Intervention and Practice
A trusting, collaborative connection between worker and client that enables open communication and engagement.
Rapport
Structured snapshot of current functioning: appearance, behavior, speech, mood/affect, thought process/content, perception, cognition, insight, and judgment.
Mental Status Exam (MSE)
Core value: treat each person with care and respect, mindful of individual differences, and promote clients' self-determination and capacity for change.
Dignity and worth of the person
These items are generally not allowed in the testing room and must be stored in a locker before beginning the ASWB examination.
Cell phones, smartwatches, study materials, food, and personal belongings
During the exam, candidates can use this feature to mark a question and return to it later before submitting the examination.
Flag or "Mark for Review" feature
This technique helps a client manage anxiety and intrusive thoughts by focusing on breathing, acknowledging thoughts without judgment, and becoming aware of their surroundings.
Mindfulness
Assessment approach that centers client capacities, resources, and resilience rather than focusing only on deficits and pathology.
Strengths Perspective
When a client makes a serious, credible threat against an identifiable person, a clinician may be ethically and legally required to take steps to protect the potential victim, such as notifying the person at risk, contacting law enforcement, or arranging for hospitalization.
Mandated Reporting
Candidates should consult this official organization for information about exam registration, authorization to test, accommodations, and examination policies.
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
Once candidates submit the first 61-question section, they can no longer do this.
Review or change answers from Section 1
Teaching clients and families about a condition, treatment, and coping skills to increase understanding and self-management.
Psychoeducation
Needs ordered from physiological and safety to love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization; lower needs are generally met before higher ones.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
This ethical issue occurs when a social worker has more than one type of relationship with a client, such as social, business, or sexual. These relationships can impair professional judgment, create conflicts of interest, and increase the risk of exploitation, so they should be avoided or carefully managed.
Dual Relationships
This is required to gain admission to the testing center and must match the name used during exam registration.
A valid government-issued photo ID
Instead of bringing their own paper, candidates are provided with this by the testing center for note-taking and calculations.
An erasable note board or other testing-center-provided writing material
Ongoing support and services arranged after primary treatment ends to maintain gains and prevent relapse.
Termination / Discharge Planning
Eight lifespan stages each with a crisis (for example, trust vs mistrust, identity vs role confusion, integrity vs despair) resolved for healthy development.
Erikson's Psychosocial Stages
This condition results from prolonged exposure to chronic workplace stress and is characterized by emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion, cynicism or detachment, and decreased effectiveness, potentially impairing ethical and competent professional practice.
Burnout
If a candidate cannot sit for their scheduled ASWB examination, they should complete this process according to ASWB and testing center policies before their appointment date.
Reschedule the Exam
Once a candidate completes this action, they can no longer return to questions and make changes to their answers.
Submitting the exam
This phenomenon occurs when a client unconsciously redirects feelings, attitudes, or expectations from important people in their past onto the social worker, while the social worker unconsciously projects their own emotions, experiences, or unresolved issues onto the client.
Transference and Countertransference
Secure, anxious/ambivalent, avoidant, and disorganized patterns formed with early caregivers that shape later relationships.
Attachment Styles
These are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, including factors such as income, housing, education, employment, and access to healthcare, all of which influence health outcomes and overall well-being.
Social Determinants of Health
Candidates who need modifications to standard testing conditions should submit a request for these before scheduling their examination.
Testing Accommodations
Candidates are given this amount of time to complete all 122 questions on the ASWB exam
4 Hours