LMSW Social Work Practice Models 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which practice model views the client's presenting problem as a symptom of a dysfunctional family system rather than an individual pathology?
- Psychoanalytic Model
- Structural Family Therapy (Correct answer)
- Cognitive-Behavioral Model
- Task-Centered Model
Correct answer: Structural Family Therapy
Structural Family Therapy, developed by Salvador Minuchin, views problems as arising from dysfunctional family structures, boundaries, and hierarchies.
Question 2: A client who has experienced a traumatic car accident is unable to leave their home. The social worker uses systematic desensitization. Which model is being applied?
- Psychodynamic Model
- Crisis Intervention Model
- Behavioral Model (Correct answer)
- Narrative Model
Correct answer: Behavioral Model
Systematic desensitization is a classic behavioral technique using graduated exposure paired with relaxation to reduce anxiety responses.
Question 3: The 'identified patient' in family systems theory refers to which concept?
- The family member with the most severe mental illness
- The family member whose symptoms reflect the family's dysfunction (Correct answer)
- The family member who sought treatment first
- The family member with the most power in the hierarchy
Correct answer: The family member whose symptoms reflect the family's dysfunction
The 'identified patient' is the family member labeled as the problem, whose symptoms are seen as expressing the family system's dysfunction.
Question 4: Which statement BEST describes the role of the social worker in the Empowerment Model?
- Acting as a neutral expert who diagnoses and treats pathology
- Collaborating with clients to build on their strengths and challenge oppressive structures (Correct answer)
- Providing directive advice and concrete resources
- Interpreting unconscious material to promote insight
Correct answer: Collaborating with clients to build on their strengths and challenge oppressive structures
The Empowerment Model positions the social worker as a collaborator who helps clients recognize their strengths and addresses systemic and structural barriers.
Question 5: In Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), the concept of 'dialectics' refers primarily to:
- The debate between behavioral and psychodynamic perspectives
- The balance between acceptance and change (Correct answer)
- The conflict between individual and family needs
- The tension between short-term and long-term goals
Correct answer: The balance between acceptance and change
DBT's central dialectic is balancing acceptance of the client as they are with the necessity of change, synthesizing these seemingly opposing forces.
Question 6: A social worker assessing a client using the ecological perspective would MOST likely focus on:
- The client's intrapsychic conflicts and early childhood experiences
- The fit between the client and their environment across multiple systems (Correct answer)
- The client's irrational beliefs and cognitive distortions
- The client's stage in the family life cycle
Correct answer: The fit between the client and their environment across multiple systems
The ecological perspective, associated with Germain and Gitterman's Life Model, focuses on the 'goodness of fit' between individuals and their environments.
Question 7: Which of the following is a key distinguishing feature of the Crisis Intervention Model compared to other practice models?
- Focus on long-term personality restructuring
- Time-limited intervention aimed at restoring pre-crisis equilibrium (Correct answer)
- Use of paradoxical directives to disrupt problem patterns
- Emphasis on unconscious motivations and defense mechanisms
Correct answer: Time-limited intervention aimed at restoring pre-crisis equilibrium
Crisis intervention is brief and goal-focused, aiming to restore the client to at least their pre-crisis level of functioning as quickly as possible.
LMSW Social Work Practice Models 3
Which practice model views the client's presenting problem as a symptom of a dysfunctional family system rather than an individual pathology?