Question 1

Which of the following beliefs or practices are common to both cognitive therapy and psychoanalysis?

Accepted Answer

Both cognitive therapy and psychoanalysis assume that behavior is often influenced by beliefs that we may not be aware of. They differ greatly, however, in that cognitive therapy focuses mostly on changing current maladaptive thoughts and behaviors, while psychoanalysis focuses mostly on past life events and suppressed memories.

Question 2

Transactional analysis (TA) integrates theories of psychoanalysis, cognitive, and humanist approaches to therapy, and is meant to simplify a patient's understanding of maladaptive behavior. Which of the following is not a philosophy or specific concept of TA?

Accepted Answer

Transactions refer to the flow of communication, both verbal and nonverbal, between people. The importance of transactions in this theory is largely about their unspoken psychological content that requires interpretation.

Question 3

In the case of conducting evaluation in child custody disagreements, which of the following is the most desirable relationship between the psychologist who will conduct the evaluation and all others involved in the process (child and parents)?

Accepted Answer

In cases of custody evaluations, the most impartial and objective view is best; a psychologist's role is as an expert and that role is best fulfilled if the psychologist has no therapeutic relationship with any involved party.

Question 4

Community psychology was partially established by the 1963 Community Mental Health Centers Act, which established mental health centers to provide five services. Which of the following services is NOT included in that list?

Accepted Answer

Community mental health centers were set up to provide both in- and out-patient care, consultation, emergency treatment, research, and education. Such centers provide community education, but do not provide formal training or licensing of psychology professionals.

Question 5

Consultation, one facet of community psychology, was first established by Gerald Caplan. He outlined four categories of consultation. Which of the following is NOT one of those categories?

Accepted Answer

Client-centered case consultation is the only type of client-centered consultation; there is no client-centered administrative consultation. The other three are consultee-centered administrative consultation, consultee-centered case consultation, and program-centered administrative consultation.

Question 6

Consultation, one facet of community psychology, was first established by Gerald Caplan. He outlined four categories of consultation. What is the difference between client-centered and consultee-centered case consultation?

Accepted Answer

Client-centered consultation involves consultation on one client, while consultee-centered consultation focuses on helping the consultee with a group of clients, rather than a single client. The latter focuses more on how to handle certain behavioral or psychological patterns.

Question 7

You are a clinical psychologist in private practice and Mrs. Henderson has been bringing her 7-year-old son Mark to see you for weekly play therapy. Today she informs you that she is no longer able to afford your fee because her husband just got laid off from work. You do not accept sliding scale payments. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

You need to make it clear that as much as you would like to continue treating Mark, your practice is not set up to take any less than the designated fee. But reassure the client that there are other options. Recommending some specific alternatives, even if it is only group therapy at a clinic, is far superior to just turning a patient loose. Reducing the frequency of therapy, on the other hand, could compromise the effectiveness of the treatment and is not advisable.

Question 8

6-year-old Carlos Diaz is a first grader at an inner city public school. The psychologist at the school knows that the parents of these young children might need help in dealing with their children's sometimes less than exemplary behavior. So she has set up a monthly parents' group where, under her supervision, they can talk about those problems and receive advice. At one of those sessions Carlos' mother shares with the group that Carlos has been telling his dad repeatedly for weeks that he wants Santa Claus to give him an iPad for Christmas. However, an iPad is way beyond the parents' budget. If you were Mr. Diaz, what would be your response to Carlos the next time he asks for an iPad, since both parents are clueless?

Accepted Answer

Mr. Diaz should encourage Carlos to reconsider and ask for a less expensive Christmas present. Even very young children need to learn that they can't always get everything they want. Including the point that there are less fortunate children hoping to get Christmas gifts from Santa would also convey the lesson that we should sometimes think of other people and not just ourselves.

Question 9

When parents accompany a very young child for a psychological consultation to see if the child can benefit from therapy, it is not uncommon for the child to act out. But sometimes it is the parent whose behavior is more of a challenge for the therapist. Which of the following strategies should the therapist use to handle a parent who is not only overly talkative and long-winded, especially on matters irrelevant to the child's behavior, but seems deaf to the message "Our time is up"?

Accepted Answer

When the client starts getting longwinded about something unimportant, the therapist should suggest shifting gears. Also, if the client is clearly told that there are only five minutes remaining, there is less likelihood of wanting to waste those previous few minutes talking about something trivial. The client must be made to realize that she cannot manipulate the therapist into talking about whatever she wants for as long as she wants. But neither opening the session by specifically restricting the subject matter for discussion nor abruptly declaring the session over is being sensitive to the client's feelings.

Question 10

How would you handle a client who comes to your office for advice concerning her child's behavior but then refuses to take it?

Accepted Answer

The therapist should say, "The final decision is up to you. However, you came here for my professional opinion, and I am now offering it." This is the only one of the five alternatives that correctly states that the actual decision rests with the parent, not the therapist, but at the same time shows the therapist to be someone sufficiently confident of his or her own professional opinion to stand by it.

Question 11

8-year-old Lindsay receives weekly psychotherapy at the office of a private psychologist. She was referred by her school because she is very quiet in class and has difficulty making friends. Her mother wants to send her to summer camp, but Lindsay doesn't want to go. The subject comes up in her therapy session. What should be the psychologist's initial primary focus?

Accepted Answer

Rather than take sides on whether Lindsay should or should not go to camp, the psychologist should encourage Lindsay to explore the reasons why she feels as she does. The idea of Lindsay and her mother working out a compromise might not be a bad one later, but first the psychologist needs to address the underlying problem.

Question 12

If the psychologist has to cancel a consultation appointment with a newly-referred client and reschedule it for the following week, how should he or she start the session?

Accepted Answer

If the psychologist had to cancel and reschedule the appointment, he or she should start off the session by apologizing for the cancelled appointment and assuring the client it wasn't personal. Situations can arise when anybody, including a psychologist, has to change an appointment unexpectedly. While it is not to say it is the psychologist's fault, a short apology at the beginning of the session is the professional thing to do. There is no need to offer any concessions; address the matter quickly without making a big issue of it and move on to the reason for the consultation.

Question 13

A mother and daughter were referred to your clinic for a psychological consultation and this was to be your first meeting with the two of them. They show up for their 45-minute appointment 30 minutes late. What do you do about it?

Accepted Answer

The therapist should meet with the mother and daughter for 15 minutes since that is all that remains of their scheduled appointment. It is not fair to the next client to be kept waiting because of a previous client's tardiness. Also, therapists should not be changing their schedule around to accommodate clients who are late. But if the therapist makes them wait a whole hour to be seen, or refuses to see them at all, they may never come back.

Question 14

Regina Thomas is in the psychologist's office for a consultation with her 9-year-old daughter Keisha. During the session the mother and daughter argue and Mrs. Thomas resorts to foul language. What should the psychologist do?

Accepted Answer

The psychologist should pull Mrs. Thomas aside and tell her privately that she needs to refrain from cursing in front of her daughter. To continue the session without saying anything or ending it early, assuming the mother is just having a bad day and the problem will correct itself on its own, is avoiding the issue. Threatening to terminate the therapy completely is too harsh and unfair to the child.

Question 15

16-year-old Carmen, who is a high school junior, tells her mother she is two months pregnant. Since the father, a boy in her class, refuses to take responsibility, Carmen's mother wants her to have an abortion, remain in school, and graduate on schedule. However, Carmen wants to raise the baby on her own. The school psychologist has her first consultation with both of them. What kind of guidance should she be giving them?

Accepted Answer

The focus of the initial consultation should be to help Carmen and her mother better understand all of their options. With Carmen only two months pregnant, there is no need to make an immediate decision that same day either about school or the pregnancy that might not be the best decision for Carmen.

Question 16

DeCesare knew her 16-year-old daughter Angela was seeing a lot of a particular boy. But she had no idea that Angela was sexually active until she accidentally came across a pamphlet in Angela's room, "Safe Sex Practices for Teenagers." Now she has scheduled consultation appointments for her daughter with both a gynecologist and a psychologist. Which of the following would not be a valid reason for wanting Angela to start seeing a psychologist?

Accepted Answer

It is not the psychologist's job to cast judgment on someone's behavior and demand it be stopped because it is wrong. It is the role of the psychologist to help the client come to a better self-understanding of what motivated that behavior and how it is affecting the client's quality of life now.

Question 17

14-year-old Beth's mother failed to show up today for her appointment with the school psychologist to discuss her daughter's excessive absenteeism from school. How should the psychologist handle the situation?

Accepted Answer

The psychologist should call the mother to inquire what happened. Maybe she just forgot the appointment, but maybe something else is going on related to Beth's absenteeism. Option A is the only one of the four that addresses the issue.

Question 18

Mary's parents are giving her a party to celebrate her 5th birthday. Mary's brother Mike, who will be at the party along with Mary's friends, turned 3 two months ago. Aunt Marion, a therapy patient of yours, was invited to the party and is in a quandary about whether or not she should bring any gifts and, if so, just for Mary, or for Mike, too. With the party just a week away, she brings up the matter during her therapy session. What would you do if you were her and why?

Accepted Answer

Aunt Marion should bring a birthday gift for Mary and a small token gift for Mike. A 3-year-old is not yet developmentally mature enough to watch another child, even a sibling, get all the attention without getting a little resentful. There is no need to get anything expensive or elaborate; just a little something to reassure him that his aunt didn't forget about him.

Question 19

Harry is a high school senior with so-so grades and a strong interest in tinkering with electronic gadgets. Both of his parents are teachers and expect him to attend college, but Harry would rather go to a technical school. Based on a consultation with the school psychologist, Harry has been referred for a full psychological evaluation. During the consultation, the parents say what kinds of information they would they would like to find out from the evaluation. Which one of the following questions would the psychological evaluation probably not be much help in answering?

Accepted Answer

There are too many variables that can affect a person's income to make any useful predictions from a test. The testing, in Harry's case, is to help him make a more informed decision about both his educational plans and vocational aspirations. The tests are not a crystal ball into his future.

Question 20

How does a therapist respond to parents who refuse to entertain the possibility that their child has any sort of behavior problem?

Accepted Answer

The therapist should reassure the parents that their child is one of many, many children with a behavior problem who can be helped by therapy. Letting them go on denying the problem and letting them think they are to blame for the problem are not conducive to helping their child.

Quiz 2: Consultation