Study Guide

Field 299: Marriage and Family Therapy 
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Each multiple-choice question has four answer choices. Read each question and its answer choices carefully and choose the ONE best answer.

During the test you should try to answer all questions. Even if you are unsure of an answer, it is better to guess than not to answer a question at all. You will NOT be penalized for choosing an incorrect response.

Objective 0001 
Understand theories and processes of human growth, development, and learning.

1. Which of the following strategies for working with students is most consistent with constructivist learning theory?

  1. providing students with frequent opportunities to engage with hands-on materials
  2. modeling for students desired skills and processes
  3. utilizing techniques such as mnemonics to promote students' recall of information
  4. offering explicit feedback to guide students' change efforts
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Constructivist learning theory is based on the principle that learners construct their own knowledge. Learners use their previous knowledge as a foundation and build on that knowledge by interacting directly with their environment. Constructivist learning requires active engagement by learners, often accomplished through the use of manipulatives or other hands-on materials.
Objective 0001 
Understand theories and processes of human growth, development, and learning.

2. A student with a language disorder that affects receptive language is likely to have the most difficulty with which of the following tasks?

  1. maintaining attention during games or other peer activities
  2. expressing wants and needs in a comprehensible way
  3. following multistep oral or written instructions
  4. regulating behavior according to the situation
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Receptive language is the "input" of language, the ability to understand and comprehend spoken or written language. Reading and listening are considered receptive language skills. A language disorder that affects receptive language hinders the student's ability to comprehend spoken or written language. Receptive language skills are important to the process of following instructions, especially multistep instructions, in oral or written formats.
Objective 0002 
Understand diversity, cultural differences, and multiculturally informed approaches.

3. Which of the following approaches by a school-based marriage and family therapist is likely to have the most significant implication for the counseling relationship and outcomes for culturally diverse populations?

  1. explaining to members of all cultural groups the therapist's own perspectives on topics such as opportunity and privilege
  2. generalizing behaviors and beliefs to members of a cultural group without allowing for variation in their background experiences
  3. providing members of all cultural groups an opportunity to ask questions about the therapist's personal views and beliefs
  4. using open-ended questioning strategies to give members of cultural groups an opportunity to explain their cultural backgrounds
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
The generalization of behaviors and beliefs to members of a cultural group assumes that all members of that group possess the same characteristics and experiences. The failure to acknowledge individuality within cultural groups hinders the ability of the school-based marriage and family therapist to provide the targeted supports that will effectively meet the needs of individual students and families.
Objective 0002 
Understand diversity, cultural differences, and multiculturally informed approaches.

4. A classroom teacher asks the school-based marriage and family therapist for advice on how to respond to a student in the teacher's class who has been identified as gifted, but puts forth very little effort and rarely completes classwork. However, the student routinely passes quizzes and other assessments with very high marks. The student's parents are aware of the situation but have expressed that it is up to the teacher to address the problem. Which of the following questions would be most appropriate for the therapist to explore with the teacher?

  1. Are consequences for the student's performance implemented consistently?
  2. Does the student appear to be experiencing personal issues or stress?
  3. What does the student say when confronted about the issue of performance?
  4. Are the curriculum and instruction provided to the student sufficiently challenging?
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The student's high performance on quizzes and assessments without completing classwork is a clear indication that the current curriculum and instructional activities are not adequately challenging the student. Students who are gifted require curricula that address content in more depth and complexity than is traditionally taught in a given grade level. Evidence has shown that pursuing increased depth and complexity increases the engagement in the learning process for students who are gifted.
Objective 0002 
Understand diversity, cultural differences, and multiculturally informed approaches.

5. A school-based marriage and family therapist is part of a middle school team that is developing a career exploration program for sixth-grade students. The goal of the program is to help students gain awareness of their own strengths, aptitudes, and interests as well as to provide them with opportunities to learn about potential career paths. The team includes teachers, parents/guardians, the therapist, and the school counselor. The team would like to gather input from the community for this program and are planning a series of meetings for this purpose. As the team considers how to identify participants for these meetings, the therapist should recommend which of the following approaches?

  1. seeking individuals from diverse backgrounds who represent a variety of career paths
  2. asking school staff to suggest individuals or businesses that would be appropriate for the task
  3. meeting with high school teachers to determine how they select advisory boards
  4. sending a mass e-mail to businesses who are members of the local chamber of commerce
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Including individuals from diverse backgrounds who represent a variety of career paths helps expand students' thinking about their personal potential as well as their recognition that a wide range of careers is accessible to them regardless of their personal characteristics. When students are able to see individuals who share their characteristics and backgrounds in careers that they may not have previously considered, they tend to explore a broader range of potential careers.
Objective 0003 
Understand assessment principles, practices, and tools used within academic settings.

6. A school-based marriage and family therapist is working with a family that is experiencing several stressors in the home environment that the parents believe may be affecting their children's (ages five and eight years) functioning at school. The therapist gathers demographic information for approximately three generations of the family and uses the information to construct a genogram. This approach is likely to be most helpful in helping the therapist:

  1. understand the coping strategies that are used by family members in various situations.
  2. view relationships of family members in the context of the developmental cycle of the whole family.
  3. determine the types of additional information that should be collected from family members.
  4. identify specific therapeutic steps that would repair relationships between family members.
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
A genogram is a picture of a person's family relationships and history. It goes beyond a traditional family tree allowing the creators to visualize patterns and psychological factors that affect relationships with other relatives, including parents/guardians, grandparents, and siblings. A genogram is a useful tool for helping understand the key people and relationships in a student's or family's life. It can also help with visualizing patterns within those relationships and generational patterns that may be affecting the student and family.
Objective 0003 
Understand assessment principles, practices, and tools used within academic settings.

7. A school-based marriage and family therapist can most effectively evaluate the reliability of an assessment by considering which of the following questions?

  1. Can the assessment be used to measure individual or group progress over a period of time?
  2. Does the assessment support an accurate comparison of individuals' performances?
  3. Can the assessment be administered in a variety of settings?
  4. Does the assessment produce consistent and accurate results?
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The reliability of an assessment is the extent to which the assessment consistently and accurately measures learning. Reliable assessments are expected to produce comparable outcomes, with consistent standards over time and between different learners and examiners.
Objective 0003 
Understand assessment principles, practices, and tools used within academic settings.

8. A school-based marriage and family therapist is tasked with organizing information gathered from a high school needs assessment. Data from the needs assessment have been captured in a digital format. The therapist can use technology to facilitate the analysis of these data by first:

  1. disaggregating the data according to various student subgroups.
  2. developing electronic summaries of the data related to different components of the assessment.
  3. housing the data on a cloud-based platform for ease of access.
  4. distributing the data for specific assessment components electronically to different stakeholder groups.
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Disaggregating data allows for a more complete understanding of the experience of smaller groups within a larger population. It reveals patterns that might be masked within the data for the overall population as well as trends or discrepancies in achievement or behavior. Looking specifically at subgroups can help make sure that resources are spent on the areas and students where they are most needed and can have the biggest impact.
Objective 0004 
Understand school-based systems theory and practices for working with families and others to provide comprehensive services for students and families.

9. Which of the following outcomes is the most important therapeutic advantage of using an ecological perspective in school-based marriage and family therapy?

  1. supporting the development of students' responsibility to enact behavioral change
  2. addressing biological, genetic, and health-related factors that influence students' choices
  3. ameliorating strong disincentives for students' dangerous or destructive behaviors
  4. broadening the view of students' challenges to increase potential areas of intervention
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The ecological perspective focuses on the ways in which, and the extent to which, different settings are linked, and the impact of these links on the student or family. An ecological perspective in counseling involves identifying how a student's or family's environment affects their well-being and functioning and using interventions that move beyond exclusive focus on the student.
Objective 0005 
Understand interventions in schools and crisis intervention in school and family environments.

10. A high school community includes students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Some students have access to a wide range of resources and other students have very limited access to resources. The school-based marriage and family therapist wants to engage in community organizing to find ways to address this disparity and plans several outreach activities. The initial outreach activities should primarily focus on which of the following goals?

  1. identifying individuals or groups who would be willing to work toward change and are interested in initiating action
  2. soliciting funding and in-kind contributions to help reach the desired outcomes
  3. seeking input from specific individuals in developing a mission statement to guide change efforts
  4. developing media statements about the desired outcomes in a variety of formats
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Community organizing is the process by which people come together to enact change. Change occurs when people with shared goals mobilize resources and develop and implement strategies for reaching goals. The heart of community organizing is involvement of others. The foundation, or first step, for effective community organizing is bringing together those who share an interest in working to promote a desired change.
Objective 0005 
Understand interventions in schools and crisis intervention in school and family environments.

11. A school principal asks the school-based marriage and family therapist to consult with the parents of a student who receives special education services. The principal explains that an antagonistic relationship has developed between the parents and the student's Individualized Education Program (I E P) team. As a result the parents are strongly resisting efforts at home-school collaboration. Which of the following initial actions by the therapist would best address this issue?

  1. attending the next I E P team meeting to mediate between the parents and the I E P team
  2. offering to act as an advocate for the parents in a due process hearing related to the current I E P process
  3. meeting privately with the parents to listen to their concerns about the I E P process
  4. explaining how cooperation between the parents and I E P team would benefit the student
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
As an initial action, meeting with the parents to listen to their concerns will serve two purposes. First, the meeting will acknowledge the concerns and validate the parents' perspective. Second, the meeting will enable the school-based marriage and family therapist to seek clarifying information and gain additional insights into the dynamics between the parents and the Individualized Education Program (I E P) team. At this point, the therapist will be in a better position to facilitate more productive interactions between the parents and the I E P team for the benefit of the student.
Objective 0005 
Understand interventions in schools and crisis intervention in school and family environments.

12. A school-based marriage and family therapist in a high school works with several students with disabilities who will be transitioning from public school to postsecondary settings, including employment, training, and education. Which of the following strategies by the therapist would be most effective in supporting these students' transitions?

  1. gathering baseline data related to the students' overall mental health and social functioning
  2. engaging in collaborative community resource mapping to ensure appropriate services for the students
  3. providing the students with a community resources directory organized by types of services provided
  4. identifying long-term goals and activities for the students
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Community resource mapping is the process of identifying and marshaling community resources to improve transitions to independent living for students with disabilities. The process involves identifying student goals, potential formal programs, and natural supports, and then creating linkages between supports to facilitate success for students with disabilities in postsecondary settings.
Objective 0006 
Understand consultative and collaborative relationships and how these relationships support students' development, learning, and well-being.

13. A school-based marriage and family therapist is meeting with teachers and the family of an eighth-grade student who has difficulty in the area of self-regulation. At a previous meeting, the group has identified targeted behavioral interventions to support the student's abilities in this area and is now ready to put the interventions in place. The primary focus of this meeting should be to:

  1. suggest potential challenges in implementing the interventions with the student and how to respond to those challenges.
  2. make a determination about who will take the lead in monitoring the fidelity of the interventions by all participants.
  3. discuss how to implement the interventions with the student consistently and effectively across multiple environments.
  4. create measurable objectives describing the desired outcomes of the interventions and a plan for making changes as needed.
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Interventions are most effective in promoting behavior change when they are implemented across all of the environments where the student is expected to apply them. When all participants who are implementing interventions use the same language and techniques, the resulting consistency provides the student with the reinforcement that is needed to achieve long-term behavioral change.
Objective 0006 
Understand consultative and collaborative relationships and how these relationships support students' development, learning, and well-being.

14. A high school student describes circumstances surrounding the student's goal to be on the school's debate team. Which of the following responses by a school-based marriage and family therapist to the student most clearly reflects the principles of active listening?

  1. "I hear what you are saying and that you are concerned your parents may not support this goal."
  2. "You say that you are interested in trying out for the debate team, but you have not practiced or registered for try-outs."
  3. "Your body language suggests that you are tense. What is the underlying reason for that?"
  4. "If I understand you correctly, you are interested in trying out for the debate team. Can you tell me more about the situation?"
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Active listening refers to a pattern of listening that focuses on engagement with your conversation partner in a positive way. It is the process of listening attentively while someone else speaks, paraphrasing and reflecting back what is said, and withholding judgment and advice. Active listening skills include asking questions, summarizing, and seeking clarification.
Objective 0007 
Understand legal, ethical, and social responsibility issues and professional guidelines for school marriage and family therapists.

15. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (H I P A A) regulations regarding the release of mental health records, a consent or release form must at a minimum include which of the following elements?

  1. signature of individual(s) who will be receiving information
  2. name or specific identification of the person(s) authorized to disclose and receive information
  3. provider(s) that will be responsible for fees associated with treatment
  4. format and specific procedures for communicating identified categories of information
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a HIPAA-compliant release form must, at the very least, contain the following information: a description of the information that will be used/disclosed, the purpose for which the information will be disclosed, and the name of the person or entity to whom the information will be disclosed.
Objective 0007 
Understand legal, ethical, and social responsibility issues and professional guidelines for school marriage and family therapists.

16. A school-based marriage and family therapist will be implementing technology-assisted services. According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) code of ethics, the therapist has which of the following obligations in this process?

  1. using cloud-based applications to provide clients with technology-assisted services
  2. recording interactions with clients to document technology-assisted services
  3. informing clients of the potential risks and benefits of technology-assisted services
  4. providing training to clients on their role in technology-assisted services
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
According to the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (A A M F T) code of ethics, prior to commencing therapy through electronic means, including phone and Internet, school-based marriage and family therapists must ensure that they are compliant with all relevant laws for delivery of such services. One relevant requirement is to "inform clients of the potential risks and benefits associated with technologically assisted services."

Use the information below to answer the four questions that follow.

A school-based marriage and family therapist is planning a series of weekly workshops for the parents/guardians of incoming sixth-grade students. The workshops will be held in a local community center and the therapist plans to develop a slide show that includes various graphics and visuals. The therapist has prepared the following draft list of topics for the workshops.

Planned Workshop Topics

Objective 0004 
Understand school-based systems theory and practices for working with families and others to provide comprehensive services for students and families.

17. The most important benefit of the marriage and family therapist's planned workshops is:

  1. providing a forum for parents/guardians to form connections with other families.
  2. empowering parents/guardians with knowledge and skills to support their children's learning and development.
  3. preparing parents/guardians to interact productively with teachers and school staff.
  4. helping parents/guardians understand their responsibilities in the educational process.
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
The marriage and family therapist's planned workshops address a variety of topics that are relevant to the transition to middle school. When parents/guardians have information on these topics, they are better positioned to support their children through the middle school years both academically and developmentally. Parents/guardians will have a better idea of what questions to ask their children about school and the types of support their children may need to be successful.
Objective 0001 
Understand theories and processes of human growth, development, and learning.

18. Which of the following additional topics would be most important for the marriage and family therapist to include in the planned workshops?

  1. Choosing Appropriate Extracurricular Activities for Middle School Students
  2. Engaging Middle School Students in Family Activities
  3. The Unique Social and Emotional Needs of Middle School Students
  4. Teaching Middle School Students Friendship Skills
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Young adolescents have unique developmental needs. The middle school years are a time when students are peer-centered and trying to fit in. They are experiencing puberty and the associated changes as well as learning how to manage multiple tasks and deadlines. When parents/guardians have an understanding of their children's unique social and emotional needs related to these developmental challenges, they will be able to effectively work through behavioral and emotional responses that middle school students frequently demonstrate.
Objective 0006 
Understand consultative and collaborative relationships and how these relationships support students' development, learning, and well-being.

19. Which of the following workshop strategies by the marriage and family therapist would best promote positive communication among parents/guardians?

  1. asking a volunteer parent/guardian to share a challenging episode with their child since the previous workshop
  2. providing parents/guardians with a list of specific guidelines for interactions during the workshops
  3. requesting that parents/guardians wear a name tag during the course of the workshops
  4. leading parents/guardians in an activity at the beginning of each workshop to help them get to know one another
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Facilitating networking among parents/guardians is a useful strategy when supporting middle school students. Engaging the parents/guardians in activities to help them get to know one another will give them an opportunity to learn about things they have in common as well as skills and resources that could be used to support their children and assist other parents/guardians.
Objective 0004 
Understand school-based systems theory and practices for working with families and others to provide comprehensive services for students and families.

20. During the workshop on communicating effectively with middle school students, the marriage and family therapist plans to introduce several strategies to help parents/guardians engage their children in productive conversations. The therapist can most effectively support the parents/guardians in applying the strategies by using which of the following approaches?

  1. engaging parents/guardians in interactive activities, such as role-play, to practice the strategies
  2. revisiting the strategies with parents/guardians at the beginning or end of the next workshop
  3. distributing a handout to parents/guardians summarizing the key elements of each of the strategies
  4. developing sample scripts that parents/guardians can follow for each of the strategies
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Simulations and role-played scenarios are an effective way to reinforce interpersonal skills. Engaging parents/guardians in these types of activities provides them with a realistic context in which to apply strategies they are learning. These activities will also provide the marriage and family therapist with an opportunity to offer constructive feedback and guidance to parents/guardians.