LMSW Exam Q's/info

LMSW study

This type of group aims to provide information and teach coping skills to participants who share a common issue or concern.

These groups often focus on specific topics, such as mental health conditions, substance abuse, or stress management.

They combine education with skill-building exercises and group discussions to foster understanding, personal growth, and self-help strategies.

Psychoeducational Groups

These types of groups offer a safe space for individuals facing similar challenges to share their experiences, feelings, and insights.

These groups typically focus on mutual support, understanding, and empathy, providing participants with a sense of belonging and validation.

These groups can address various concerns, such as grief and loss, chronic illness, or parenting issues.

Support Groups

These types of groups focus on teaching practical skills and strategies that can enhance the participants' well-being and functioning in their daily lives.

These groups may address topics such as anger management, communication skills, or job-seeking strategies.

Participants learn and practice new skills in a supportive group environment, which can lead to increased confidence and competence.

Skills Development Groups

These types of groups are formed to accomplish specific tasks or projects within a defined timeframe.

These groups often bring together professionals or community members who share a common goal, such as developing a new program, organizing a community event, or advocating for policy changes.

These groups focus on problem-solving, decision-making, and collaboration to achieve their objectives.

Task Groups

A Social Worker is facilitating a group where participants share their experiences and feelings regarding the loss of a loved one. The main goal of this group is to provide emotional support and a sense of belonging to the participants. What type of group intervention is the Social Worker conducting?

A) Psychoeducational Group

B) Support Group

C) Skills Development Group

D) Process Group

B) Support Group

In an initial session with a social worker, a client mentions having been hospitalized several times for depression. When the social worker attempts to explore the hospitalizations, the client becomes tense and guarded, saying “it’s old history.” The client refuses to give permission for the records to be released. The social worker should FIRST:

a. explore why this topic appears to be upsetting the client.

b. acknowledge the client’s right to decide about release of records

c. reassure the client that the focus will be on present issues.

d. assess the client’s current level of depression

b. acknowledge the client’s right to decide about release of records

When faced by a hostile client in an agency setting, it is BEST for the social worker to:

a. suggest that the client’s attitude is making the situation worse.

b. accept the client’s hostility and talk about nonthreatening topics.

c. set limits and structure on the interview session.

d. acknowledge the client’s feelings and encourage discussion of them.

d. acknowledge the client’s feelings and encourage discussion of them.

A client who has received services for several years in a dialysis unit appears for a routine visit. The nurse notices a markedly changed affect and refers the client to a social worker. When seeing the social worker, the client seems detached, self-absorbed, and tearful. The social worker should FIRST assess the client’s:

a. life situation and recent changes

b. compliance with medical care

c. concerns about dying

d. feelings about dialysis

a. life situation and recent changes

During a client’s first appointment in a family agency, the social worker encourages her to express her feelings about the recent placement of her child in a residential facility for the developmentally disabled. The client talks at length instead about her physical health problems. The social worker should:

a. use the client’s remarks about her health to identify unresolved parenting issues.

b. refocus the interview on the child’s behavior and the reason for the residential placement.

c. explore with the client how her health problems are related to the recent placement with her child.

d. listen to the client’s description of her health as a beginning of a relationship and means of assessing her self-perception.

d. listen to the client’s description of her health as a beginning of a relationship and means of assessing her self-perception.

A couple expressing extreme anger at each other come to a social worker for marital counseling. The social worker should FIRST:

a. explore the goals the anger is masking

b. clarify whether each partner is willing to hear the other

c. acknowledge the anger each partner has toward the other.

d. use the interview to probe for positive feelings each has for the other.

c. acknowledge the anger each partner has toward the other.

A social worker has been asked to assist an elderly client in making alternative living arrangements. In the initial interview, the client repeatedly attempts to discuss past experiences. What is the social worker’s MOST appropriate response to the client?
a. ignore the references to the past

b. facilitate discussion of the recollections

c. refer the client for psychiatric evaluation

d. administer a geriatric evaluation scale

b. facilitate discussion of the recollections

A hospital social worker interviews a couple whose six-month-old infant has recently been hospitalized for cystic fibrosis. The social worker notices that the parents are reluctant to touch the child. Based on this information, the social worker’s FIRST intervention should be to:

a. explore the parent’s reaction to the child’s illness

b. refer the couple to a support group

c. evaluate the situation for out-of-home placement

d. provide the couple with information

a. explore the parent’s reaction to the child’s illness

In the first session with a school social worker, a high school student reveals he has been cutting school and forging his mother’s name on absence excuses. The social worker should:
a. inform the student that the social worker has a responsibility to inform his mother.

b. avoid negatively reinforcing the attention-seeking behavior

c. suggest that it would be best for him to inform school authorities and accept responsibility for his behavior.

d. explore the reasons for the absences and factors contributing to the behavior

d. explore the reasons for the absences and factors contributing to the behavior

A family comes to an agency complaining of their child behavior problems. As a result of the assessment phase, the social worker believes that the marital relationship is the primary problem. The social worker should focus on:

a. the parents, confronting them with their relationship issues.

b. the child and the ways the parents should react to the behavior

c. a discussion of the social worker’s perception of the marital relationship

d. developing the child’s insight into behavior as a reaction to marital stress

c. a discussion of the social worker’s perception of the marital relationship

A 28-year-old client with a long-standing history of drug use is referred to a social worker by a concerned relative. In the assessment interview, the client tells the social worker about frequent cocaine use. The social worker should FIRST:

a. conduct a family interview to evaluate the family’s concern

b. begin treatment, focusing on the reason for drug abuse

c. refer the client to a substance abuse program

d. evaluate the client’s motivation for change

c. refer the client to a substance abuse program

The developmental tasks of self-evaluation and skill learning are associated with what life stage?

a. toddlerhood 2-4 years

b. early childhood 4-6 years

c. middle school 6-12 years

d. early adolescence 12-18

c. middle school 6-12 years

Parents of a 4-year-old are referred to a social worker after a physical exam reveals no physical problem preventing the child from being toilet trained. The parents reveal that the child has not been able to separate from them to attend nursery school, and he sleeps with them most nights. The most important area to focus on in the assessment phase is the:

a. parents use of rewards and punishments with the child.

b. early developmental and family history of each parent

c. parents understanding of the child’s developmental processes

d. ways in which the child interferes with the parents’ own relationship

c. parents understanding of the child’s developmental processes

The two most common defenses used by couples with marital problems are:

a. repression and denial

b. repression and suppression

c. projection and displacement

d. projection and splitting

c. projection and displacement

A client who expresses no overt anger accuses her social worker of being angry, hostile, suspicious, and cold. The process being used is most likey:

a. projective identification

b. paranoia

c. reaction formation

d. isolation of affect

a. projective identification

Which of the following characteristics is usually not found in families in which incestuous relationships have occurred?

a. enmeshment of family members

b. distorted patterns of communication

c. symbiotic mother-child relationships

d. moralistic attitudes of extramarital affairs

c. symbiotic mother-child relationships

Which of the following assumptions is not accepted by a social worker engaged in family treatment?
a. each person strives for a sense of relatedness and closeness with others

b. treating the scapegoated family member will help the rest of the family

c. family members explain their own sense of worth on the basis of the behavior of others

d. family boundaries are the means for individuals protect differences and maintain identity.

b. treating the scapegoated family member will help the rest of the family

After six weeks of martial therapy, a couple continues their destructive pattern of fighting. In the next session when the couple begins yelling at each other, the social worker stops them and states “your situation is hopeless, fight as often as you wish.” She is using the technique of?

a. encouragement

b. reframing

c. prescribing a ritual

d. paradoxical directive

d. paradoxical directive

The major goal of behavioral treatment for depression reflects the view that depression is the result of:

a. role confusion

b. a negative cognition

c. poor interpersonal skills

d. absence of positive reinforcement

d. absence of positive reinforcement

The view that learning takes place through observation and that new responses are acquired through the process of imitating models is associated with:

a. cognitive behaviorism

b. operant conditioning

c. social learning

d. classic conditioning

c. social learning

A client asks for help with her 6-year-old daughter’s frequent temper tantrums. The tantrums often occur when shopping. When the child sees something she wants, she screams and kicks until her mother gives her the item. When asked how she responds, the client says she usually gives her the item to avoid being embarrassed. Which behavior principle is demonstrated?

a. the child is negatively reinforcing mother’s compliance with the child’s demands.

b. the child is acting positively reinforcing mother’s giving in

c. mother is negatively reinforcing the child’s behavior.

d. mother is positively reinforcing the child’s behavior.

d. mother is positively reinforcing the child’s behavior.

Which of the following medications is primarily used in the treatment of psychosis?

a. Haldol

b. Xanax

c. Wellbutrin

d. Prozac

a. Haldol

A client whose mother dies following a long-term illness states to the social worker that he believes that his angry thoughts about his mother caused her death. This is an example of:

a. delusions

b. grandiosity

c. ideas of reference

d. magical thinking

d. magical thinking

A 24-year-old woman complains of her depressed mood. She tells the social worker that she has felt this way for the past 2 to 3 years. She has little energy for social or work activities, has difficulty making decisions and concentrating, and has poor appetite. There are no delusions or hallucinations. Her most likely DSM-V-TR diagnosis is?

a. dysthymic disorder

b. bipolar disorder, depressed

c. cyclothymic disorder

d. major depression, recurrent

a. dysthymic disorder

A man is seen in the ER with complaints of visual hallucinations, confusion, and restlessness. He also has chills, dilated pupils, and nausea. He says “nothing is wrong, I just need sleep”. Which of the following substances is most likely the cause of the condition?

a. alcohol

b. marijuana

c. cocaine

d. barbituates

c. cocaine

Borderline personality disorder is characterized by all of the following characteristics except:

a. intense long-term relationships

b. primitive delusional fantasies

c. lack of control of aggressive drives

d. self-destructive behavior

a. intense long-term relationships

A patient complains of sleeplessness, loss of appetite, feeling hopeless, and general apathy. To help diagnose, a social worker would most need to know:

a. medications the client is taking

b. family history of depression

c. how long the symptoms have persisted

d. if the patient lives alone

c. how long the symptoms have persisted

A 45-year-old recently divorced mail carrier complains his memory and logic skills have diminished. He is on a new delivery route and is embarrassed that he can’t visualize the exact boundaries of the route or calculate his workload and schedules. These are important factors in his job, and he is worried. He has developed a slight limp and tires easily. What would the social worker first consider?

a. a referral for a medical and neurological evaluation

b. a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s

c. the possibility of a substance abuse problem

d. an adjustment reaction to his divorce

a. a referral for a medical and neurological evaluation

Which theory is generally considered the work of Albert Bandura and emphasizes that the focus on motivational needs, drives, and impulses, and cognitions toward action or change is not enough to determine behavior and the environment in which someone lives should be considered as well:
a. psychodynamic theory

b. family systems theory

c. social learning theory

d. rational choice theory

c. social learning theory

From a family systems theory perspective in assessing family problems, the social worker would be LEAST likely to:

a. refer to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

b. complete a structured family analysis

c. complete a developmental history on each family member

d. have the family complete a family circle/genogram

a. refer to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

A female client comes to see a social worker to discuss her relationship issues. According to the psychosocial perspective, the social worker should:

a. have her tell you about the issues affecting her life.

b. begin training behavioral techniques

c. provide a referral to a psychologist for testing

d. refer to a marriage and family therapist

a. have her tell you about the issues affecting her life.

You are sitting in a class staffing meeting at your agency while several other social workers are discussing their new cases and receiving feedback and suggestions. Of the four following situations, which one WOULD NOT lend itself to family therapy?

a. 17-year-old son who needs to separate psychologically from his family

b. a couple with 2 children that has decided to divorce

c. A separated couple with two children, one child in the family is likely to cause distress in the other members.

d. An enmeshed family, where improvement in one member is likely to cause distress in the other members.

a. 17-year-old son who needs to separate psychologically from his family

A 15-year-old girl has been sent home from school on three occasions for drinking alcohol at school. each time, the mother becomes angry and threatens to punish the girl, but is convinced by the father to give her another chance. Which of the following BEST characterizes the father’s behavior in this situation?

a. triangulation

b. enabling

c. advocating

d. manipulating

b. enabling

A social worker is receiving a client with long-standing depression. It becomes known that the client has racist beliefs. The social worker should:
a. respectfully confront the client’s prejudiced beliefs

b. educate the client about the negative effects of racism

c. refer the client to another therapist who might have similar beliefs

d. Respect the client’s beliefs and focus on the presenting problem

d. Respect the client’s beliefs and focus on the presenting problem

The performance of individuals and social work groups would be expected to improve with:

a. alternating stress and non-stress

b. high stress

c. a lack of stress

d. slight stress

d. slight stress

Ann parents divorced last year when she was 15. Since then, she is seldom at home and often drinks and smokes pot with her friends. Both of her parents are upset by her distant and angry attitude and each blames the other. Their attitude toward Ann’s problems is complicated by their anger with each other and their grief and guilt about the failure of their marriage. The school social worker is the only adult Ann trusts and will talk with about her problems. What strategy should the social worker pursue?

a. the social worker should continue to meet with Ann individually

b. the social worker should meet with Ann individually and try to involve her in after-school activities to involve her in a new peer group

c. the social worker should continue to meet with Ann individually and do outreach to both parents with the goal of referring them for help with co-parenting post-divorce.

a. the social worker should continue to meet with Ann individually

In human growth and development, psychosocial therapy is similar to psychoanalytic theory; however, in psychosocial theory, the emphasis is placed on the:

a. language development

b. social development

c. intellectual development

d. cognitive learning

b. social development

A mother brings her 4-year-old daughter because she is concerned about stuttering. The social worker should correctly tell the mother:

a. stuttering is normal at her daughter’s age

b. an immediate referral for a physical exam could be beneficial

c. stutering is general more common in girls than in boys due to socialization

d. her child is likely responding to emotional stress

a. stuttering is normal at her daughter’s age

You have been hired by a private, non-profit agency which works with the HIV/AIDS population. The primary function of your unit is to educate sexually active individuals about the disease and to help them understand the importance of testing, lifestyle changes, and treatment if necessary. What is the BEST way to describe your agency’s type of prevention?

a. crisis intervention

b. tertiary intervention

c. secondary prevention

d. primary prevention

c. secondary prevention

As a new clinical social worker, you find yourself being told by your supervisor you need to be more confrontational. This seems at odds with the social work mission, until your supervisor explains the primary purpose of confrontation is to:

a. demonstrate accurate understanding

b. help a client change her view of a problem

c. make a client aware of inconsistencies

d. help the client identify alternatives to her present behavior

c. make a client aware of inconsistencies

Unconditional positive regard is most supported by the social work core value of:

a. importance of human relationships

b. self-determination

c. integrity

d. dignity and worth of the person

d. dignity and worth of the person

When counseling an Asian family that is compelled to seek treatment due to a court mandate, the social worker should first consider:

a. possible resistance to treatment based on a strong cultural value to resolve problems within the family

b. a lower incidence of mental health problems among Asian Americans

c. the open nature of Asian family systems and relationships

d. preference of outside intervention to analyze family difficulties

a. possible resistance to treatment based on a strong cultural value to resolve problems within the family

An immigrant from Cuba arrives in your office to see you. She is obviously distraught. She speaks very little English, and you speak very little Spanish. The best way to know whether she understands what the social worker is saying is to:

a. have her summarize in her own words what has been said in session

b. tell her to freely ask questions as she needs

c. summarize what is said in the session on behalf of the client

d. immediately give her a referral to a bilingual social worker who can communicate more effectively with her.

a. have her summarize in her own words what has been said in session

A social worker is working in a cultural community in which bartering is the accepted practice for obtaining goods and services. In order for the social worker to accept the goods from the clients for the provision of services, all of the following criteria have to be EXCEPT:
a. bartering must be essential for the provision of services

b. coercion must not be used in the negotiation of the arrangement

c. clients must initiate the request for bartering arrangements

d. clients must demonstrate that these arrangements will not be detrimental.

d. clients must demonstrate that these arrangements will not be detrimental.

“Doorknob disclosures” are most commonly caused by:

a. premature closure of inquiry by the social workers when doing biopsychosocial assessments

b. fear and embarrassment by clients about information provided

c. lack of empathetic responding by the social workers during treatment

d. perceived power imbalance by clients within therapeutic relationships

b. fear and embarrassment by clients about information provided

A mother comes in with her 4-year-old daughter to a social worker as her husband is receiving hospice and she is worried about the child’s reaction to this death in the coming weeks. The mother has many questions about the child’s ability to comprehend what will happen. Based on developmental theories, the child is likely to view death as a:

a. comforting experience which should not be feared

b. temporary experience which can be reversed at any time

c. permanent condition which is caused by accidents and factors which cannot be controlled

d. final part of the life course which inevitably happens to everyone

b. temporary experience which can be reversed at any time

Imaginary friends MOST often emerge in which stage of cognitive development?

a. formal operational

b. preoperational

c. sensorimotor

d. concreate operational

b. preoperational

Which of the following contains thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories of which a client has no awareness, even though they influence his or her daily life?

a. preconscious

b. conscious

c. superego

d. unconscious

d. unconscious

A client showed a social worker a large tattoo on his arm dedicated to his mother who recently died. He begins to cry and states that it always makes him very emotional when he sees it, because it reminds him of her bravery in fighting her illness. The tattoo is a form of:

a. symbolization

b. substitution

c. sublimation

d. splitting

a. symbolization

In 1979, the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare issued the _______ ______, which remains the standard set of ethical principles for US researchers today. These 3 ethical principles of this include:

Beneficence- do no harm/maximize benefits and minimize risks (research should provide clear, tangible benefits, bring considerable intellectual advances, and/or inform beneficial interventions

Respect- individuals should be treated as autonomous agents; and persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to additional protection (caregiver, consent for child participants)

Justice- reasonable/non-exploitative/fair distribution of costs and benefits.

Belmont Report

In the Belmont Report, what are the 4 guidelines?

• Voluntary participation, informed consent, Do no harm

• Protection of sensitive info/confidentiality - Anonymity

  • When is confidentiality broken? In what circumstances are you mandated to report/break confidentiality, 

    • Certificate of confidentiality- protects researchers from being legally required to disclose confidential info (issues related to crime, substance abuse, sexual activity, genetic information); cases of child abuse/neglect must be reported.

  • Deceiving participants about the research purpose

  • Analysis and reporting- should be transparent, negative findings should be reported.

Provide info about whether the observation is qualitatively different from another (gives a name to your data/observations); categories are mutually exclusive; absolute values are meaningless and have no quantitative value/math interpretation; examples: race, ethnicity, marital status, political affiliations, educational level.

Nominal level of measures

Provides info about the relative amount of 1 observation compared to the other (Less than, greater than); ability to rank/position the categories of the variables in some sort of line (1 comes before 2, and 3 comes after 2), the values exist in a rank from lowest to highest, poor to excellent; precision - exactness or amount of detail needed (how serious, how often, etc).

Ordinal level of measures

The ability to know the value of space between measurement points (equal intervals or fixed measurement); distance from 10 to 20 is the same as the distance between 30 to 40.  No absolute value - temp, intelligence score; a zero doesn’t indicate complete absence of a measured variable. 

Interval level of measure

The ability to know the value of space between measurement points (equal intervals or fixed measurement); distance from 10 to 20 is the same as the distance between 30 to 40 AND has an absolute zero; a zero value is a meaningful number

Ratio level of measure

Which social work value involves bringing the person-in-environment perspective to all interventions with consumers?

service

dignity and worth of the person

social justice

integrity

service

Community organizing in social work refers to efforts designed to strengthen community participation and integration. Which is an example of community organizing?

Head Start

Aid to Families with Dependent Children

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

the New Deal

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

______ implies the enrichment of resources and capabilities in organizations, communities, and society.

Capability development

Locality development

Empowerment approach

Asset building

Asset building