Intervention and Treatment Planning Flashcards

A client with borderline personality disorder frequently calls the social worker in crisis between sessions. Which intervention framework is most evidence-based for this presentation?

Answer: Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

DBT was specifically developed by Marsha Linehan for borderline personality disorder and has the strongest evidence base for reducing self-harm and crisis behaviors.

When developing a treatment plan for a client experiencing complicated grief, which element distinguishes it from major depressive disorder treatment?

Answer: Grief-specific interventions focus on meaning-making and continuing bonds

Complicated grief treatment focuses on meaning-making, processing the loss, and maintaining a healthy connection to the deceased, which differs from standard depression protocols.

A social worker is treating a veteran with PTSD using Prolonged Exposure therapy. The client avoids discussing the traumatic event and requests to switch topics. The best response is to:

Answer: Gently encourage the client to stay with the distress as part of the treatment protocol

Prolonged Exposure requires graduated approach to trauma memories; encouraging engagement with distress while maintaining safety is central to the protocol's effectiveness.

A treatment plan goal states: 'Client will feel better about relationships.' This goal is problematic primarily because it:

Answer: Is not measurable or time-bound

Effective treatment plan goals must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART); 'feel better' cannot be objectively measured.

Which motivational interviewing technique involves the social worker summarizing the client's ambivalence about change to highlight discrepancy?

Answer: Double-sided reflection

A double-sided reflection acknowledges both sides of the client's ambivalence, helping the client hear their own contradictory statements and increasing motivation for change.

A social worker is planning treatment for a client with co-occurring major depression and alcohol use disorder. Best practice indicates:

Answer: Address both disorders simultaneously using an integrated treatment approach

Integrated treatment that addresses co-occurring disorders simultaneously is the evidence-based standard of care, producing better outcomes than sequential or parallel treatment.

During a functional behavioral assessment, the social worker identifies that a child's tantrums are consistently followed by being allowed to leave class. This suggests the behavior is maintained by:

Answer: Negative reinforcement (escape)

When a behavior allows the individual to escape or avoid an aversive situation (like class), it is maintained by negative reinforcement.