LMSW Social Work Practice Models 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A social worker using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) would encourage a client to:
- Challenge and dispute irrational beliefs
- Accept difficult thoughts and commit to values-based action (Correct answer)
- Explore the origins of their attachment style
- Identify and restructure cognitive schemas
Correct answer: Accept difficult thoughts and commit to values-based action
ACT promotes psychological flexibility by encouraging acceptance of difficult internal experiences and commitment to actions aligned with personal values.
Question 2: Which of the following BEST describes the role of 'triangulation' in Bowen's Family Systems Theory?
- A technique for drawing genograms across three generations
- The involvement of a third person to reduce tension between two people (Correct answer)
- A method for assessing the family's communication patterns
- The process of identifying three core family subsystems
Correct answer: The involvement of a third person to reduce tension between two people
Triangulation occurs when anxiety between two people is reduced by pulling in a third person, diffusing the tension but perpetuating the underlying dysfunction.
Question 3: In feminist social work practice, intersectionality refers to:
- The intersection of individual and environmental factors in assessment
- The overlapping systems of oppression (e.g., race, gender, class) that shape lived experience (Correct answer)
- The integration of multiple theoretical frameworks into one model
- The crossover point between problem identification and goal-setting
Correct answer: The overlapping systems of oppression (e.g., race, gender, class) that shape lived experience
Intersectionality recognizes that race, gender, class, sexuality, and other identities overlap to create compounding systems of privilege and oppression.
Question 4: Which of the following is a PRIMARY assumption of Strengths-Based Practice?
- Clients must first acknowledge their pathology before change can occur
- Every individual, family, and community has strengths and the capacity for resilience (Correct answer)
- Problem exploration must precede any focus on client resources
- Social workers are the primary agents of change in the client's life
Correct answer: Every individual, family, and community has strengths and the capacity for resilience
Strengths-Based Practice assumes all clients have inherent strengths, resources, and resilience that can be mobilized in service of their goals.
Question 5: A social worker using Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) would MOST likely help clients:
- Identify and modify core dysfunctional schemas from childhood
- Observe their thoughts non-judgmentally without identifying with them (Correct answer)
- Develop behavioral activation plans to combat depression
- Practice progressive muscle relaxation for anxiety management
Correct answer: Observe their thoughts non-judgmentally without identifying with them
MBCT teaches clients to observe their thoughts and feelings with non-judgmental awareness, interrupting the automatic rumination that triggers relapse.
Question 6: The 'scaling question' used in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy serves primarily to:
- Assess the severity of the client's diagnosis on a clinical continuum
- Measure progress and motivation and identify small steps toward change (Correct answer)
- Rank the client's problems in order of priority for treatment
- Evaluate the client's level of insight into their psychopathology
Correct answer: Measure progress and motivation and identify small steps toward change
Scaling questions (e.g., 'On a scale of 1–10, where are you now?') help clients quantify their progress, identify strengths, and envision small, achievable next steps.
Question 7: Which model would a social worker MOST appropriately apply when working with a community experiencing disproportionate rates of poverty and lack of access to services?
- Psychodynamic Model
- Task-Centered Model
- Macro-Level Structural and Anti-Oppressive Practice (Correct answer)
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
Correct answer: Macro-Level Structural and Anti-Oppressive Practice
Macro-level structural and anti-oppressive practice addresses systemic inequities, power imbalances, and social justice issues affecting communities.
LMSW Social Work Practice Models 5
A social worker using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) would encourage a client to: