Mental Health Flashcards
7 cards from real SSW practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Mental Health flashcards as text
A student's medication for ADHD is being managed by an outside psychiatrist. The school social worker's MOST appropriate role is:
Answer: Communicating observed behavioral and academic responses to the treatment team with parent consent
School social workers serve as valuable informants about educational functioning, sharing observations with the treatment team within appropriate professional boundaries and consent.
Which principle of motivational interviewing involves reflecting back what the client said in a way that highlights their own reasons for change?
Answer: Developing discrepancy
Developing discrepancy means helping clients see the gap between their current behavior and their stated values or goals to evoke intrinsic motivation for change.
A student recently lost a parent to suicide. The school social worker is MOST concerned about which risk factor specific to this student?
Answer: Increased vulnerability due to suicide contagion and complicated grief
Bereavement by suicide is a significant risk factor for suicidal behavior in survivors, particularly adolescents, due to contagion effects and complicated grief.
The Tier 2 level of a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) for mental health PRIMARILY targets:
Answer: Selected interventions for students showing early warning signs
Tier 2 provides targeted, small-group or check-in/check-out interventions for students identified as at-risk but not yet requiring intensive individual services.
A student diagnosed with social anxiety disorder avoids participating in class presentations. The MOST effective long-term intervention strategy is:
Answer: Gradual exposure with supported practice in low-stakes situations
Gradual exposure therapy systematically reduces avoidance by building tolerance to feared situations in a controlled, supportive progression.
Which statement BEST describes the difference between grief and depression in school-age children?
Answer: Grief typically involves waves of sadness alongside preserved capacity for positive emotion, while depression is more persistent and pervasive
Grieving children often retain the ability to experience positive emotions and pleasure between periods of sadness, which differentiates grief from the pervasive, persistent low mood of clinical depression.
A school social worker is asked to consult on a student who engages in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Which statement about NSSI is MOST accurate?
Answer: NSSI typically functions as a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy rather than suicidal behavior
Research shows NSSI most commonly serves as a coping mechanism to regulate overwhelming emotions, and while it is a risk factor, it is functionally distinct from suicidal intent.