Practice Test GeeksMFT Exam Practice Test
← All MFT Flashcard Decks

Assessment and Diagnosis Flashcards

7 cards from real MFT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Assessment and Diagnosis flashcards as text

  1. When using the Circumplex Model (Olson's), a family that scores extremely high on cohesion is best described as:

    Answer: Enmeshed

    The Circumplex Model describes extremely high cohesion as enmeshment, where boundaries are blurred and individual autonomy is suppressed.

  2. Which structured assessment tool is specifically designed to evaluate relational functioning and is commonly used in couples therapy intake?

    Answer: Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS)

    The Dyadic Adjustment Scale measures the quality of couple relationships across dimensions like consensus, cohesion, satisfaction, and affectional expression.

  3. A client reports depressed mood, loss of interest, and fatigue that consistently worsens in autumn and resolves in spring. The most appropriate DSM-5 specifier is:

    Answer: With seasonal pattern

    The 'with seasonal pattern' specifier applies when episodes of MDD are temporally related to seasons, most commonly fall/winter onset with spring/summer remission.

  4. In conducting a Mental Status Exam (MSE), 'thought process' refers to:

    Answer: The logical flow and organization of thinking

    Thought process in the MSE evaluates the form and coherence of thinking, such as whether thoughts are linear, tangential, or circumstantial.

  5. Which of the following best describes a 'false negative' error in clinical assessment?

    Answer: Failing to identify a disorder that is present

    A false negative occurs when an assessment fails to detect a condition that is actually present, which can lead to untreated illness.

  6. Which assessment approach asks family members to draw their family system using circles and lines to represent boundaries and relationships?

    Answer: Structural mapping

    Structural mapping, developed by Minuchin, uses circles and lines to diagram family subsystems, boundaries (clear, rigid, diffuse), and hierarchies.

  7. A therapist notices a client's affect is inconsistent with the content of what they are discussing (e.g., laughing when describing a tragedy). This is documented as:

    Answer: Incongruent affect

    Incongruent affect describes a mismatch between the emotional expression and the content of speech, which can be a significant clinical indicator.