Deck 2: The Counselor As a Person and As a Professional

Question 1

An ethical issue arises when:

A) a new client temporarily experiences a period of dependence on the counselor.
B) counselors encourage clients to come up with solutions to problems with minimal help from the counselor.
C) a client develops an unhealthy dependence on their counselor and the counselor deals with it therapeutically, without blaming the client.
D) counselors encourage and promote dependence on the part of their clients.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Termination of the therapy process:

A) can be mandated by ethics codes alone.
B) is regulated by state law.
C) is decided jointly by both the client and the therapist.
D) must always be decided solely by the therapist.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Graduate programs provide insufficient training in:

A) transference.
B) self-care.
C) termination.
D) countertransference.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT a way you can involve yourself in therapeutic experiences that can increase your availability to clients?

A) Individual and/or group counseling
B) Continuing education
C) Keeping a personal journal and reading
D) Limiting travel and new experiences

Question 5

Empathy fatigue is common in professionals who:

A) practice self-care techniques.
B) work in administrative positions and do not treat individuals.
C) treat clients without empathy and rarely care about client outcomes.
D) treat survivors of stressful and traumatic events; treat people with mood, anxiety, and stress-related disorders; and work in vocational settings with people with mental and physical disabilities.

Question 6

Tanya seems to meet some of her personal needs through counseling her clients. This is

A) a win/win situation for Tanya and her clients since it is always a sign of being highly invested in the process when counselors meet their own personal needs through their work.
B) acceptable as long as these needs do not assume priority or get in the way of her clients' growth.
C) never acceptable under any circumstances.
D) illegal in 42 states.

Question 7

Ronald directs his clients toward solutions instead of encouraging them to seek alternatives for themselves. He is likely to have a strong need:

A) for approval and/or to feel a sense of achievement and accomplishment.
B) to allow the client to come up with solutions.
C) to empower his client.
D) to nurture his client.

Question 8

______________________is the process whereby clients place past feelings or attitudes they had toward significant people in their lives onto their therapist.

A) Transference
B) Countertransference
C) Projection
D) Mirroring

Question 9

As therapists, we are often in the role of giver; to preserve our vitality, we need to create spaces in which the "giver" can be supported. A necessary form of ongoing self-care to help in this support is:

A) personal therapy.
B) decreasing number of clients.
C) engaging in fieldwork and internship experiences.
D) to begin practicing psychotherapy.

Question 10

Sexual or romantic feelings toward a client:

A) are the result of seductive behavior on the part of the client and need to be ignored.
B) are an indicator that the client needs to be referred to another counselor.
C) are unethical, counter-therapeutic, and also illegal in many states.
D) do not necessarily mean that the counselor cannot effectively work with the client.

Question 11

Which of the following therapist behaviors might be indicative of a countertransference reaction?

A) Refraining from giving advice
B) Allowing the client the space to experience and release anger
C) Empowering a client to make decisions
D) Overprotecting or rejecting a client

Question 12

Rhonda is a counselor at a drug and alcohol treatment center. She grew up in an alcoholic home and is not fully aware of the "unfinished business" she has with her parents. She is still angry and resents her parents for having to grow up in an alcoholic family system. It is most likely that Rhonda will:

A) be able to understand her addicted clients through her own childhood experiences.
B) examine her unresolved conflicts as she continues to work in the treatment center.
C) obstruct the progress of her clients as they attempt to move towards recovery.
D) feel comfortable with her clients because she is familiar with their behavior.

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a sign of therapist decay?

A) An absence of boundaries with clients
B) Accepting clients within one's scope of competence
C) Living in isolated ways
D) Being unwilling to seek professional help when experiencing personal distress

Question 14

Joanne finds herself wanting to solve her client's problems, which are similar to the issues her daughter is going through. Joanne gives advice and feels frustrated when her client won't follow through on her suggestions. Her emotional reactions to her client, which involve her own projections, is based on:

A) transference.
B) nurturance.
C) countertransference.
D) caretaking.

Question 15

Counselors who have unresolved personal conflicts:

A) need to recognize that their problems may interfere with their effectiveness and refrain from activities that would harm a client.
B) must resolve all their difficulties before counseling others.
C) are quite effective because they know how difficult it is to resolve problems.
D) need to repress anxiety-provoking issues in their own lives before becoming effective counselors.

Question 16

Self-care involves:

A) compassion for and dedication to serving others.
B) searching for positive life experiences that lead to zest, peace, excitement, and happiness.
C) good public relations skills and an outgoing personality.
D) high verbal reasoning abilities and a high I.Q.

Question 17

It is believed that countertransference involves:

A) ongoing personal therapy.
B) the client's projection of their feelings or attitudes onto the therapist.
C) the therapist's total emotional responses to a client including feelings, associations, fantasies, and fleeting images.
D) a healthy relationship between client and therapist.

Question 18

The authors state that, in many ways, therapeutic encounters serve as mirrors in which therapists can see their own lives reflected. As a result:

A) therapy can become a catalyst for change in the therapist as well as in the client.
B) many therapists become narcissistic.
C) therapists tend to commit ethical violations stemming from blurred boundaries.
D) the therapist cannot experience change.

Question 19

When counselors become overly concerned with meeting their own needs or pushing their own personal agendas, their behavior becomes:

A) annoying to the client.
B) unethical.
C) illegal.
D) helpful to the client.

Question 20

Martina has been working at a crisis intervention center for three years and is starting to have nightmares about her work. Despite having a strong work ethic, she dreads her job because she feels burdened by the lack of power she has in making decisions pertaining to the treatment of her clients. Martina is experiencing:

A) burnout.
B) institutional countertransference.
C) institutional transference.
D) the precursor to mental illness.

Question 21

Some sources of counselor stress include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) a stressful work environment.
B) practicing mindfulness.
C) the stress that clients experience and talk about in therapy.
D) working in managed care and educational systems.

Question 22

Self-compassion involves:

A) searching for positive life experiences.
B) a basic component of many counseling programs, providing students with the opportunity to share their values.
C) developing attitudes of caring, being nonjudgmental, being accepting, and being kind to ourselves.
D) rejecting clients.

Question 23

Cathy is an eating disorders specialist who has a past history of bulimia. Given her personal experiences with dysfunctional eating patterns, Cathy:

A) can draw upon her life experiences in her work as a counselor.
B) should abandon her specialization and choose a new area to specialize in so as to practice ethically.
C) should assume that her clients developed their dysfunctional eating patterns for the same reasons that she developed bulimia.
D) should be very open with her clients about her struggles with bulimia and tell them her own stories to make them feel more comfortable.

Question 24

The presence of chronic illness or severe psychological depletion that is likely to prevent a professional from being______________________able to deliver effective services and results in consistently functioning below acceptable practice standards is called:

A) empathy fatigue.
B) burnout.
C) impairment.
D) client dependence.

Question 25

Informing students prior to entering a training program that self-exploration will be part of their training:

A) more than satisfies the requirement for informed consent.
B) only minimally satisfies the requirement for informed consent.
C) has little to do with informed consent.
D) is a scare tactic that many programs use to screen out prospective students who are not serious candidates.

Question 26

An ethical obligation that provides a major link between ethics and self-care is:

A) competence.
B) countertransference.
C) the therapeutic relationship.
D) personal therapy.

Question 27

Therapists who work with violent and suicidal clients:

A) are less likely to experience burnout or impairments.
B) will not feel the effects of stress if they do not experience countertransference.
C) are particularly vulnerable to stress.
D) are more likely to see a positive outcome in therapy.

Question 28

Ongoing problems associated with the work of helping professionals include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) stress.
B) burnout.
C) vicarious traumatization.
D) self-care.

Question 29

Client dependence is less of an issue:

A) with the growth of managed care brief treatment and restricted number of sessions.
B) if the therapist is experiencing problems and is unaware of these problems.
C) when the therapist is in control of the session.
D) when the therapist is not practicing self-care.

Question 30

Ongoing self-care is an essential part of a therapist's professional competence and:

A) legal requirements.
B) personal wellness program.
C) social justice.
D) client autonomy.