SPEX SPEX Exam 5

Question 1

A psychologist receives a subpoena for a client's psychotherapy notes. The most appropriate initial response is to:

Accepted Answer

Consult with an attorney and notify the client before releasing any records

Answer

A subpoena is not a court order requiring immediate compliance; the psychologist should consult legal counsel and notify the client, who may seek to quash the subpoena.

Question 2

Which of the following best describes the concept of 'therapeutic alliance' and its relationship to treatment outcome?

Accepted Answer

Therapeutic alliance is one of the strongest predictors of outcome across therapy modalities

Answer

Meta-analytic research consistently shows that therapeutic alliance—the collaborative bond and agreement on goals and tasks—is a robust predictor of positive outcome across diverse therapy types.

Question 3

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a psychologist in private practice with 15 or more employees is required to:

Accepted Answer

Provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities unless it causes undue hardship

Answer

The ADA requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities unless doing so creates undue hardship.

Question 4

Which of the following scenarios represents a dual relationship that most clearly violates APA ethical standards?

Accepted Answer

Providing individual therapy to a client whom the psychologist also supervises professionally

Answer

Simultaneously serving as both therapist and supervisor to the same individual creates an exploitative power differential and a clear dual relationship that is ethically prohibited.

Question 5

In behavioral medicine, motivational interviewing (MI) is best characterized by which therapeutic stance?

Accepted Answer

Collaborative, evocative, and autonomy-supportive

Answer

MI is defined by its Spirit: collaboration (partnership), evocation (drawing out client's own motivation), and honoring autonomy, distinguishing it from both directive and purely nondirective approaches.

SPEX Exam Practice Test

SPEX Exam Practice Test

SPEX SPEX Exam 5