Clinical Social Worker Flashcards
7 cards from real ASWB practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Clinical Social Worker flashcards as text
A client with obsessive-compulsive disorder engages in handwashing rituals to relieve contamination fears. The evidence-based treatment of choice is:
Answer: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
ERP, a form of CBT, is the gold-standard treatment for OCD, exposing clients to feared stimuli while preventing compulsive responses.
A social worker in a hospital setting learns that a terminally ill client has an advance directive refusing artificial nutrition. The family demands the team override it. The social worker's role is to:
Answer: Advocate for the client's documented wishes and facilitate an ethics consultation if needed
Social workers are ethicaly obligated to advocate for client self-determination, including honoring advance directives.
Which of the following best illustrates the concept of 'triangulation' in Bowen Family Systems Theory?
Answer: Two parents pulling a child into their marital conflict to reduce tension between them
Triangulation occurs when anxiety between two people is managed by involving a third person, such as a child, to diffuse tension.
A client reports they have been sober for six months and are considering returning to social drinking. Using the Stages of Change model, the client is most likely in which stage?
Answer: Maintenance
Considering a return to use while in sustained recovery indicates the client is in the Maintenance stage, where relapse prevention is critical.
During a group therapy session, a member begins to talk about another member's personal disclosures outside the group. The group facilitator should FIRST:
Answer: Address the confidentiality breach directly in the group and reinforce group norms
Addressing confidentiality breaches openly reinforces group norms and protects all members' trust in the process.
Which of the following is the MOST important predictor of positive psychotherapy outcomes across treatment modalities?
Answer: The quality of the therapeutic alliance
Research consistently identifies the therapeutic alliance—mutual trust, agreement on goals and tasks—as the strongest predictor of positive outcomes.
A social worker who frequently works with trauma survivors begins feeling emotionally numb, hopeless, and detached from their work. This is most consistent with:
Answer: Compassion fatigue / secondary traumatic stress
Emotional numbing, hopelessness, and detachment following repeated exposure to others' trauma are hallmark signs of compassion fatigue.