LMSW Diversity and Social Justice 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A social worker assumes a soft-spoken Asian American client has no opinions because they do not volunteer them in group therapy. This reflects:
- Accurate cross-cultural observation
- A racial microaggression based on the model minority stereotype (Correct answer)
- Appropriate group facilitation technique
- Culturally informed silence interpretation
Correct answer: A racial microaggression based on the model minority stereotype
Projecting stereotypes about Asian passivity onto individual clients constitutes a microaggression that can harm the therapeutic relationship.
Question 2: Which term describes the process by which immigrant communities are encouraged to abandon their cultural identities and adopt the dominant culture?
- Acculturation
- Assimilation (Correct answer)
- Cultural brokering
- Enculturation
Correct answer: Assimilation
Assimilation involves absorbing into and adopting the dominant culture, often at the cost of original cultural identity, whereas acculturation involves navigating between two cultures.
Question 3: When working with clients who have disabilities, the social model of disability suggests that practitioners should:
- Focus on curing or rehabilitating the individual's impairment
- Address societal barriers and structures that disable people rather than the person's condition (Correct answer)
- Encourage acceptance of limitations as permanent
- Refer clients primarily to medical professionals for needs assessment
Correct answer: Address societal barriers and structures that disable people rather than the person's condition
The social model locates disability in societal barriers—physical, attitudinal, and systemic—rather than in the individual's body or mind.
Question 4: A cisgender social worker is assigned to work with a transgender client. What is the most important initial step?
- Ask about the client's surgical history to understand their transition
- Use the client's stated name and pronouns and follow the client's lead on disclosure (Correct answer)
- Refer the client to a transgender-identified therapist
- Research transgender issues extensively before the first session and share learnings
Correct answer: Use the client's stated name and pronouns and follow the client's lead on disclosure
Respecting a client's self-identified name and pronouns is a fundamental affirmative practice that establishes safety and respect.
Question 5: Historical trauma, as described by Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, refers to:
- Individual PTSD from specific traumatic events in childhood
- Cumulative trauma across generations resulting from massive group trauma such as genocide or forced relocation (Correct answer)
- The historical record of trauma treatment in psychiatric hospitals
- Trauma experienced by social workers from hearing clients' difficult stories
Correct answer: Cumulative trauma across generations resulting from massive group trauma such as genocide or forced relocation
Historical trauma describes intergenerational psychological wounds transmitted through communities that experienced collective catastrophic losses.
Question 6: An LMSW working with LGBTQ+ youth in a faith-based agency is asked to provide conversion therapy. The appropriate response is:
- Comply if the agency leadership requires it as part of employment
- Refuse, as conversion therapy is harmful and contradicts NASW ethical standards (Correct answer)
- Offer a modified version that is less intensive
- Ask the client if they consent before proceeding
Correct answer: Refuse, as conversion therapy is harmful and contradicts NASW ethical standards
Conversion therapy is condemned by NASW and major mental health associations as harmful and ineffective; ethical social workers must refuse regardless of agency context.
Question 7: Which federal legislation most directly prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment?
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (Correct answer)
- Fair Housing Act
Correct answer: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The ADA (1990) prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in employment, public services, public accommodations, and telecommunications.
LMSW Diversity and Social Justice 4
A social worker assumes a soft-spoken Asian American client has no opinions because they do not volunteer them in group therapy.
This reflects: