Deck 1: Developing Effective Treatment Plans

Question 1

In general, which of the following variables have not been shown to affect treatment outcomes:

A) The therapeutic relationship/alliance
B) Counselor theoretical orientation
C) Counselor training
D) Counselor directiveness

Answer 1

Counselor training

Question 2

Which of the following is one of the most important client variables that determine successful counseling outcomes:

A) Client's motivation to change
B) Client's presenting concern
C) Client's social support
D) Client's personality

Answer 2

Client's motivation to change

Question 3

According to the stages of change model, during the contemplation phase of change, the client:

A) May lack awareness that a problem exists and have no intention of changing
B) Is becoming more aware that a problem exists, but has made no plans to change
C) Has begun planning small incremental changes, but has not begun this process
D) Is implementing the action plan by modifying his or her behaviors

Answer 3

Is becoming more aware that a problem exists, but has made no plans to change

Question 4

Which of the following is the most important treatment variable that determines successful counseling outcomes?

A) Duration of treatment
B) The therapeutic alliance
C) The treatment setting
D) The cost of appointment

Question 5

A good treatment plan is relational. This means that

A) It is tailored to the client's individual needs and is based on client goals, objectives, and strengths.
B) It focuses on client strengths, resources, times of resiliency, and ability to cope rather than the client's diagnosis.
C) It is sensitive to the client's context of culture, gender, and other developmental factors.
D) It is based on a strong client-counselor relationship, and is therefore sensitive to the client's treatment goals and context.

Question 6

Guidelines for evaluating evidence-based treatments, theories, and/or approaches include all of the following, except:

A) Approaches and interventions must be based on some documented, clear conceptual model of change
B) Approaches and interventions must be similar to or found in federal registries and/or the peer- reviewed literature
C) Approaches and interventions are supported by the documentation of one scientific inquiry that seems credible and rigorous
D) Approaches and interventions have been reviewed and deemed credible by informed experts in that treatment area

Question 7

In creating a treatment plan for clients, it is important that problem selection is

A) Specific, concrete, and clearly stated
B) General, concrete, and clearly stated
C) Specific, abstract, and clearly stated
D) General, abstract, and clearly stated

Question 8

Case conceptualization refers to

A) developing a clinical picture of a client's situation
B) accurately diagnosing a client
C) developing a treatment plan for the client
D) understanding a client's diagnosis

Question 9

The I CAN START model is

A) used mostly in children with autism to guide case conceptualization and treatment planning
B) a model used by counselors to guide case conceptualization and treatment planning
C) based on operant conditioning and used to motivate clients to meet treatment goals
D) based on operant conditioning and used mostly in children to encourage progress

Question 10

Treatment plans are developed

A) mostly by the client
B) mostly by the counselor
C) by third party payers
D) by the client, counselor, and treatment team (if applicable)

Question 11

According to the DSM-5, in developing a treatment plan, the counselor can assess the client's level of functioning through

A) GAF (Global Assessment of Functioning) scores
B) Solely counselor observations
C) WHODAS scores
D) GAF (Global Assessment of Functioning) and WHODAS scores

Question 12

Counselors should assess a client's level of functioning before creating a treatment plan in order to

A) set realistic goals for the client
B) determine if the client is suitable for psychosocial treatment
C) determine which type of treatment would best fit the client's needs
D) determine the number of sessions in which to carry out the treatment plan

Question 13

An appropriate treatment goal for a client with depression would be

A) "The client will decrease her depression."
B) "The client will occasionally exercise, get adequate rest, eat healthy foods, and will use positive self- talk 75% of the time."
C) "The client will use positive self-talk."
D) "The client will learn and use positive self-talk to engage with family members in the home 50% of the time."

Question 14

According to the SMART acronym, treatment goals should be

A) Specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, and timely
B) Specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and timely
C) Simple, measurable, attainable, reasonable, and timely
D) Simple, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and timely

Question 15

Although there is software available that outputs client treatment plans, it is important that counselors

A) Ensure the treatment plan is specific to client needs
B) Not deviate from the treatment plan outputted by the software
C) Ensure that the treatment plan is correct as the software is often inaccurate
D) Use the same treatment plan for each client with a given diagnosis

Question 16

Which of the following is a reason for using formal assessment in developing treatment plans:

A) It helps counselors to better understand the client
B) It allows clients to play an active role in treatment planning
C) It determines if the client is at risk of harming self or others
D) It provides statistical validity for the treatment plan

Question 17

Which of the following is true of treatment plans:

A) They are static documents that should not be changed
B) They are fluid documents that must continuously be adjusted
C) They are created mostly by the client
D) They are created mostly by the counselor

Question 18

Client progress is measured mostly through

A) Personality assessments
B) Client self-report
C) Interviewing
D) Counselor observations

Question 19

Using the I CAN START model, treatment planning is mostly focused on

A) Changing the client's automatic thoughts
B) Improving the client's weaknesses
C) Integrating the client's strengths
D) Understanding a client's context

Question 20

Therapeutic support services are used to

A) Assist counselors in treating clients with multiple diagnoses, especially severe disorders such as schizophrenia
B) Allow counselors to connect with other counselors in a group setting to promote self-care and prevent burn-out
C) Provide clients the opportunity to connect with others who are experiencing similar issues in an informal group setting
D) Provide clients with additional support beyond psychosocial therapy through education, training, socialization, and navigation of difficult processes

Question 21

It is important that clients choose their own treatment goals primarily so that they

A) will be motivated to change
B) do not feel dominated by the counselor
C) feel they have power in the relationship
D) can develop their own treatment plans

Question 22

Camille has been seeing you for one month now. At the beginning of treatment, she stated that she wanted to improve her self-esteem and learn how to make friends. Together, you developed a six-week treatment plan to work on these issues. However, today Camille reveals to you that her younger sister was raped and Camille is having trouble processing the event. You should:

A) Finish the two weeks of treatment and then develop a separate treatment plan to process her sister's rape
B) Use the first counseling session to process the traumatic event, then continue with the original treatment plan
C) Process the traumatic event for as long as Camille feels necessary, then continue with the original treatment plan
D) Contact Camille's mother and suggest that Camille's sister attend psychosocial therapy

Question 23

Two important variables counselors must balance in treatment planning include

A) client's commitment to treatment and client's situation/preferences
B) client's willingness to change and client's situation/preferences
C) client's willingness to change and evidence-based treatments
D) client's situation/preferences and evidence-based treatments

Question 24

A common mistake made by novice counselors in creating treatment goals is

A) Creating too many treatment goals or goals that are too complex
B) Creating too few treatment goals or goals that are too simple
C) Creating treatment goals themselves instead of allowing the client to create them
D) Creating goals that are too easy for the client to accomplish

Question 25

According to the I CAN START model, contextual assessment refers to

A) Observations the counselor makes in the context of treatment
B) Other issues the client is facing surrounding the primary diagnosis
C) Factors such as demographics, family dynamics/support, and current struggles
D) Using formal and informal assessment to aid in case conceptualization

Question 26

A good treatment plan should be

A) Collaborative, specific to client needs, and based on a timetable
B) Collaborative, general in nature, and based on a timetable
C) Based solely on counselor expertise, specific to client needs, and based on cognitive behavioral therapy
D) Created solely by the client, specific to client needs, and based on a timetable

Question 27

List out the components of the I CAN START conceptual framework and briefly describe the importance of each factor in treatment.