AMFTRB Practice Questions Pt 3

Question 1

Which of the following are similarities between strategic and structural models?

a. They use in-session interactions to assess the family and emphasize process over content.
b. They both consider the impact of the life-cycle stage.
c. The treatment is symptom oriented.
d. All of the above.

Answer 1

d. All of the above.

Question 2

A couple comes in for therapy. The husband complains his wife is too close to her family and she has trouble separating from them. In fact, he states that his wife is in constant contact with her mother and looks to her mother constantly to help her make decisions. Often these decisions are in opposition to decisions made previously by he and his wife.

After hearing the husband’s statement, the therapist says, “You really care about your wife and don’t want to lose the relationship you have.” Which model is this therapist most likely following?

A. Behavioral
B. Collaborative
C. Strategic
D. Solution-Focused

Answer 2

C. Strategic

Question 3

According to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, when treating families, it is important to keep in mind:

a. Every individual in therapy must be given full disclosure of how you handle PHI and must sign a notice stating they received this information.
b. It is the therapist’s responsibility to explain her/his PHI policies and ensure they are understood by all family members.
c. The therapist must allow all family members access to their medical records.
d. None of the above.

Answer 3

d. None of the above.

Question 4

When a Solution-Focused therapist working with a client presenting with issues around alcohol abuse asks “What needs to be different with your drinking?”, they are beginning to negotiate the:

a. first-formula session task.
b. miracle question.
c. solution talk of the therapy.
d. exceptions to the problem.

Answer 4

d. exceptions to the problem.

Question 5

Couple therapy has been shown to be effective when:

a. There is minimal depression or anxiety, but when conflict is high.
b. One member of the couple is depressed and conflict is high.
c. One member of the couple is depressed and conflict is low.
d. One member of the couple is anxious and conflict is high.

Answer 5

b. One member of the couple is depressed and conflict is high.

Question 6

Which of the following terms are associated with General Systems Theory?

A. typology, regine and centripital
B. feedback loops, subsystem and propinquity
C. process, structure and isomorphism
D. cybernetics, double bind and paradox

Answer 6

C. process, structure and isomorphism

Question 7

When having discovered that a client is HIV positive and has withheld this information from his spouse, the therapist’s ethical responsibility is:

A. to decide if by withholding this information the therapist is putting the wife at risk.
B. to inform the spouse.
C. to protect client confidentiality.
D. to protect client confidentiality unless mandated by state law to do otherwise.

Answer 7

D. to protect client confidentiality unless mandated by state law to do otherwise.

Question 8

Pick the answer that describes the relationship that the following symbol would denote:

a. Conflictual triangle.
b. Diffused Dyad.
c. Rigidly bound triangle.
d. None of the above.

Answer 8

c. Rigidly bound triangle.

Question 9

The 12-year-old brother of an 8-year-old acting-out girl was described by the parents as a symbol of family loyalty and proper behavior. He was a good student and an excellent athlete. The brother’s role would be labeled the ‘well sibling’ by which of the following therapists?

A. Structural
B. Contextual
C. Experiential
D. Solution-focused

Answer 9

B. Contextual

Question 10

“The goals of family therapy are to establish the members’ sense of belongingness and simultaneously to provide the freedom to individuate. In our system of therapy, social adaptation is not a goal: we seek to increase the creativity (what we call craziness) of the family and of the individual members.” This statement was made by:

A. deShazer.
B. Nagy.
C. Bowen.
D. Whitaker.

Answer 10

D. Whitaker.

Question 11

A similarity between Structural and Haley Strategic therapies is:

A. emphasis on negative-feedback cycles.
B. straightforward and confrontive.
C. emphasis on importance of maladaptive behavioral sequences in dysfunction.
D. therapeutic paradox is employed.

Answer 11

D. therapeutic paradox is employed.

Question 12

A Feminist approach to family therapy includes all except:

A. an awareness of attempts to counteract the ways in which family therapy may reinforce women’s subordinate position.
B. the idea that family therapy attempts to empower and strengthen all family members.
C. a recognition of women’s subordination and inferior social position.
D. the idea that family therapists often have stereotypical expectations of men and women.

Answer 12

B. the idea that family therapy attempts to empower and strengthen all family members.

Question 13

Internal Family Systems believes all of the following EXCEPT:

A. Changes in the internal system will affect changes in the external system and vice versa.
B. Systems theory can be applied to the internal system.
C. There are no “bad” parts and the goal of therapy is not to eliminate parts but instead to help them find their non-extreme role.
D. Communication theory can be applied to the internal system and with the ultimate goal of a “parts party” as a means of integrating the four parts.

Answer 13

D. Communication theory can be applied to the internal system and with the ultimate goal of a “parts party” as a means of integrating the four parts.

Question 14

According to a Behavioral therapist, a therapeutic intervention might be designed to do all of the following EXCEPT:

A. have each member write self-report logs listing complete records of daily dysfunction thoughts, upsetting marital/family interaction, etc.
B. probe for stream-of-consciousness thoughts and visual images held by each member of the couple or family system when describing past events that elicit negative affect.
C. encourage the spouses to interact during the session.
D. looking at the ways the family will resist change and the ways the family will take charge of their own growth.

Answer 14

D. looking at the ways the family will resist change and the ways the family will take charge of their own growth.

Question 15

During the process of treatment, Mr. Medieros recognized how he was victimized by his parents, and that past generations were also victimized by their parents. In recognizing this, he began to see his parents less as monsters and more as struggling human beings, themselves acting out invisible loyalties. Therefore, he was able to block the transgenerational pattern of destructive entitlement and allowed the positive transmission of relational resources. The process by which he earned entitlement by dealing with issues with his own parents is called:

A. exoneration.
B. societal regression.
C. relational ethics.
D. family projection process.

Answer 15

A. exoneration.

Question 16

Process research has shown that Emotionally Focused Therapy correlates strongly with lasting therapeutic outcome when there is:

a. complementarily primary and secondary emotions.
b. effective modeling of unconditional and multidirectional positive regard by the therapist.
c. a deep level of emotional processing.
d. symmetry between primary emotional states.

Answer 16

c. a deep level of emotional processing.

Question 17

An MFT retired to a rural area. She decided to volunteer for the local community mental health agency to do some home-based family therapy. Her work was entirely free, not receiving any compensation from the agency or from the clients. After a few months working with one particular family, the father mentioned that he often drove past her farm and noticed her barn door didn’t close and was off its hinges. He stated that he would be happy to fix it for her, since she had done so much for his family. The volunteer clinician accepted the father’s offer to fix her barn door. After he was finished, she thanked him and confirmed their next appointment. The client asked if she could just send him an email confirming the date and time. She felt obligated to do him this small favor, and did send the email. The following statement is a correct understanding of the HIPAA requirements that now apply:

a. There is no in change in HIPAA requirements from the original scenario.
b. The email to the client would make her a “covered entity” if she had be remunerated for her services. Since she did not receive any compensation, the HIPAA rules do not apply.
c. HIPAA rules now apply because the barn door repair was stated as done in exchange for the therapy the clinician provided. This is considered “barter” which is a form of remuneration according to the HIPAA rules.
d. The barn door repair and email exchange were each a one-time event, which is excluded from consideration of HIPAA “covered entity” status by the “Barter-Remuneration” clause of the Privacy Rules.

Answer 17

a. There is no in change in HIPAA requirements from the original scenario.

Question 18

All of the following are considered communication theorists EXCEPT:

A. Satir.
B. Haley.
C. White.
D. Watzlawick.

Answer 18

C. White.

Question 19

One of the defining characteristics of the therapist’s techniques in Narrative Therapy is its emphasis on:

a. creating social justice and a voice for all.
b. circular questioning.
c. Neutrality.
d. mapping the relative influence of the problem.

Answer 19

d. mapping the relative influence of the problem.

Question 20

A family consisting of a mother, father, two daughters age 13 and age 15, and a son age 17 enter therapy. The parents are complaining that their 15-year old daughter is coming in drunk every night and is very abusive to the family.

The primary treatment goal of a structural therapist in treating this family is:

a. highlighting emotional experiences.
b. teaching the family problem-solving.
c. strengthening boundaries between subsystems.
d. altering the family structure.

Answer 20

d. altering the family structure.

Question 21

A family consisting of a lesbian couple and a 9 yr. old son who has been school refusing for the past year has asked for family therapy. In the first session, you notice that whenever the son speaks, one of his mothers is quick to finish his sentence. You adjust your chair as therapist to block the mother and her attempt to speak for her son. You do this in order to address which of the following Bowenian concepts:

a. undifferentiated ego mass.
b. enmeshment.
c. fusion.
d. triangle.

Answer 21

c. fusion.

Question 22

Clinicians looking for guidance from outcome research want to know if the model being tested works in real-world clinical settings. To respond better to this concern, the most important next step researchers should take is:

a. Hire real-world clinicians to perform the research.
b. Include real-world clinicians in the design of the research.
c. Include clients with dual morbidity in their studies.
d. Ask clinicians to review the research and include their comments in the conclusion section of the report.

Answer 22

c. Include clients with dual morbidity in their studies.

Question 23

Which one of the following therapists would emphasize that difficulties are turned into chronic problems by the persistence of misguided attempted solutions, forming positive feedback escalation?

a. Cecchin
b. Haley
c. Watzlawick
d. Bateson

Answer 23

c. Watzlawick

Question 24

All of the following are similarities between Structural and Strategic except:

a. view of families as rule-governing systems.
b. concern with the subsequent organizational structure of the family system.
c. consideration of the family life cycle.
d. utilization of therapeutic contracts and behavioral tasks.

Answer 24

b. concern with the subsequent organizational structure of the family system.

Question 25

All of the following are most likely structural phases of therapy EXCEPT: a. joining phase. b. transformation of structure phase. c. mapping the underlining structure. d. inquiry and definition of the problem.

Answer 25

d. inquiry and definition of the problem.

Question 26

Questions that provide information about how a problem has managed to disrupt a family versus how much they have been able to control it are referred to as: a. Mapping the System questions. b. the First Formular Task questions. c. Relative Influence questions. d. Scaling Questions.

Answer 26

c. Relative Influence questions.

Question 27

Clinicians looking for guidance from outcome research want to know if the model being tested works in real-world clinical settings. To respond better to this concern, the most important next step researchers should take is: a. Hire real-world clinicians to perform the research. b. Include real-world clinicians in the design of the research. c. Include clients with dual morbidity in their studies. d. Ask clinicians to review the research and include their comments in the conclusion section of the report.

Answer 27

c. Include clients with dual morbidity in their studies.

Question 28

All of the following emphasize the triadic process EXCEPT: a. Haley. b. Nagy. c. Minuchin. d. Bowen.

Answer 28

b. Nagy.

Question 29

A twelve-year-old boy was brought to therapy because he wet the bed almost every night. The mother had been hospitalized at one time for depression. The father worked long hours, and the mother complained about his lack of interest in her and his attraction to other women. The therapist hypothesized that the bed-wetting was both a metaphorical expression of the father's improper behavior and an attempt to help the parents by eliciting their concern and distracting them from their other problems. This assessment of the problem is associated with: A. Object-relations. B. Solution-focused. C. Strategic. D. Structural.

Answer 29

C. Strategic.

Question 30

Couple therapy has been shown to be effective when: a. There is minimal depression or anxiety, but when conflict is high. b. One member of the couple is depressed and conflict is high. c. One member of the couple is depressed and conflict is low. d. One member of the couple is anxious and conflict is high.

Answer 30

b. One member of the couple is depressed and conflict is high.

Question 31

When assessing refugee families, all of the following are essential elements a family therapist should pay attention to with the exception of: a. disparity in sex role expectations. b. migration stress. c. family strengths and support system. d. acculturation stress.

Answer 31

a. disparity in sex role expectations.

Question 32

The AAMFT Code of Ethics sets the ethical standards for: a. all psychotherapists who practice marriage and family therapy. b. all members of AAMFT. c. clinical members of AAMFT. d. all marriage and family therapists.

Answer 32

b. all members of AAMFT.

Question 33

hich school of thought has recently emerged placing a renewed emphasis on language and meaning, rather than a strict adherence to the more common theories of family therapy? This school of thought is more pluralistic, crossing disciplinary boundaries while breaking free of old paradigms. It views the therapist as part of the therapy process, rather than as an expert. A. Postmodernism B. Feminist C. Constructivism D. NLP

Answer 33

A. Postmodernism

Question 34

Prescribing the symptom refers to: A. Changing the meaning of a symptom. B. Refers to medication. C. Changing the meaning of a symptom by re-labeling it. D. Changing the meaning of a situation by the way it is perceived.

Answer 34

D. Changing the meaning of a situation by the way it is perceived.

Question 35

In working with a divorced couple, the focus of attention should be: A. the couple. B. the mother and oldest child. C. children. D. a residential parent.

Answer 35

A. the couple.

Question 36

An MFT in a 3-person group practice keeps her client PHI on her office computer. She uses clinical practice management software that keeps most information she needs conveniently organized. In addition to all insurance information, the software does her billing via direct internet connection to a payer clearinghouse, resulting in quick turn-around of payments, and also allows for email communications with the client, keeping the emails organized and associated with the client record. The software also provides a text entry area to record the session information. However, during her original clinical training, she developed the habit of scribbling a few notes on a pad next to her as she conducted her therapy sessions, which she still does. Her computer is password protected, she uses an encryption technology for all client and insurance company electronic/email transactions and her handwritten session notes are kept on paper and filed in a locked cabinet in her office. As stated, the clinician in this vignette is part of a 3-person group practice. The practice is organized as a Professional Corporation. Two of the 3 clinicians use the same practice software to bill insurance companies. The third clinician does no insurance billing and does not transfer any PHI through electronic means. All of her billing is done in person with each client or on paper bills mailed out or handed to the client. However, payments are deposited into the corporate bank account, just as the other clinicians. According to the HIPAA Security Rule, the following statement is true of the clinician who does no electronic transactions: a. If this clinician does no electronic transactions covered by the Privacy Rule, then the security rule does not apply. b. If this clinician has access to the others' computers and knows the passwords, and therefore can access their client's PHI, he is automatically a 'covered entity'. c. The 'covered entity' is actually the Professional Corporation, since clinical work is performed by and paid for by the corporation. All "workforce" workers must abide by the HIPAA Security Rule. d. In this case with mixed covered and uncovered entities, it is the client's option to request coverage under HIPAA.

Answer 36

c. The 'covered entity' is actually the Professional Corporation, since clinical work is performed by and paid for by the corporation. All "workforce" workers must abide by the HIPAA Security Rule.

Question 37

Blended families present unique circumstances for a therapist. Which of the following would be helpful to a family therapist in facilitating discussion: a. all of the above. b. addressing the boundary ambiguity often found when merging families. c. a reflecting team utilizing each family as a team in a fishbowl diaglogue. d. offering clear rules around how each parent should parent their non-biological children.

Answer 37

b. addressing the boundary ambiguity often found when merging families.

Question 38

Which of the following therapists believe that when treating alcoholics, the goal of reduced drinking is only an appropriate goal, if it is also a goal of the clients? This therapist may also state that the more traditional concepts of the disease model may, in fact, be counterproductive for many alcoholic clients. A. David Treadway B. Insoo Berg C. T. J. O'Farrell D. Michael Elkin

Answer 38

B. Insoo Berg

Question 39

Questions that provide information about how a problem has managed to disrupt a family versus how much they have been able to control it are referred to as: a. Mapping the System questions. b. the First Formula Task questions. c. Relative Influence questions. d. Scaling Questions.

Answer 39

c. Relative Influence questions.

Question 40

A couple comes in for therapy. The husband complains his wife is too close to her family and she has trouble separating from them. In fact, he states that his wife is in constant contact with her mother and looks to her mother constantly to help her make decisions. Often these decisions are in opposition to decisions made previously by he and his wife. In the first session Haley would: A. track a disabling pattern. B. establish a hierarchy. C. help the couple understand each other's perception of the problem. D. help the couple to define the problem to be resolved.

Answer 40

D. help the couple to define the problem to be resolved.

Question 41

What statement is most likely to be said by Palazzoli? A. The data gathering and neutral stance of the therapist permits useful interactional data (feedback) and self-report information to emerge. B. Interventions are designed to interrupt the patterned sequences and realign the hierarchic incongruities of the malfunctioning system. C. The therapist accesses aspects of family members that are available but unused. D. A unit of therapy can be one person.

Answer 41

A. The data gathering and neutral stance of the therapist permits useful interactional data (feedback) and self-report information to emerge.

Question 42

In Contextual therapy the intent of multidirectional partiality is to: A. join with the family. B. establish a hierarchy. C. establish circularity and neutrality. D. give due consideration to each individual's interests in the various relational dimensions.

Answer 42

D. give due consideration to each individual's interests in the various relational dimensions.

Question 43

In using Adlerian early recollections, a therapist might: a. Assess the parenting style in the client's family of origin. b. Expand a client's perspective by gathering the perspectives of other family members. c. Use information to understand their client's lifestyle. d. Work to process preverbal traumatic events.

Answer 43

c. Use information to understand their client's lifestyle.

Question 44

An MFT performs an evaluation at the request of a judge in a divorce case. In response to the court clerk's request for expediting the report, the clinician faxes the report to the court. The clerk calls back and states that the fax was not received, and they determine that it was sent to the wrong fax number. The MFT's fax machine report states that the fax was sent normally, meaning it was received by someone else's fax machine. The MFT cannot: a. be held liable for a HIPAA violation because he made a reasonable effort to handle the PHI correctly. b. be held liable for a HIPAA violation because the court requested the fax be sent, and it was therefore the judge's and the clerk's liability. c. be held liable for a HIPAA violation because no PHI was sent. d. be held liable for a HIPAA violation if he can demonstrate that the fax number he sent to was the exact number given to him by the judge's clerk.

Answer 44

c. be held liable for a HIPAA violation because no PHI was sent.

Question 45

Which of the following questions is intended to gather information assessing the Adlerian concept of family atmosphere: a. What is your earliest memory of your mother? b. What is your sibling position? c. Can you tell me a little about your parents parenting style? d. Who in your family was in the role of peace maker?

Answer 45

c. Can you tell me a little about your parents parenting style?

Question 46

A client was unhappy when he discovered that his therapist had disclosed his town of residence to a colleague during a peer supervision meeting. The meeting included an administrative assistant who was not a licensed mental health professional and lived in the same town as the client. The therapist's response to the client was to engage him in a conversation about his concerns and then proposed a clinical hypothesis suggesting the client was excessively fearful. The client did not accept this, and instead insisted that he did not want this kind of information disclosed to anybody without his written authorization. He claimed the therapist had violated his confidentiality under the HIPAA policies given to him at the beginning of his treatment.Referring to the above vignette, in this situation: a. The client is correct because the Privacy Rule protects all information that can identify a specific client without regard to the client's clinical issues. b. The client is correct, but only if the therapist is a 'covered entity' of the Privacy Rule. c. The client is correct because whether the therapist is a 'covered entity' for HIPAA or not, the therapist is nevertheless obligated to abide by his state's confidentiality statutes which also protects identifying information. d. The therapist's disclosure is allowed if he can demonstrate that it falls under the guidelines of 'Permitted Disclosures' clause of the Privacy Rule.

Answer 46

d. The therapist's disclosure is allowed if he can demonstrate that it falls under the guidelines of 'Permitted Disclosures' clause of the Privacy Rule.

Question 47

A couple comes to therapy because their three-year-old daughter is “out of control”. During the session the wife begins complaining that her husband is never home and she is left to deal with her daughter's behavior. During the first interview with this family, the first priority of a Strategic Family therapist would be to: a. focus on the couple interaction. b. focus on the child. c. improve communication. d. set goals.

Answer 47

d. set goals.

Question 48

The therapist least likely to rely on self-report data is: a. Jacobson. b. Bowen. c. Haley. d. Scharf.

Answer 48

c. Haley.

Question 49

A strategic therapist response to a woman whose spouse has had multiple affairs but wants to stay married would be: a. How many affairs will you tolerate before leaving him? b. How can you ever trust him? c. What is your role in the marital dissatisfaction? d. I understand why you want to stay with him.

Answer 49

d. I understand why you want to stay with him.

Question 50

According to a behavioral therapist, a therapeutic intervention might be designed to do all of the following EXCEPT: A. Looking at the ways the family will resist change and the ways the family will take charge of their own growth. B. Probe for stream-of-consciousness thoughts and visual images held by each member of the couple or family system when describing past events that elicit negative affect. C. Have each member write self-report logs listing complete records of daily dysfunction: thoughts, upsetting marital/family interaction, etc. D. Encourage the spouses to interact during the session.

Answer 50

A. Looking at the ways the family will resist change and the ways the family will take charge of their own growth.