Question 1

The standard resource for clinical diagnosis is known as the _____ .

Accepted Answer

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5^th Edition, is the clinical standard for diagnosing mental health issues in clients. The coding it provides is also the standard used for billing insurances.

Question 2

Kenneth recently lost his only son in a horrific car accident. What behavioral goal would you want to work towards in your therapy with Kenneth?

Accepted Answer

When a person experiences loss, it is difficult for him or her to move forward without grieving the loss. Some would rather push feelings away than experience them. With loss, the best place to begin is helping the person to mourn and normalizing their feelings regarding their loss.

Question 3

Lisa tells a few of her close friends that her brother was recently diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. One of the friends tells a co-worker that Lisa's family must be "crazy." Soon the friends start distancing themselves from her and offer no support. Many times families will not mention mental illness due to what?

Accepted Answer

Many families dealing with a member's mental disability will not discuss the problem with others due to the stigma surrounding this medical condition. Misconceptions and myths abound without proper knowledge. Support from a friend or neighbor is harder to receive than if someone has a physical disability.

Question 4

Madeline is a single parent who works for a very controlling boss. He is demeaning and gives her jobs that others refuse. Madeline is afraid to speak up for herself due to needing the money to support her family. When she comes home in the evenings, immediately Madeline begins yelling at her children because the house is a mess. What behavior is the mother displaying?

Accepted Answer

Madeline is redirecting her thoughts and impulses onto the children. The mother knows she cannot honestly express her feelings to the boss without losing her employment. This defense mechanism is an ineffective way to transfer anger.

Question 5

The purpose of a family is to support each other mentally, physically and emotionally. When these tasks are unfulfilled or only performed with counter-productive methods, what happens to the family dynamics?

Accepted Answer

A dysfunctional family may see the basics of life becoming a reason for violence, addiction and lies. The head of household may turn to alcohol to cope with his hatred of a dull job. Harmful actions are repeated and soon become a regular routine for survival.

Question 6

Jenny is 13 years old and has started to pull away from her parents in search of her own identity. The adolescent has joined a peer group in an effort to find a safe haven for testing new ideas. Members of a peer group often demonstrate what behaviors?

Accepted Answer

Peer groups during early adolescence often consist of non-romantic friendships. When parents attempt to control the teen's behaviors, rebellion is often the outcome.

Question 7

Dysfunctional families do not talk about their feelings or activities. Non-communication and secrecy is seen as the solution to unsolvable problems. Members within the family feel that opening up to someone will make them vulnerable to judgment. Due to a lack of communication and the existence of secrets, dysfunctional families live with constant:

Accepted Answer

Dysfunctional families believe their patterns of communication are dependent upon their survival. It is an unwritten rule not to talk about actions or feelings thought to be shameful. Anger and fear become a way of life, rarely noticed by family members. In turn, this causes problems with health, relationships and self-esteem.

Question 8

A basic model of how people experience grief and loss comes from a well-known theory first posited by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. It involved five stages that people move through as they work through their loss. Which of the following is not one of those stages?

Accepted Answer

Resolution is not one of the stages. They are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Question 9

Karen has been caring for her elderly mother the last 3 years. During that time, Karen has watched as her parent slowly lost all recollection of her past life and surroundings due to Alzheimer's. A once close-knit relationship has now become a strained one, due to the elderly woman thinking of Karen as a stranger. The daughter is devastated and suffering from high levels of grief. Karen is at risk of developing:

Accepted Answer

Large amounts of emotional distress put a person at risk for developing pathological coping mechanisms across a variety of venues
physical and emotional. Researchers have long recognized the symptom links between the mind and the body, which is one of the reasons social workers assess a person not only by history and symptoms, but also by environment.

Question 10

When there is death of a loved one, basic assumptions about relationships and emotions begin to change. This is a disruption of what principle of organization?

Accepted Answer

Homeostasis is the principle where systems attempt to remain constant and consistent. A disruption to the system(s) requires adaption by reorganizing in new ways of thinking or behaving.

Question 11

Survivors of a traumatic experience will often revisit the experience mentally, emotionally, and physically. Some individuals turn to avoidance techniques. They may shut down emotionally or feel unconnected to the world. A social worker may work with such a client by using counter-intuitive methods. This means:

Accepted Answer

Counter-intuitive measures literally mean doing something that does not appear to be logical initially. In the case of trauma, one method of working with clients is to have them re-visit the trauma, but process it in ways that are different from the initial reactions, such as the client seeing him or herself as empowered, rather than helpless. Because clients are trying to "get away" from the trauma, this approach seems counter to what they are hoping to achieve.

Question 12

Parenting facilitates a child's development within a safe environment. Adaptability to circumstances and changing requirements are related to perceptiveness, flexibility and responsiveness. What type of parenting is being described?

Accepted Answer

Assessments in parenting rely on three determinants: clarity, understanding problems, and capacity. A competent parent needs to be aware of their child, connect with the child and have the ability to respond in numerous ways.

Question 13

Abusiveness in families tends to repeat itself in future generations. The cycle reoccurs when the abused individual leaves their family for another and becomes the abuser. There are many traits to an abusive personality. Which of the following would not be a characteristic?

Accepted Answer

Empowerment is achieved through assertiveness rather than aggression or manipulation. A person who is abusing someone seeks power through aggressive or manipulative means.

Question 14

Psychologically abusive individuals are more likely to also physically abuse by 95%. It frequently occurs concurrently with or prior to sexual or physical abuse. Psychological abuse is defined as explicit and malicious nonphysical acts against whom?

Accepted Answer

Psychological abuse has been proven to cause long-term mental health problems to its victims. Examples of this abuse include: damaging a victim's property, threatening harm or death, denying victim economic support, and preventing the victim from eating, sleeping or leaving.

Question 15

Bethany seeks the help of a clinical social worker and is soon diagnosed with schizophrenia. The client wants to know how she developed this psychiatric disorder and what she can do to alleviate the symptoms. The social worker brings in some of Bethany's family members to get background information. It is soon discovered that prior studies done on schizophrenia were correct in their findings. A high degree of influence relies on what?

Accepted Answer

Schizophrenia is one of the most highly studied psychiatric illnesses by scientists. The genetic influence or heredity, accounts for 80% of all diagnosed cases. Environmental influence has not been found relevant and there is no difference in gender.

Question 16

Sarah has been assessed as having a bond with her infant of 6 months old. The mother is eager to give her daughter care and a nurturing environment. However, it appears that Sarah does not hold an attachment to the child. What is missing from the relationship?

Accepted Answer

Attachment means that there is a bond or connection with the person. With the parent-child relationship, it involves a long-term tie to the individual that cannot be replaced by another. When attachment is not established, emotional distress and personality disturbance can occur.

Question 17

Erik Erikson's Eight Stages of Development demonstrate the emotional process an individual follows throughout life. In what stage does a person learn to cooperate with others, lead as well as follow, or to continue depending on adults?

Accepted Answer

During the Initiative vs. Guilt stage, children learn to use their imagination through active play. Guilt is obvious if the child is fearful, leading to restrictions in their play skills. This occurs during the early pre-school years.

Question 18

Personality theories offer many suggestions for individual behavior. Carl Rogers believed that an individual's nature is generally positive and everyone is born a good person. People have an underlying urge to move towards autonomy. What theory is being described?

Accepted Answer

The Person-centered theory incorporates the desire of a person to experience oneself in a consistent view. Self-actualization and self-concept are learned in childhood and noted as being secondary needs.

Question 19

Middle adulthood finds individuals faced with many challenges. This usually occurs between the ages of 40 and 50. One tends to make drastic changes when recognizing that life is half over. Often this occurs when the adult feels they have not achieved what?

Accepted Answer

Many adults in their mid-40s will suddenly feel the urge to achieve goals previously established in earlier years. Other people will focus on maintaining satisfaction with their lives. Major tasks during this time period may include adjusting to physiological changes, relating to a spouse, and developing leisure activities.

Question 20

The social learning theory as proposed by Albert Bandura, states that most human behavior is learned through observation and modeling. This type of learning is thought to reveal the ability of individuals to learn new information without necessarily demonstrating the behavior. Which of the following describes the four conditions for successful modeling?

Accepted Answer

Attention notes the factors involved that may increase or decrease an individual's perception. Retention explains the manner in which a person remembers what they observed. Reproduction is the method of duplicating the image. The last condition involves motivation or a good reason to imitate the behavior.

Quiz 5: Diversity