a. Coping skills; assess what they've done so far that has and hasn't worked
b. Adolescent rebellion; work to contain Thomas' acting out
c. Split alliance; validating each person's perspective
d. Controlling parents; work to help the parents loosen their expectations of Thomas -
Answer-✅Split alliance; validating each person's perspective
,/.Which of the following could be a thesis statement of the common factors argument?
a. If the therapeutic alliance is strong, everything else will fall into place
b. Factors shared across various theoretical models are responsible for most of the
change in therapy
c. Since the therapeutic alliance is so important, there is no need to learn theory
d. The therapist is the most important variable in therapy - Answer-✅b. Factors shared
across various theoretical models are responsible for most of the change in therapy
/.Which of the following approaches to theory would be most consistent with a common
factors approach?
a. Learning one theory in depth then moving onto another until you've mastered as
many as possible
b. Learning one theory in depth and staying loyal to that theory throughout your career
c. Disregarding theory in favor of mastering the therapeutic alliance
d. Only learning theories that enjoy empirical validation - Answer-✅a. Learning one
theory in depth then moving onto another until you've mastered as many as possible
/.Which variables are thought to be common factors of effective therapy?
a. Client motivation, therapeutic alliance, client culture, therapist empathy
b. Therapist empathy, client motivation, use of a structured model, therapeutic alliance
c. Client cognitive complexity, match between client and therapist culture, empirically
validated theory, therapeutic alliance
d. Therapist cognitive complexity, match between therapist and client motivation,
empirically validated theory, therapist empathy - Answer-✅b. Therapist empathy, client
motivation, use of a structured model, therapeutic alliance
/.The meta-model of change outlined in the Common Factors text outlines the following
three clinical behaviors common to all effective systemic therapies:
a. Slowing down the process, therapeutic alliance, successful completion of homework
b. Therapeutic alliance, standing meta, identification of family member's faults
c. Encouraging responsibility, successful completion of homework, slowing down the
process
d. Slowing down the process; standing meta; encouraging responsibility for one's role in
the interactional cycle - Answer-✅Slowing down the process; standing meta;
encouraging responsibility for one's role in the interactional cycle
/.All theoretical models of MFT use the following to help clients reach their goals:
a. Emotional Regulation
b Cognitive Reframing
c. Behavioral Shifts
d. All of the above - Answer-✅d. All of the above
/.The idea that family interactions had an influence on individual mental health first
came about in part from observing people in which setting?
a. Post-World War II industrial workplaces
b. Research studies at the National Institute of Mental Health
,c. Group therapy
d. Naturalistic home environments - Answer-✅c. Group therapy
/.If a behavior persists over time, it is maintained by:
a. Equifinality
b. A feedback loop
c. Positive feedback
d. Cybernetics - Answer-✅b. A feedback loop
/.When Bal nags, Mohammed withdraws. When Jose does more housework, Luida
does less. Which systemic concept best describes these patterns?
a. Linear causality
b. Triangles
c. Complementarity
d. Enmeshment - Answer-✅c. Complementarity
/.Bob and Leslie pride themselves on being involved parents. Mary, their 10 year old
daughter, has practically never left their side since she was born - she slept in their
room until 5, they've never gone on a vacation without Mary, and they don't let her play
at friend's houses. They come to therapy concerned about her refusal to attend middle
school. Which term best describes the boundaries between Mary and her parents?
a. Resistant
b. Triangulated
c. Enmeshed
d. Rigid - Answer-✅c. Enmeshed
/.Which of the following were among the first family therapy theories?
a. Structural, Strategic, Bowenian
b. Emotionally-focused, Experiential
c. Strategic, Cognitive-Behavioral, Experiential
d. Bowenian, Structural, Solution-Focused - Answer-✅a. Structural, Strategic,
Bowenian
/.Which of the following groups most often face the societal assumption that they are
lazy and to blame for their problems?
a. Immigrant families
b. Mixed-race families
c. Gay and lesbian individuals
d. Individuals living in poverty - Answer-✅d. Individuals living in poverty
/.In families, Goldner believes that power primarily manifests across which two
domains? Select one:
a. Race & Ethnicity
b. Money & Sex
c. Generation & Gender
, d. Education and Age - Answer-✅c. Generation & Gender
/.When things aren't going John's way at home, he tells his wife Sandy that she needs
to obey him because the Bible says that is God's will. When she complains of this
pattern to her priest, he rebukes her and says she needs to repent of her
insubordination. According to Gender/Power theory, Sandy is experiencing the misuse
of which type of power? Select one:
a. Psychological
b. Economic
c. Expert
d. Normative - Answer-✅d. Normative
/.According to McIntosh, which of the following are privileges enjoyed by white
Americans?
a. Having your language spoken in most major airports throughout the world.
b. Knowing that when asking to a "person in charge," you will most likely be speaking to
a person of your race.
c. Never being asked to speak for people of your race.
d. All of the above. - Answer-✅d. All of the above.
/.Which of the following represents a responsible use of power in a family?
a. Parent collaborating with their teenage child on a curfew time and consequences for
coming home past that time
b. A husband providing a list of chores for his wife to complete while he is at work that
day.
c. A parent spanking his or her children for talking during the parent's favorite TV show.
d. A wife withholding affection from family members until they do what she asks -
Answer-✅a. Parent collaborating with their teenage child on a curfew time and
consequences for coming home past that time
/.Expressing secondary emotions in an intimate relationship tends to create _________
in the relationship. Select one:
a. Secure attachment
b. Emotional closeness
c. Emotional distance
d. Anxious attachment - Answer-✅c. Emotional distance
/.Frank's wife comes home from work late, which Frank interprets as meaning that she
doesn't love him. Frank gets angry with his wife. Frank has expressed a ___________
emotion.Select one:
a. Extreme
b. Primary
c. Benign
d. Secondary - Answer-✅d. Secondary
/.Expressions of primary emotion tend to elicit _____________ from other people.
(Combined) QUESTIONS WITH NEW
UPDATE SOLUTIONS
/. The therapeutic alliance is thought to consist of all but the following:
a. tasks
b. bonds
c. shared culture
d. goals - Answer-✅c. shared culture
/.The therapeutic alliance is especially critical during which stage of therapy
a. beginning
b. middle
c. end
d. equally important throughout - Answer-✅a. beginning
/.Which is the correct order of the levels of the therapeutic pyramid, starting from the top
(peak) to ending at the bottom (base)?:
a. Way of Being, Alliance, Techniques
b. Alliance, Techniques, Way of Being
c. Way of Being, Techniques, Alliance
d. Techniques, Alliance, Way of Being - Answer-✅d. Techniques, Alliance, Way of
Being
/.Thu Hue noticed that her interventions with the Smith family didn't seem to be working
regardless of which techniques she tried. What should she next consider?
a. The strength of the therapeutic alliance
b. The degree to which she regards the Smiths as humans rather than objects
c. Whether working with families are a good fit for her skill set
d. Her suitability for the profession - Answer-✅a. The strength of the therapeutic
alliance
/.You are working with the Nguyen family. The parents are excited to be coming in so
their son, Thomas, can do better in school. Thomas doesn't want to be there and views
you as just another adult telling him what to do. What is an immediate clinical issue for
you to address, and what is one way you address it?
a. Coping skills; assess what they've done so far that has and hasn't worked
b. Adolescent rebellion; work to contain Thomas' acting out
c. Split alliance; validating each person's perspective
d. Controlling parents; work to help the parents loosen their expectations of Thomas -
Answer-✅Split alliance; validating each person's perspective
,/.Which of the following could be a thesis statement of the common factors argument?
a. If the therapeutic alliance is strong, everything else will fall into place
b. Factors shared across various theoretical models are responsible for most of the
change in therapy
c. Since the therapeutic alliance is so important, there is no need to learn theory
d. The therapist is the most important variable in therapy - Answer-✅b. Factors shared
across various theoretical models are responsible for most of the change in therapy
/.Which of the following approaches to theory would be most consistent with a common
factors approach?
a. Learning one theory in depth then moving onto another until you've mastered as
many as possible
b. Learning one theory in depth and staying loyal to that theory throughout your career
c. Disregarding theory in favor of mastering the therapeutic alliance
d. Only learning theories that enjoy empirical validation - Answer-✅a. Learning one
theory in depth then moving onto another until you've mastered as many as possible
/.Which variables are thought to be common factors of effective therapy?
a. Client motivation, therapeutic alliance, client culture, therapist empathy
b. Therapist empathy, client motivation, use of a structured model, therapeutic alliance
c. Client cognitive complexity, match between client and therapist culture, empirically
validated theory, therapeutic alliance
d. Therapist cognitive complexity, match between therapist and client motivation,
empirically validated theory, therapist empathy - Answer-✅b. Therapist empathy, client
motivation, use of a structured model, therapeutic alliance
/.The meta-model of change outlined in the Common Factors text outlines the following
three clinical behaviors common to all effective systemic therapies:
a. Slowing down the process, therapeutic alliance, successful completion of homework
b. Therapeutic alliance, standing meta, identification of family member's faults
c. Encouraging responsibility, successful completion of homework, slowing down the
process
d. Slowing down the process; standing meta; encouraging responsibility for one's role in
the interactional cycle - Answer-✅Slowing down the process; standing meta;
encouraging responsibility for one's role in the interactional cycle
/.All theoretical models of MFT use the following to help clients reach their goals:
a. Emotional Regulation
b Cognitive Reframing
c. Behavioral Shifts
d. All of the above - Answer-✅d. All of the above
/.The idea that family interactions had an influence on individual mental health first
came about in part from observing people in which setting?
a. Post-World War II industrial workplaces
b. Research studies at the National Institute of Mental Health
,c. Group therapy
d. Naturalistic home environments - Answer-✅c. Group therapy
/.If a behavior persists over time, it is maintained by:
a. Equifinality
b. A feedback loop
c. Positive feedback
d. Cybernetics - Answer-✅b. A feedback loop
/.When Bal nags, Mohammed withdraws. When Jose does more housework, Luida
does less. Which systemic concept best describes these patterns?
a. Linear causality
b. Triangles
c. Complementarity
d. Enmeshment - Answer-✅c. Complementarity
/.Bob and Leslie pride themselves on being involved parents. Mary, their 10 year old
daughter, has practically never left their side since she was born - she slept in their
room until 5, they've never gone on a vacation without Mary, and they don't let her play
at friend's houses. They come to therapy concerned about her refusal to attend middle
school. Which term best describes the boundaries between Mary and her parents?
a. Resistant
b. Triangulated
c. Enmeshed
d. Rigid - Answer-✅c. Enmeshed
/.Which of the following were among the first family therapy theories?
a. Structural, Strategic, Bowenian
b. Emotionally-focused, Experiential
c. Strategic, Cognitive-Behavioral, Experiential
d. Bowenian, Structural, Solution-Focused - Answer-✅a. Structural, Strategic,
Bowenian
/.Which of the following groups most often face the societal assumption that they are
lazy and to blame for their problems?
a. Immigrant families
b. Mixed-race families
c. Gay and lesbian individuals
d. Individuals living in poverty - Answer-✅d. Individuals living in poverty
/.In families, Goldner believes that power primarily manifests across which two
domains? Select one:
a. Race & Ethnicity
b. Money & Sex
c. Generation & Gender
, d. Education and Age - Answer-✅c. Generation & Gender
/.When things aren't going John's way at home, he tells his wife Sandy that she needs
to obey him because the Bible says that is God's will. When she complains of this
pattern to her priest, he rebukes her and says she needs to repent of her
insubordination. According to Gender/Power theory, Sandy is experiencing the misuse
of which type of power? Select one:
a. Psychological
b. Economic
c. Expert
d. Normative - Answer-✅d. Normative
/.According to McIntosh, which of the following are privileges enjoyed by white
Americans?
a. Having your language spoken in most major airports throughout the world.
b. Knowing that when asking to a "person in charge," you will most likely be speaking to
a person of your race.
c. Never being asked to speak for people of your race.
d. All of the above. - Answer-✅d. All of the above.
/.Which of the following represents a responsible use of power in a family?
a. Parent collaborating with their teenage child on a curfew time and consequences for
coming home past that time
b. A husband providing a list of chores for his wife to complete while he is at work that
day.
c. A parent spanking his or her children for talking during the parent's favorite TV show.
d. A wife withholding affection from family members until they do what she asks -
Answer-✅a. Parent collaborating with their teenage child on a curfew time and
consequences for coming home past that time
/.Expressing secondary emotions in an intimate relationship tends to create _________
in the relationship. Select one:
a. Secure attachment
b. Emotional closeness
c. Emotional distance
d. Anxious attachment - Answer-✅c. Emotional distance
/.Frank's wife comes home from work late, which Frank interprets as meaning that she
doesn't love him. Frank gets angry with his wife. Frank has expressed a ___________
emotion.Select one:
a. Extreme
b. Primary
c. Benign
d. Secondary - Answer-✅d. Secondary
/.Expressions of primary emotion tend to elicit _____________ from other people.
