MSW-FREE Master Of Social Work 1 Flashcards

According to the NASW Code of Ethics, when a social worker's personal values conflict with a client's autonomous choices, the social worker's primary obligation is to:

Answer: Uphold the client's right to self-determination

The NASW Code of Ethics identifies self-determination as a core value; social workers respect and promote clients' rights to make their own decisions, even when those decisions conflict with the worker's personal values, as long as the client is not causing harm.

A social worker who focuses on identifying a client's existing resources, resilience, and capabilities rather than emphasizing deficits and pathology is applying which perspective?

Answer: Strengths-based perspective

The strengths-based perspective, associated with Dennis Saleebey, shifts the focus from what is wrong with a client to what capacities and assets the client already possesses, empowering them to leverage those resources toward change.

In Roberts' Seven-Stage Crisis Intervention Model, what is the FIRST step a social worker should complete when working with a client in acute crisis?

Answer: Assess lethality and immediate safety needs

Roberts' model begins with a thorough assessment of lethality, dangerousness, and immediate safety because the worker must determine the level of risk before any other therapeutic work can proceed.

In clinical social work practice, 'countertransference' is best defined as:

Answer: The social worker's emotional reactions and responses toward the client

Countertransference refers to the social worker's own emotional reactions—positive or negative—triggered by the client; recognizing and managing countertransference is essential to maintaining professional objectivity and ethical practice.

A social worker who campaigns for state legislation to increase funding for community mental health services is primarily engaged in which type of advocacy?

Answer: Cause advocacy

Cause advocacy (also called class advocacy) targets systemic or policy-level change to benefit broad populations, whereas case advocacy focuses on securing services or rights for a specific individual client.

Which therapeutic approach is based on the premise that clients are the experts on their own lives and uses externalizing conversations to separate a person's identity from their problems?

Answer: Narrative Therapy

Narrative Therapy, developed by Michael White and David Epston, holds that people construct meaning through stories; externalizing the problem—treating it as separate from the person—allows clients to reauthor their life narrative from a position of agency rather than shame.