COMAR (supervision)
True or False:
COMAR regulations addressing standards of supervision were updated by both the Board of Social Work Examiners and the Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists in 2021.
False. BSWE updated supervision standards in 2019. MBPC updated supervision standards in 2021.
FYI--"laws and regulations" section on the BPC website links to the updated regulations. The link to "standards of supervision" underneath the "Approved Supervisors" Heading in the "professional counselors" tab is to the repealed standards.
If you need to escape from killer bees, which of the following should you NOT do:
a. run away
b. run through bushes or high weeds
c. jump into a swimming pool or other body of water
c. Don't jump in water: The bees will just be waiting for you to surface.
You should: run away; get inside if you can, and if not, run through bushes or high weeds for cover; if stung, remove stinger by raking fingers across it in a sideways motion. Do not let stingers remain in skin-they can continue to pump venom for up to ten minutes.
The Federal Law that ordered the creation of Community - based centers to provide care for patients previously treated/housed in large state institutions was signed in what year by what president?
President Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Act ("CMHA") on October 31, 1963. He was assassinated less than a month later and the law became part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society package of reforms.
The average Outlook user receives how many emails a day?
a. 82
b. 117
c. 371
b. 117
(source: Harper's index)
The NBCC Code of Ethics requires identifies which of the following (or none) as "Core Values and Beliefs" "integrated into [all] of the Code?
a. to "be civil in all actions"
b. to "engage in self-care and self-reflection"
c. to "advocate for the expansion of resources in underserved communities."
All three.
In addition, the Core Values call upon counselors to be "civil in their actions and words, avoiding arrogance, assumptions and hubris", and to "listen to others with intention and respond with respect."
When engaged in challenging dialogues "counselors do so to seek answers- not confrontations or harm."
The NASW has similar provisions, although phrased differently.
True or false: both Counseling and Social Work supervisors must maintain documentation of supervision sessions and hours (in the form of a log) for seven years.
FALSE
Counseling Supervisors: 7 years (COMAR 10.58.12.09)
Social Work Supervisors: 5 years (COMAR 10.42.08.07.B(4))
You are on a sinking ship,and are about to be adrift on the high seas. You have access to: glasses, an aluminum can, and a watch. You can use these things to do what, once you are adrift?
Signal for help.
The CMHA provided three years of funding for the construction and staffing of 1500 community mental health centers.
How many of these centers was built?
a. fewer than half of them
b. about three-quarters of them
c. nearly all of them
b. fewer than half of them.
People who had been housed in state institutions (average stay: 11 years; over half diagnosed with schizophrenia) were released, in most cases without any treatment options in the community.
Although under-resourced, CMHCs remain the core, and often only, treatment option for those with severe psychiatric illness and developmental disabilities.
A 2019 study found that social work field instructors found which of the following "challenging" characteristics of supervisees was the most frequently identified?
a. little openness to feedback, direction or supervision
b. poor personal and professional boundaries
a. little openness to feedback (purposefully acting in contravention to guidance or direction)
b. poor personal and professional boundaries came in second.
(Street, 2019)
The NASW Code of ethics includes a section on "Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues" which includes which (or none) of the following:
a. "avoid unwarranted negative criticism of colleagues in verbal, written and electronic communications with clients or other professionals."
b. "take action with the appropriate Board, agency or authority if aware that a social worker is impaired or incompetent as soon as practicable and without advising the impaired/incompetent social worker of the action to be taken."
a. only.
The NBCC as updated in 2023 similarly requires that "be civil in their actions and words" but does not specifically address criticizing colleagues.
Regarding colleagues (mis)conduct: the NASW code of ethics requires a social worker to first consult with that colleague and assist the colleague in taking remedial action. The NBCC requires counselor to use "reasonable means" to address unethical behavior unless state regulations require immediate reporting.
How frequently must social work supervisors provide written evaluations documenting the progress of LMSWs under their supervision?
Social work supervisors must provide a written evaluation of supervisees' progress every six months. 10.42.08.07.B.(12).
Those supervising LGPCs must provide written evaluation of supervisees' progress "on a regular basis, or as needed." COMAR 10.58.12.09.I(2).
If you must jump from a building into a dumpster to escape a threat, you should try to land on your:
a. back
b. front
a. back
when your body hits any surface from a significant height, the body folds into a V. This means landing on your stomach can result in a broken back. To achieve this tuck your head and execute a 3/4 somersault. Also, avoid the instinct to push off. Jump straight down or your trajectory will make you miss the dumpster.
The CMHA provided funding for three years, to construct and staff 1500 community mental health centers.
How many of these 1500 centers were fully funded?
a. None
b. Fewer than 200
c. Fewer than 1000
a. None
The Supervision Adherence and Guidance Evaluation (SAGE) is a gold standard supervision model for supervising therapists. Active supervision (role-plays, modeling, direct observation) in each supervision session is considered the gold standard for teaching core concepts and EBT protocols.
Two surveys of supervision session content in CMH settings revealed what percentage of sessions contained active supervision techniques?
a. approximately 4%
b. approximately 15%
c. approximately 23 %
a. Role-playing used in 1.8% of supervision sessions (Bailin et al. 2018) and direct observation in 2% of session (Dorsey et al. 2017).
Which requires that a professional terminate services with clients once the client is no longer required or beneficial?
a. NBCC Code of Ethics
b. NASW Code of Ethics
c. both
c. both
NBCC "shall discuss termination with clients when there is a reasonable belief that clients are no longer benefitting from, or are unlikely to benefit from, future services."
NASW: "should terminate services when such services and relationships are no longer require or no longer serve the clients' needs or interests."
FIT measurements can be used to fulfill what supervisory requirement?
Supervision of LGPCs must "focus on primary data from the supervisee's practice" (10.58.12.09.D)
Supervision of LMSWs must "focus on raw data from the supervisee's social work practice." (10.42.08.07.C.(3)).
Which strategy helps when you are attacked by a mountain lion, and which helps when attacked by a bear?
a. Lie still and be quiet
b. Do not run, or crouch down. Try to make yourself appear bigger by opening your coat wide; if you have a child with you, put them on your shoulders, not behind you.
a. Lie still and be quiet--bear. documented attacks show that a mother bear will stop attack if she believes you've stopped fighting.
b. do not run, make yourself appear bigger--mountain lion. They tend not to attack animals larger than themselves. Hold your ground, wave your hands and shout--show you are not defenseless.
The population of state psychiatric hospitals in the US peaked in 1955 at over 500,000 people.
By 1996, that number had dropped to:
a. about 100,000 people
b. about 60,000 people
c. about 30,000 people
b. by 1996, the number of people in the US in state psychiatric hospitals to dropped to about 60,000. Of the (more than) 400,000 people who left those hospitals, over 50% were diagnosed with schizophrenia, and the overwhelming majority left without the promised network of community mental health centers built and staffed.
Pursuant to the gold - standard of supervision model for therapist teaching/training, active strategies (role play, modeling, direct observation) should be part of every supervision session.
A 2022 survey of 32 supervisors across 23 CMHCs in Philadelphia found that the longer a supervisor was at an agency:
a. the more likely they were to use active strategies in supervision
b. the less likely they were to use active strategies in supervision
a. "The longer a supervisor had been at an organization, the less they used active supervision strategies." No other individual or organization-level variables predicted active supervision techniques.
(Schriger et a. 2022)
Which Code of Ethics explicitly identifies supervisors as "professional gate-keepers" with an obligation to establish clear, written behavioral and dispositional expectations for students?
a. NBCC
b. NASW
c. both
d. neither
a. NBCC specifically identifies supervisors as "gate-keepers" who must "assume responsibility" to establish written behavioral and dispositional expectations as well as policies for remediation of students.
NASW require social workers to evaluate student performance in a manner that is "fair and respectful" and complete performance evaluations of employees "in a fair and considerate manner and on the basis of clearly stated criteria."
True or false: both the Board of Professional Counselors and the Board of Social Work Examiners consistently include a five-year ban on acting as a supervisor or trainer as part of disciplinary actions.
False. The BSWE imposed this sanction in all but a handful of the (over 40) cases I read. The Board of Professional counselors has imposed this restriction, but not routinely (I found only one in the cases I read).
If trapped in a sinking car, you should do what to escape:
a. open the doors and get out
b. open the windows (or break them) and get out.
b. open the windows.
This is your best chance of escape, as opening doors is difficult given outside water pressure. If you cannot open/break windows DO NOT PANIC; wait for the car to fill up to your head, then take a deep breath, open the door and get out. The water inside will have equalized the pressure and the doors will open.
The CMHA originally provided federal funding for CMHCs which were to have "day hospitals with open wards for drop-in psychiatric services, as well as beds "waiting in the wings" for those who might need them."
By the 1970s, what percentage of CMHCs had day hospitals?
a. 0%
b. 6 %
c. 15%
b. 6 %
Most research on supervision practices occurs in academic settings--almost none in community psychiatry settings. What little research there is indicates that far more than in academic or private settings, most CMHC supervisors are responsible for clinical and administrative supervision.
What percentage of supervision sessions is spent on administrative matters?
a. 5-10%
b. 10-20 %
c. 20-30%
b. 10-20%
Research about supervisor experiences and challenges in the community mental health setting is sparse--this is a single study. Feedback from supervisors here (including survey responses) indicate that managing both duties and balancing them is a struggle, particularly as supervisors sometimes perceive that the two roles sometimes conflict.
Both the NBCC and the NASW Codes of Ethics require the practitioner to obtain informed consent before or during the first session. What three things must be included in this conversation, according to both codes?
1. the purpose and goals of treatment
2. the limitations of treatment
3. the risks of treatment