MFT Marital and Family Therapy 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A therapist working with a family from a collectivist culture should be aware that:
- Individual autonomy is always the primary therapeutic goal
- Family loyalty and interdependence may be core cultural values to honor (Correct answer)
- Western family therapy models apply universally without modification
- Boundaries should be assessed using the same standards as individualist cultures
Correct answer: Family loyalty and interdependence may be core cultural values to honor
Culturally competent MFTs recognize that collectivist values such as family loyalty and interdependence are strengths, not pathology.
Question 2: In Narrative Therapy, 'externalization' is the practice of:
- Projecting blame onto another family member
- Separating the problem from the person's core identity (Correct answer)
- Exploring events outside the therapy room
- Assigning the problem to environmental factors only
Correct answer: Separating the problem from the person's core identity
Externalization involves treating the problem as a separate entity from the person (e.g., 'the anger' vs. 'you are angry') to reduce shame and increase agency.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes 'circular questioning' as used in systemic family therapy?
- Asking the same question repeatedly to challenge defenses
- Asking one person how they think another person perceives a situation (Correct answer)
- Questioning all family members simultaneously about the same topic
- Using open-ended questions to explore family history in a circular pattern
Correct answer: Asking one person how they think another person perceives a situation
Circular questioning explores relational perceptions by asking individuals how they perceive other family members' views, revealing relationship patterns.
Question 4: A couple reports that one partner pursues emotionally while the other withdraws. In EFT, the first step in changing this pattern is to:
- Teach the pursuer de-escalation techniques
- Help both partners recognize and de-escalate the interactional cycle (Correct answer)
- Encourage the withdrawer to be more expressive
- Assign homework to practice opposite behaviors
Correct answer: Help both partners recognize and de-escalate the interactional cycle
EFT Stage 1 focuses on de-escalating the negative cycle by helping both partners understand and step back from the pursue-withdraw dynamic.
Question 5: An MFT who maintains a therapy blog sharing anonymized case vignettes must ensure:
- Clients have given verbal permission during intake
- Details are altered sufficiently so clients cannot be identified (Correct answer)
- Only cases older than five years are discussed
- The blog is restricted to professional audiences
Correct answer: Details are altered sufficiently so clients cannot be identified
Sharing case material publicly requires thorough de-identification to protect client confidentiality even when written permission is not obtained.
Question 6: The term 'identified patient' in family therapy refers to:
- The family member who initiated therapy
- The family member whose symptoms are seen as the presenting problem (Correct answer)
- The most diagnostically impaired family member
- The family member who holds the most power
Correct answer: The family member whose symptoms are seen as the presenting problem
The identified patient is the symptomatic family member, but systems therapists view the symptom as reflecting dysfunction in the whole family system.
Question 7: Research on common factors in psychotherapy suggests that the most powerful predictor of therapeutic outcomes across all modalities is:
- The specific techniques used by the therapist
- The theoretical orientation of the treatment model
- The quality of the therapeutic alliance (Correct answer)
- The number of sessions provided
Correct answer: The quality of the therapeutic alliance
Research consistently shows that the therapeutic alliance — the collaborative relationship between client and therapist — accounts for the largest portion of outcome variance.
MFT Marital and Family Therapy 4
A therapist working with a family from a collectivist culture should be aware that: