FREE Marital and Family Therapy Question and Answers
Which of the following techniques can be applied to intentionally pay nonjudgmental attention to the awareness of present-moment thoughts, sensations, and feelings in order to alter client perceptions?
Explanation:
Through deliberate, nonjudgmental attention to the present-moment awareness of thoughts, sensations, and feelings, mindfulness can be used to affect client perceptions. Due to a modulation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, mindfulness has been demonstrated to be useful for PTSD and anxiety. It also helps clients focus on and monitor their surroundings. While hypnosis can also alter perception, it differs from mindfulness in that the latter helps a person change how they relate to an event, whilst the latter focuses on altering the experience itself. To treat sexual dysfunctions, sensate focus is a type of relaxation and behavior change (e.g., erectile dysfunction, difficulty with arousal, and orgasm). A person is said to be in flow when they are deeply absorbed in a task, a creative project, or another activity to the point where they may get "in the zone" or lose track of time.
The MFT has an ethical duty to make known the following financial policies, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF:
Explanation:
Before the client begins treatment, the MFT has an ethical duty to disclose all of the aforementioned financial regulations, with the exception of the procedure for appealing disallowed third-party payments. Instead, MFTs must disclose the fees charged for missed or canceled appointments and the use of collection agencies for nonpayment before beginning a therapeutic relationship, according to Standard 8.2 of the AAMFT Code of Ethics (2015), and they must give reasonable notice of any additional fees or fee changes.
Which of the following theoretical orientations would a therapist most likely adopt if they work with their patients to set treatment plan goals based on their "best hope" for a positive outcome?
Explanation:
A treatment plan's goals can be developed in collaboration with clients using solution-focused therapy and the client's "greatest hope." The use of scales would enable the development of common treatment plan objectives between the client and the therapist. A Likert scale is used in scaling questions to gauge a client's motivation or level of confidence in relation to their "best hope" for treatment. The treatment for phobias and some types of anxiety is exposure therapy. In order to quantify anxiety during exposure, rating scales are used; however, these scales do not necessarily represent the clients' best chance for positive outcomes. Psychoanalytic theory-following therapists are less likely to work with the client to set mutually agreed-upon treatment plan goals since the therapist is seen as an expert. Because the therapist is seen as the initial catalyst for change, SFTs are more likely than solution-focused therapists to work with clients on the goals of the treatment plan.
Which of the following states forbids the deliberate payment of "remuneration" to create business involving any services payable to government health insurance programs (such as Medicare or Medicaid)?
Explanation:
According to the Anti-Kickback Statute, "paying money knowingly to encourage or reward patient referrals or the creation of business involving any good or service that is covered by the federal health care programs (e.g., drug, supplies, or health-care services for Medicare or Medicaid patients). The civil False Claims Act (FCA) guards against overcharging or offering subpar products or services to the government." For submitting false claims, the criminal FCA prescribes prison terms, severe penalties, and fines. The Stark Law, also known as the Physician Self-Referral Law, forbids doctors from referring patients to specific medical services that are covered by federally funded organizations (such as Medicaid or Medicare) and with which a doctor or member of their immediate family has a business relationship.
Which of the following statements regarding the MFT's obligation to report is TRUE?
Explanation:
All 50 states demand that therapists disclose any suspected or established incidents of child abuse, notwithstanding minor variations in municipal and state regulations. Therapists are in charge of discussing with patients specific circumstances in which a confidential disclosure may be legally needed. At the beginning of therapy, the MFT must go over the confidentiality requirements (AAMFT, 2015, Standard 2.1)
Which of the following is utilized at the beginning of treatment to emphasize legal and ethical standards and establish the roles, duties, and expectations between the client and the counselor?
Explanation:
At the beginning of treatment, therapeutic contracts are utilized to highlight legal and ethical requirements as well as client-counselor roles, obligations, and expectations. As open, written agreements, formal therapeutic contracts are used by therapists to reduce risks and promote the moral precepts of autonomy and beneficence. Suicidal clients are given verbal or written safety contracts. There isn't enough concrete data to support the adoption of safety contracts alone. With the aim of resolving or reducing the impacts of the presenting condition, treatment plans include written goals and objectives that the client uses to provide direction and focus. Therapy confidentiality agreements outline the steps therapists must take to protect client privacy as well as any exclusions.
MFTs in supervisory positions must avoid acting in a way that betrays or undermines supervisory trust. Which of the following strategies will help you avoid this habit the most?
Explanation:
By setting professional boundaries, MFTs acting as supervisors avoid abusing their supervisees' trust and dependence. Due to a disparity in rank and power, there are dual relationships between the supervisor and the supervisee. While not all dual partnerships are unethical, maintaining professional boundaries is the best approach to avoid acting in a way that would be exploitative or detrimental to supervisory trust. During the evaluative or training connection between the therapist and the student or supervisees, supervisors have a responsibility to "not engage in sexual intimacy with students or supervisees" (AAMFT, 2015, Standard 4.3) An ethical principle that applies to patients receiving treatment is no abandonment. To avoid abandoning or neglecting their clients, MFTs develop reassuring plans for the continuance of their care.