Professional Values & Ethics
A social worker who recently divorced due to infidelity by a spouse becomes increasingly upset with a client who is having an affair. The client has been dating a coworker for a year, being careful to hide the relationship. In order to BEST meet the needs of the client, the social worker should:
A. Disclose the feelings to the client to determine if a referral to another social worker is warranted.
B. Encourage the client to be honest with her spouse.
C. Acknowledge the feelings and discuss them with a supervisor.
C. Acknowledge the feelings and discuss them with a supervisor.
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A social worker is meeting with an adult client who has a loss of appetite and problems sleeping in additon to a depressed mood. The client reports that the symptoms have persisted for the last decade despite attempts to remedy them. Which of the following diagnoses BEST fits the client's condition?
A. Major depressive disorder
B. Persistent depressive disorder
C. Low self esteem
B. Persistent depressive disorder
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In which stage of cognitive development do imaginary friends MOST often emerge?
A. Formal operations
B. Preoperational
C. Sensorimotor
B. Preoperational
1. Content area I
During the first session, a client becomes very upset and hostile about his need to seek treatment. He blames others for his situations and yells in a loud manner. In order to facilitate the problem-solving process, the social worker should FIRST:
A. Listen to the client as he explains his concerns.
B. Tell the client that he needs to calm down so the social worker can understand his issues.
C. Assess why the client is so upset and unwilling to accept responsibility for his problems.
A. Listen to the client as he explains his concerns.
1. content area III practice questions
A social worker is meeting with a single mother and her three children for an initial session. The social worker learns that one of the children, a 14-year-old son, is sneaking out at night and experiencing truancy at school. When speaking with the son, he states that he does not have to listen to his mother and is treated like a baby even though he is the "man of the house". The other two children rarely speak, instead comforting the mother who sobs throughout the interview. After engaging with family members, the social worker should NEXT:
A. Identify the role expectations of family members for themselves and others.
B. Explore the impact of the son's behavior on family functioning and communication.
C. Request school records for the children to understand their performance outside the family unit.
A. Identify the role expectations of family members for themselves and others.
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A social worker discovers a breach of client confidentiality has occurred. Which of the following will be MOST helpful in guiding the social worker's actions?
A. Review of ethical and legal standards on confidentiality breaches.
B. Conversations with the client involved in the situation.
C. Consultation with a supervisor.
A. Review of ethical and legal standards on confidentiality breaches.
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A client tells a social worker that he has stopped taking his medication and is experiencing delusional thoughts. He states that he will never be taking this medication again. The social worker should FIRST:
A. Speak to the client about maladaptive feelings and behaviors that will likely emerge.
B. Identify what factors in the client's life may have contributed to this recent decision.
C. Suggest that the client try a different medication to address his delusional thoughts.
B. Identify what factors in the client's life may have contributed to this recent decision.
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According to the family life cycle, which of the following is the MOST significant role issue in families with young children?
A. Adjusting to children taking a more central role in family maintenance.
B. Adopting and developing parenting roles.
C. Assisting children to develop peer relationships.
B. Adopting and developing parenting roles.
2. Content area I
A client in a group facilitated by a social worker has a red face and appears visibly upset when he talks about his current relationship with his family. When the social worker comments how the client appear unhappy about his current situation, the client says, "Everything is fine." How can the behavior of the client BEST be explained?
A. Lack of congruent communication
B. Denial of an underlying psychic conflict
C. Resistance to address the situation.
A. Lack of congruent communication
2. content area III
A social worker employed in a substance use treatment agency notices a 17 year old client appears to be in distress in the common area. The client recently completed a detoxification program for opioid use and is attending day treatment. The client is unresponsive and has labored breathing. After calling for emergency assistance, the social worker should NEXT:
A. Ask others about the client's behavior
B. Contact the client's parents
C. Administer naloxone to the client
C. Administer naloxone to the client
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A social worker in private practice has started a website for the general public that provides useful & suggested strategies for addressing mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and fear. Which of the following issues is MOST important to consider when the social worker provides this information?
A. Dual relationships will likely emerge because some of the people who read the site may be people that the social worker knows.
B. The social worker is not a specialist in all these areas so the information may not be up-to-date and current.
C. Readers may take this information as treatment recommendations without proper assessment of their individual problems.
C. Readers may take this information as treatment recommendations without proper assessment of their individual problems.
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A social worker gets a referral for a 20-year-old college student who deliberately engaged in social isolation due to beliefs that others are "out to get him". After the behavior persists for three weeks, the client is prescribed antipsychotic medication and appears to be functioning typically. Which of the following is the BEST diagnosis for this client?
A. Brief psychotic disorder
B. Schizophreniform disorder
C. Schizophrenia
A. Brief psychotic disorder
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Which of the following is accurate about self-image during the life cycle?
A. Self-esteem generally increases in older adulthood because individuals have fewer demands placed upon them in retirement
B. Young children have relatively low self-esteem, but it gradually increases over childhood.
C. Self-esteem declines during adolescence due to body image concerns, puberty, and academic/social challenges.
C. Self-esteem declines during adolescence due to body image concerns, puberty, and academic/social challenges.
5. content area I
A client comes to see a social worker because she is having multiple issues with her job. During the initial session, she tells the social worker that she "can't wait for advice on how to fix the problems." In this situation, the social worker should:
A. Help the client prioritize the issues so that the most urgent are addressed first.
B. Ask the client why she feels that the social worker's advice would be so valuable.
C. Clarify the responsibilities of the client and social worker with regard to the change process.
C. Clarify the responsibilities of the client and social worker with regard to the change process.
4. Content Area III
A social worker, employed in a large governmental human service organization, notices that there is little racial diversity within upper administration with few people of color in decision making positions. The direct services staff workforce is quite diverse with many people of color providing services to clients. Which of the following statements MOST likely describes the reason for this disparity?
A. Few people of color seek management positions within the organization.
B. Recruitment efforts lack attention to attract a diverse candidate pool.
C. Promotional practices and policies are institutionally biased.
C. Promotional practices and policies are institutionally biased.
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A social worker in private practice learns that he has cancer that will require aggressive treatment in the coming weeks. The social worker plans to continue to work during his radiation and chemotherapy but will not be accepting any new clients. In order to address this situation ethically, the social worker should:
A. Educate clients about his medical diagnosis and the effects of treatments, so they know what to expect.
B. Continue to provide services without disclosing his health status since it will not impact services.
C. Speak with his clients about their available treatment options given his medical condition.
C. Speak with his clients about their available treatment options given his medical condition.
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A social worker meets with a 20-year-old client who is having trouble functioning at home and in the community. For the last year, the client has had severe verbal outbursts and an angry mood daily. The social worker diagnoses the client with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, which has never been assigned to this client before. The supervisor disagrees with the diagnosis. Which of the following is the basis of the supervisor's objection?
A. Symptomology presented
B. Age of the client
C. Chronicity of symptoms
B. Age of the client
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A man is seeing a social worker because he is struggling to "find himself" as his children have become adults and left the family home. He feels that his job has become mundane, and he is feeling "bored with life." Which stage of psychosocial development BEST describes the client's feelings?
A. Generativity versus stagnation
B. Industry v. inferiority
C. Intimacy v. isolation
A. Generativity versus stagnation
6. content area I
The social worker ends a family session with, "During the last hour, each of you has had a chance to discuss your frustrations with one another and how sometimes your own actions have been perceived by each other as hurtful, though they were not intended to be so." The social worker's statement MOST likely aims to:
A. Clarify to the family that the social worker is objective since each member got a chance to speak.
B. Summarize what occurred so family members can gain a new understanding of their actions.
C. Praise the family members for their openness and participation in the session.
B. Summarize what occurred so family members can gain a new understanding of their actions.
5. Content Area III
In psychoanalysis, what does dream analysis attempt to understand?
A. Delusional tendencies
B. Unconscious desires
C. Sexual drives
B. Unconscious desires
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A client who left the agency many years ago contacts the social worker for a copy of an assessment. The social worker finds that the agency retained the record even though the length of time exceeds its record retention policy. In order to properly address the situation, the social worker should:
A. Provide the client with a copy of the assessment after explaining that it was kept longer than usual.
B. Deny the client's request as it is beyond the record retention policy.
C. Ask the client why the assessment is being requested.
A. Provide the client with a copy of the assessment after explaining that it was kept longer than usual.
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A social worker is meeting with an adult client who witnessed the violent death of a friend a month ago. The client experienced recurrent, distressing memories of the incident immediately after the incident occurred, causing an inability to return to work. However, the client reports that these negative troubling memories subsided in the last week. Based on this report, with which of the following is the client MOST likely to be diagnosed?
A. Acute Stress Disorder
B. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
C. Repressed memories
A. Acute Stress Disorder
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Which of the following BEST describes the typical mental functioning of older adults?
A. they continue to learn but may experience declines in memory skills.
B. They are at their peak with regard to problem solving and mental processes.
C. They do not learn and may experience declines in memory skills.
A. they continue to learn but may experience declines in memory skills.
7. content area I
Which of the following must a social worker consider when obtaining formal feedback from others about social work practice delivery?
A. Client consent is needed if consultation is related to client care.
B. The best insight can often be gained from those who are critical of care.
C. Feedback is important at key decision points in service development and implementation.
A. Client consent is needed if consultation is related to client care.
6. Content Area III.
A client of a social worker is a long-time illicit barbiturate user but now tells the social worker that she will be quitting "cold turkey". Which of the following supports will be MOST important during this process?
A. Medical monitoring
B. Social support
C. Psychological counseling
A. Medical monitoring
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