LSA - Licensed Social Worker Associate Models of Social Work Practice Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A social worker is meeting with a high school student who is feeling overwhelmed by college applications. Instead of dwelling on the student's anxiety, the social worker asks, "Suppose you woke up tomorrow and the problem was solved. What would be the first small sign that things are better?" This line of questioning is characteristic of which practice model?
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Task-Centered Practice
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) (Correct answer)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Correct answer: Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
This question uses the 'miracle question,' a hallmark technique of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). [1, 9, 16] SFBT concentrates on helping clients envision a future without the problem and identify concrete, small steps towards achieving that future, rather than analyzing the history of the problem itself. [21, 24]
Question 2: Which of the following is a fundamental principle of the Strengths-Based Perspective in social work?
- The social worker is the expert on the client's life.
- Every individual, group, and community has strengths. (Correct answer)
- Problems and pathology are the primary focus of the work.
- Interventions should be directed by a pre-determined treatment plan.
Correct answer: Every individual, group, and community has strengths.
The Strengths-Based Perspective is founded on the core belief that all clients possess inherent strengths and resources that can be mobilized for change. [11, 12, 23] The focus is on what is working well and what clients are capable of, rather than concentrating on deficits or pathologies. [22]
Question 3: A client wants to improve their relationship with their teenage son. The social worker and client agree on the specific goal of 'having one positive conversation per day.' They then break this down into smaller steps and set a timeline of two weeks to implement these steps. This approach is MOST indicative of which practice model?
- Narrative Therapy
- Crisis Intervention
- Psychosocial Model
- Task-Centered Practice (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Task-Centered Practice
Task-Centered Practice is a brief, structured model focused on helping clients solve specific, client-acknowledged problems by completing a series of clearly defined tasks within a set timeframe. [3, 5, 18] The scenario describes the key elements of this model: problem specification, goal setting, task development, and a time limit. [8, 13]
Question 4: A social worker using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) would most likely focus on which of the following with a client experiencing social anxiety?
- Identifying and challenging the client's automatic negative thoughts about social situations. (Correct answer)
- Exploring the client's early childhood relationships and their impact on current fears.
- Helping the client re-author their life story to one of social confidence.
- Conducting a genogram to understand family patterns of anxiety.
Correct answer: Identifying and challenging the client's automatic negative thoughts about social situations.
The core of CBT is addressing the connection between thoughts (cognitions), feelings, and behaviors. [4] A primary technique for social anxiety is cognitive restructuring, which involves helping clients identify, evaluate, and change distorted or unhelpful thinking patterns (automatic negative thoughts) that contribute to their emotional distress. [14, 27]
Question 5: A client repeatedly describes themself as 'a failure' because they lost their job. The social worker helps the client examine times in their life when they have been resilient and successful, reframing the job loss as a single chapter in a much larger life story of perseverance. This technique of separating the person from their problem is central to which model?
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
- Strengths-Based Perspective
- Narrative Therapy (Correct answer)
- Task-Centered Practice
Correct answer: Narrative Therapy
Narrative Therapy involves helping clients deconstruct problem-saturated stories and re-author new, more empowering ones. A key technique is 'externalizing the problem,' which involves separating the client's identity from the issue they are facing (i.e., 'the person is not the problem; the problem is the problem'). [2, 10, 17, 19]
Question 6: The Psychosocial Model of social work, heavily influenced by the work of Florence Hollis, primarily emphasizes the importance of understanding the client in the context of their:
- Unconscious drives and defense mechanisms.
- Future goals and exceptions to their problems.
- Immediate, solvable problems and assigned tasks.
- Interactions between their internal psychological state and external social environment. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Interactions between their internal psychological state and external social environment.
The Psychosocial Model is foundational to social work and is built on the person-in-environment perspective. [6, 31] It involves a comprehensive assessment of a client's psychological factors (feelings, thoughts, personality) and their social factors (family, work, community, culture) and how these two realms interact to shape the client's situation. [28, 30]
LSA - Licensed Social Worker Associate Models of Social Work Practice Questions and Answers
A social worker is meeting with a high school student who is feeling overwhelmed by college applications.
Instead of dwelling on the student's anxiety, the social worker asks, "Suppose you woke up tomorrow and the problem was solved.
What would be the first small sign that things are better?" This line of questioning is characteristic of which practice model?