Diagnostic Assessment

Front 1

1. As a communications theorist and therapist, Haley deals with the concepts of the double-bind, setting conditions, and what else?

a. family blueprint
b. paradoxical interventions
c. i-messages
d. prejudicial scapegoating

Back 1

b.
Jay Haley, a communications theorist, is associated with strategic family therapy and is well known for his use of paradoxical interventions (e.g., instructing a patient to purposefully engage in the symptomatic behavior).

Front 2

2. According to psychoanalytic theory, the ego defense mechanisms fucntion to:

a. keep unacceptable impulses from reaching consciousness.
b. ensure socially appropriate behavior
c. signal the emergence of anxiety
d. reduce conflict between the ego and the superego.

Back 2

a.
The function of ego defense mechanisms is to keep unacceptable impulses from reaching consciousness. Anxiety results when the defense mechanisms fail to control "psychic excitation" (i.e., the entry of unconscious impulses into consciousness).

Front 3

3. A recent Latino immigrant to the United States would probably have the most difficulty adjusting to a psychotherapist who displays:

a. an eclectic orientation
b. a focus on individualism.
c. an informal personal style.
d. a focus on the client's level of acculturation.

Back 3

b.
As compared to American culture, Latino culture is generally characterized by a greater emphasis on the immediate extended family unit and less emphasis on individualism.

Front 4

4. Which of the following is least descriptive of the hypnotic state? It involves:
a. induction of a "trance state" which, in its deepest form, may be associated with induced visual or auditory experiences.
b. a heightened state of concentration and increased receptivity to the suggestions of another person.
c. a loss of control over one's actions from oneself to the hypnotist.
d. an ability to recall memories that are not available to the conscious mind during the non-hypnotic state.

Back 4

c.
People under hypnosis report that they never feel as though they are not in control of their actions when they are in a hypnotic trance.

Choices A and B have been used in various contexts as working definitions of hypnosis.

Front 5

5. Which of the following is the strongest indicator of suicide risk?
a. depression
b. family history of suicide
c. hopelessness
d. alcoholism

Back 5

c.
A number of studies has identified hopelessness as the aspect of depressive symptomatology associated with the greatest suicide risk.

Front 6

6. From the perspective of Gestalt therapy, the term "introjection" refers to:
a. adopting the values and behaviors of others without fully assimilating them into the personality structure.
b. directing unacceptable anger and aggression inward.
c. being oriented toward self rather than oriented toward others.
d. attributing one's own unacceptable beliefs and impulses to others.

Back 6

6. A
According to the theory that underlies Gestalt therapy, introjection is a boundary disturbance that involves assimilating information, beliefs, and values without really understanding them.

Front 7

7. Which of the following clinical tests was developed on the basis of emperical criterion keying?
a. Rorschach
b. 16PF
c. WAIS-III
d. MMPI-2

Back 7

7. D
Empirical criterion keying is a method of choosing items for a test on the basis of the items' ability to distinguish between groups. Of the choices listed, only the MMPI-2 was developed on the basis of empirical criterion keying.

Front 8

8. A feminist therapist would:
a. focus on innate, biological differences between men and women.
b. believe that there are no inherent differences in power between a psychotherapist and a client.
c. focus on social and political factors that underlie a woman's so called psychopathology.
d. argue that only highly trained professionals are capable of understanding and treating female clients in psychotherapy.

Back 8

8. C
Feminist therapy approaches assume that sexism and oppressive social roles underlie the reported problems of women who seek therapy.

Front 9

9. Which of the following statements regarding client-therapist ethnic matching is most consistent with the overall body of research on the issue?
a. Clients who receive therapy from racially and ethnically similar therapists are likely to show greater progress than those who have ethnically different therapists.
b. Client-therapist ethnic similarity has not been demonstrated to have any significant effect on therapy outcome.
c. The race of the client and therapist are variables that interact with a number of client and therapist variables in exerting their effects on therapy outcome.
d. Client-therapist ethnic similarity has been shown to have an impact on therapy outcome for only African-American clients.

Back 9

9. C
Though this is a controversial issue in the literature, the generally accepted consensus is that ethnic matching per se is not related to therapy outcome. However, variables such as therapist sensitivity to cultural variable and the client's level of identification with their ethnic groups influence the way in which ethnic similarity affects outcome.

Front 10

10. Which of the following terms is not associated with Minuchin's structural family therapy?
a. enmeshment
b. disengagement
c. boundaries
d. congruence

Back 10

10. D
The term congruence is associated with Roger's client-centered therapy. It refers to genuineness and consistency between the therapist's words and behaviors.