WorksheetsMFT MOCK COMPREHENSIVE EXAM #3 (PART 1: Questions 1–50)
Total questions: 100
Worksheet time: 50mins
Crisis & Trauma: Trauma Types According to Terr’s classification of trauma (discussed in the Crisis and Trauma course), "Type II" trauma refers to:
A. A single, unexpected traumatic event (e.g., a car accident).
B. Long-standing, repeated ordeals (e.g., chronic childhood abuse, battering, prisoner of war camps) which often result in complex post-traumatic symptoms.
C. Trauma caused by natural disasters only.
D. Vicarious trauma experienced by the therapist.
A client is struggling with anxiety and feels responsible for her mother’s happiness. Whenever the client tries to set a boundary, the mother complains to the client’s brother, who then calls the client to guilt-trip her. In Bowenian terms, this dynamic is best described as:
Family Projection Process
Emotional Cutoff
Triangulation
Sibling Position
A 24-year-old male presents with a flat affect, poverty of speech (alogia), and a lack of motivation to engage in goal-directed activities (avolition). These symptoms are best classified as:
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Manic Symptoms
Disorganized Symptoms
In a legal proceeding, who holds the "privilege" to prevent the disclosure of confidential information?
The Therapist
The Court
The Client (or the client's legal guardian/conservator)
The Board of Behavioral Sciences
According to John Gottman’s research, when a partner acts with a sense of superiority, utilizing sarcasm, mockery, or eye-rolling, they are displaying ________, which is the strongest predictor of divorce.
Criticism
Defensiveness
Stonewalling
Contempt
A client states, "I know my drinking is causing issues at work, but I just don't see how I can cope with the stress without it." The therapist responds, "You see the damage it's doing to your career, yet it feels like your only way _________."
to cope with stress
to get promoted
to make friends
to avoid responsibilities
In Narrative Therapy, the process of asking questions to help the client identify times when the problem was not present or was less powerful is called:
Mapping the Influence
Search for Unique Outcomes (Sparkling Moments)
Deconstruction
Re-authoring
According to Landreth, if a child in the playroom shoots the therapist with a dart gun, the therapist’s immediate limit-setting response (Step 2 of the ACT model) should be:
"I am not for shooting."
"You are angry, but people are not for shooting."
"If you shoot me again, you will have to leave."
"Why did you do that?"
Diversity: Cultural Genogram The Cultural Genogram (Hardy & Laszloffy) distinguishes itself from a standard genogram by specifically tracking:
Medical history and genetic diseases.
The race, ethnicity, and migration history of family members, along with associated pride and shame.
Financial assets and class mobility.
Educational achievements only.
In the Recovery Model, "Linear recovery" (the idea that one gets better in a straight line) is replaced by the understanding that recovery is:
Impossible for those with serious mental illness.
A non-linear process that may involve setbacks, growth, and discovery of a new sense of self.
Solely dependent on medication adherence.
Guaranteed if the client follows the treatment plan.
A group member notices that another member is struggling to express anger and says, "I used to feel that way too, scared that if I got mad, I would explode. But I learned here that I can be angry and still be safe." This interaction best illustrates the therapeutic factor of:
Imparting Information
Altruism
Universality
Imitative Behavior
12. Law & Ethics: Tarasoff A client tells you, "I'm so mad at my boss, I could kill him." When you probe further, the client has no specific plan, no weapon, and says, "I'd never actually do it, I just need to vent." Under Tarasoff and California Civil Code § 43.92, do you have a duty to warn/protect?
Yes, because he mentioned killing a specific person.
No, because the threat is not serious/imminent (no plan/intent), though you should document your assessment carefully.
Yes, you must call the police immediately.
No, because the boss is not a family member.
Psychopathology: Bipolar I vs. Bipolar II The distinguishing feature that confirms a diagnosis of Bipolar I Disorder rather than Bipolar II is the presence of:
Major Depressive Episode
A Hypomanic Episode
A Manic Episode
Suicidal Ideation
In EFT, the therapist views the couple’s negative interactional cycle (e.g., pursue/withdraw) as:
The enemy.
A symptom of poor communication skills.
A reflection of personality disorders.
A biological incompatibility.
Which neurotransmitter is most centrally involved in the "reward pathway" (nucleus accumbens) and is hijacked by addictive substances to create a sensation of pleasure/craving?
Serotonin
Dopamine
GABA
Norepinephrine
Crisis & Trauma: Phases of Treatment According to Judith Herman’s Trauma and Recovery, the first phase of trauma treatment must be:
Remembrance and Mourning
Reconnection
Safety and Stabilization
Confrontation of the abuser
MFT Theories I: Structural Family Therapy A Structural Family Therapist observes a father and daughter speaking for the mother, effectively silencing her. The therapist interrupts and says to the father, "Let her speak for herself." This technique is known as:
Unbalancing
Enactment
Reframing
Circular Questioning
MFT Theories II: Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Which of the following questions is designed to identify "Exceptions"?
A. "When the problem is not happening, what are you doing differently?"
B. "How does your depression make you feel?"
C. "What is your earliest memory of this problem?"
D. "Who in your family is most bothered by this?"
A child who uses the caregiver as a "secure base" from which to explore, shows distress when the caregiver leaves, and is easily soothed upon their return, demonstrates:
Avoidant Attachment
Ambivalent/Resistant Attachment
Secure Attachment
Disorganized Attachment
When a therapist actively assists a client in navigating a bureaucratic system (e.g., calling a housing agency or accompanying a client to a school meeting) to address a systemic barrier, this is an example of:
Enabling
Client Advocacy
Boundary Violation
Countertransference
Community Practice: Case Management "Brokerage" Case Management is primarily characterized by:
Providing intensive clinical therapy.
Assessing needs and linking clients to services, then monitoring receipt of those services.
Managing the client's bank accounts.
Providing 24-hour crisis response.
22. Law & Ethics: Telehealth Jurisdiction You are a therapist licensed in California. Your client travels to New York for a month-long vacation and wants to continue therapy via Zoom. To proceed ethically and legally, you must generally:
Continue seeing them as usual; your license covers your client anywhere.
Check with the New York licensing board to determine if you can practice temporarily in their jurisdiction where the client is physically located.
Tell the client to find a new therapist in New York.
Have the client sign a waiver.
Agoraphobia is best defined as fear or anxiety about:
Social situations where one might be judged.
Specific objects like spiders or heights.
Situations from which escape might be difficult or help unavailable if panic symptoms occur (e.g., public transit, open spaces, crowds).
Separation from attachment figures.
A Strategic therapist (Haley/Madanes) frames a child’s misbehavior as a way to help or protect the parents (e.g., "The child is acting out to distract the parents from their marital conflict"). This is called:
Pathologizing
Benevolent Interpretation
Triangulation
Differentiation
In Wegscheider-Cruse’s model of the chemically dependent family, the "Lost Child":
Acts out to get negative attention.
Becomes the super-responsible caretaker.
Withdraws quietly to avoid causing trouble and escapes into fantasy or isolation.
Uses humor to diffuse tension.
Vicarious Trauma is best described as:
Physical exhaustion from working too hard.
The transformation of the therapist’s inner experience (worldview, sense of safety) resulting from empathetic engagement with clients’ trauma stories.
The therapist's personal trauma history resurfacing.
A client traumatizing another client.
A central goal of Feminist Family Therapy is to:
Encourage women to leave their husbands.
Analyze and challenge the power differentials and gender role expectations within the family and society.
Focus solely on the mother's parenting.
Ignore the influence of patriarchy.
In Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT), the therapist uses "Unified Detachment" to help the couple:
A. Separate emotionally from each other.
B. Describe their problem as an "it" (an external pattern) without blame, discussing it intellectually to reduce emotional reactivity.
C. Detach from their families of origin.
D. Break up amicably.
Theraplay is an attachment-based model that utilizes four dimensions of interaction:
A. Structure, Engagement, Nurture, Challenge
B. Trust, Safety, Love, Play
C. Cognition, Emotion, Behavior, Spirit
D. Past, Present, Future, Fantasy
"You speak English so well" said to an Asian American who was born and raised in the US is an example of a microaggression known as:
Microassault
Microinsult (ascribing intelligence based on race/foreignness assumption)
Microinvalidation (Alien in own land)
Overt Racism
According to the AAMFT Code of Ethics, sexual intimacy with a former client is:
Always prohibited.
Prohibited for at least two years following termination.
Allowed immediately after termination.
Allowed if the client initiates it.
A pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation, leading to avoidance of social activities, characterizes:
Schizoid Personality Disorder
Avoidant Personality Disorder
Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)
Dependent Personality Disorder
The ASAM Criteria are used to determine:
The specific drug a client is using.
The appropriate Level of Care (e.g., outpatient, residential, detox) based on dimensionality of risk.
The client's personality type.
The cost of treatment.
MFT Theories I: Experiential Therapy Carl Whitaker believed that the therapist must be:
A. A blank slate.
B. Highly structured and technical.
C. Real, authentic, and use their own "craziness" or spontaneity to disrupt rigid family patterns.
D. Focused only on the past.
Crisis & Trauma: C-SSRS The Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) assesses both:
Depression and Anxiety.
Suicidal Ideation (severity) and Suicidal Behavior (intensity/attempts).
Past trauma and future goals.
Substance use and medication.
The PLISSIT model stands for:
Permission, Limited Information, Specific Suggestions, Intensive Therapy.
Play, Love, Intimacy, Sex, Sensuality, Intercourse, Touch.
Past, Life, Insight, Sex, Safety, Integration, Therapy.
Please Listen In Silence So I Talk.
Community Practice: Documentation "Golden Thread" documentation means:
Writing notes in a specific color.
Ensuring the Assessment, Diagnosis, Treatment Plan, and Progress Notes are all logically connected and consistent.
Billing the highest possible code.
Focusing only on the positive aspects of the client.
Diversity: Immigration "Acculturation Stress" refers to:
The ease of moving to a new country.
The biopsychosocial distress associated with adapting to a new culture (e.g., language barriers, loss of status, intergenerational conflict).
The stress of obtaining a visa.
Learning to cook new foods.
A "Not-Knowing" stance in Collaborative Therapy involves:
The therapist admitting they have no training.
The therapist maintaining genuine curiosity and avoiding the imposition of "expert" labels or pre-conceived theories on the client's experience.
Refusing to offer any help.
Asking the client to diagnose themselves.
Law & Ethics: Child Abuse Reporting Under CANRA, you are required to report child abuse when you have:
Proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
A suspicion based on facts that would cause a reasonable person to suspect abuse (Reasonable Suspicion).
A feeling or hunch without evidence.
Permission from the parent.
Psychopathology: Neurodevelopmental Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in social communication/interaction and:
Hallucinations.
Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.
Aggressive conduct.
High anxiety.
Which of the following is a Harm Reduction strategy?
Expelling a client from treatment for one relapse.
Needle exchange programs to prevent HIV/Hepatitis.
Demanding total abstinence before offering housing.
Considering addiction a moral failing.
Crisis & Trauma: Somatic Experiencing Somatic approaches to trauma (like Levine’s SIBAM model) focus on:
Cognitive restructuring.
Completing the "fight or flight" survival response that got stuck in the body/nervous system.
Talk therapy only.
Medication.
MFT Theories I: Milan Systemic "Circular Questioning" is a technique used to:
Confuse the family.
Highlight differences in perception and relationships among family members (e.g., "Who is most upset when Mom cries?").
Make the family go in circles.
Diagnose individual pathology.
Couples therapy is generally contraindicated when:
There is "Characterological" or "Intimate Terrorism" IPV where one partner is fearful and safety cannot be established.
The couple argues a lot.
One partner has had an affair.
They have different religious beliefs.
The primary goal of Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) is to:
Have the therapist cure the child.
Train parents to be the therapeutic agents for their own children using play therapy skills.
Teach parents strict discipline.
Diagnose the child.
Diversity: Spirituality A "Spiritual Genogram" helps a therapist:
Convert the client.
Map the family's history of religious/spiritual beliefs and conflicts over generations.
Ignore spirituality.
Decide which religion is best.
The Mental Health Services Act (Prop 63) in California focuses on:
Building more prisons.
Transforming the mental health system to a recovery-oriented, consumer-driven model funded by a tax on millionaires.
Privatizing mental health.
Reducing services.
Psychopathology: Depression Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia) requires a depressed mood for at least:
2 weeks
6 months
1 year
2 years (in adults)
In Internal Family Systems, the "Firefighter" parts:
Manage daily life to prevent pain.
Act impulsively to extinguish emotional pain when it breaks through (e.g., binge eating, drug use).
Are the wounded inner children (Exiles).
Are the core Self.
Crisis & Trauma: SR5 Model According to the SR5 model of trauma treatment (referenced in the Crisis and Trauma final exam materials), the five stages are:
A. Stabilization, Repression, Remembering, Reacting, Recovery.
B. Safety, Relationship, Remembrance, Reconnection, Relapse Prevention (Resiliency).
C. Somatic, Relational, Rational, Radical, Recovery.
D. Screening, Reporting, Reacting, Referring, Re-evaluating.
When providing telehealth services, the Law & Ethics syllabus emphasizes that the therapist must confirm the client's physical location at the start of every session primarily because:
It is required for billing insurance.
The therapist needs to know if the client is in a quiet space.
Emergency services (911) are dispatched based on physical location, not the client's home address on file, and licensure laws are location-dependent.
It ensures the client is not driving.
A client presents with a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity (e.g., frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, recurrent suicidal behavior). This clinical presentation is most consistent with:
Histrionic Personality Disorder
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder
Antisocial Personality Disorder
In Strategic Family Therapy (Haley/Madanes), if a therapist tells a couple who argues constantly to "go home and argue for exactly 20 minutes at 7:00 PM every night," the therapist is using a:
Paradoxical Intervention (Prescribing the Symptom)
Miracle Question
Circular Question
Family Sculpture
In Motivational Interviewing, when a client expresses resistance (e.g., "I don't think my drinking is that big of a deal"), the therapist should avoid arguing and instead use the technique of:
Confrontation
Rolling with Resistance
Shame Attenuation
Education about the disease model
The primary difference between traditional Play Therapy and Filial Therapy is that in Filial Therapy:
The therapist plays with the child while the parent watches.
The therapist trains the parent to be the primary therapeutic agent for their own child using play therapy skills.
It is only used for children with Autism.
It focuses exclusively on behavioral modification charts.
According to Gottman, the "Sound Relationship House" is built on a foundation of:
Good sexual intimacy.
Building Love Maps (knowing one another's inner world).
Conflict resolution skills.
Shared financial goals.
The framework of Intersectionality (Crenshaw) challenges therapists to:
Focus on one identity at a time (e.g., just race).
Ignore cultural differences to treat everyone equally.
Understand how overlapping social identities (race, class, gender, ability) create unique systems of discrimination and privilege that cannot be understood in isolation.
Treat the family as a colorblind system.
"Wraparound services" in community mental health are best described as:
A. A single therapist providing all services.
B. A team-based planning process that wraps formal and informal supports around a child/family with complex needs to keep them in the community.
C. Mandatory hospitalization.
D. Medication management only.
In Collaborative Therapy (Anderson & Goolishian), the concept of "dialogical space" refers to:
The physical distance between chairs in the room.
A shared inquiry where new meaning is co-created through conversation, rather than the therapist imposing a narrative.
The silence used in psychoanalysis.
A specific technique for ending sessions.
During the "Storming" (or Transition) stage of a group, members are most likely to:
A. Be polite and hesitant.
B. Challenge the leader, compete for status, and experience anxiety about safety/control.
C. Feel a deep sense of cohesion and trust.
D. Prepare for termination.
Under California Health & Safety Code § 124260, a minor who is 12 years or older may consent to their own outpatient mental health treatment if:
Their parents are divorced.
The therapist determines the minor is mature enough to participate intelligently in the treatment.
The minor has their own money to pay.
The minor has been emancipated by a court.
Acute Stress Disorder differs from PTSD primarily in that:
Acute Stress Disorder cannot be diagnosed in children.
Symptoms of Acute Stress Disorder
64. MFT Theories I: Experiential Therapy Virginia Satir's "Family Reconstruction" technique is designed to:
Physically rebuild the family's house.
Help family members trace the roots of their learning from their families of origin to unlock old patterns and liberate members for new growth.
Assign chores to children.
Teach parents how to discipline.
In a family with addiction, the "Enabler" (often the spouse or parent) typically:
Causes the addiction.
Protects the addict from the natural consequences of their behavior to maintain family homeostasis.
Is the person who uses the substance.
Is the "Lost Child" who withdraws.
During a traumatic event, the amygdala (alarm center) is hyperactivated, while the __________ (responsible for language, time-keeping, and logic) often goes "offline" or decreases in activity.
B. Prefrontal Cortex (specifically Broca's area)
A. Hippocampus
C. Occipital Lobe
D. Cerebellum
67. MFT Theories II: Feminist Therapy "The personal is political" in Feminist Family Therapy implies that:
A. Therapists should discuss politics in every session.
B. Clients' personal problems are often rooted in or exacerbated by sociopolitical inequalities and gender role expectations.
C. Therapy is only for women.
D. Men are always the problem.
In Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT), a primary goal is to shift from trying to change the partner to:
Emotional Acceptance (Transformation of Motivation)
Ignoring the partner
Separating the couple
Increasing criticism
When using the ACT model in limit setting in play therapy, the "C" stands for:
Communicate the limit.
Challenge the behavior.
Consequences are given.
Calm the child.
A "Microinvalidation" is a type of microaggression that:
Is an overt physical attack.
Excludes or negates the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person of color (e.g., "I don't see color").
Is a compliment.
Occurs only in the workplace.
If a therapist receives a subpoena for client records but the client does not want them released (and there is no court order), the therapist should:
Release the records immediately to avoid legal trouble.
Assert privilege on behalf of the client and object to the release.
Ignore the subpoena.
Call the judge directly.
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) was introduced in the DSM-5 to address the overdiagnosis of __________ in children.
Bipolar Disorder
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Conduct Disorder
The concept of "Multigenerational Transmission Process" describes:
How genetic diseases are passed down.
How levels of differentiation and emotional patterns are passed down across generations, potentially leading to severe dysfunction in a child.
How wealth is inherited.
The transmission of cultural traditions only.
74. Chemical Dependency: Stages of Change A client acknowledges that their drug use is a problem and is thinking about quitting in the next 6 months but has not yet made a specific plan. This client is in the __________ stage.
B. Contemplation
A. Precontemplation
C. Preparation
D. Maintenance
Crisis & Trauma: Assessment The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) is considered:
A. A quick screening tool for anxiety.
B. The "gold standard" structured
MFT Theories II: Solution-Focused "Scaling Questions" (e.g., "On a scale of 1 to 10...") are used to:
Diagnose the severity of a disorder.
Assess progress, motivation, and identify small steps for change.
Measure the therapist's competence.
Determine the fee.
Parent-Child Therapy: CPRT Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) is a 10-session model based on the principles of:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Child-Centered Play Therapy (teaching parents these skills)
Psychoanalysis
Gestalt Therapy
Couples Therapy: Sex Therapy "Sensate Focus" exercises are designed to:
Increase performance anxiety.
Remove the pressure of performance/intercourse and focus on physical sensation and intimacy.
Teach couples the best sexual positions.
Encourage celibacy.
Cultural Humility differs from Cultural Competence in that it emphasizes:
Knowing everything about every culture.
A lifelong commitment to self-evaluation, critique of power imbalances, and developing mutually beneficial partnerships.
Passing a test on cultural facts.
Ignoring culture to focus on humanity.
Community Practice: Documentation The "Golden Thread" in clinical documentation refers to:
Using gold paper.
The alignment and consistency between the Assessment, Diagnosis, Treatment Plan, and Progress Notes.
The billing codes used.
The therapist's signature.
The therapeutic factor "Universality" refers to:
The group leader knowing everything.
The realization that "I am not alone" and others share similar problems.
The release of strong emotions (catharsis).
Learning facts about mental health.
The duty to protect under Tarasoff is triggered when:
A client is generally angry.
A client communicates a serious threat of physical violence against a reasonably identifiable victim.
A client has a criminal record.
A client confesses to a past crime.
Psychopathology: Eating Disorders Anorexia Nervosa is distinguished from Bulimia Nervosa primarily by:
The presence of binging and purging.
Significantly low body weight.
The age of onset.
The use of laxatives.
MFT Theories I: Structural Therapy "Enactment" is a technique where the therapist:
Talks about the problem in the past.
Asks the family to act out a specific interaction pattern in the session so the therapist can observe and modify it.
Acts out a role for the family.
Gives the family a script to read.
According to the Chemical Dependency course, "Recovery" is viewed not just as abstinence, but as:
A return to pre-use functioning.
A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.
Taking medication for life.
Attendance at 90 meetings in 90 days.
In Herman’s model, the second phase of treatment involves:
Establishing safety.
Reconnecting with the community.
Constructing the trauma narrative and processing the associated grief/emotion.
Confronting the perpetrator.
MFT Theories II: Narrative Therapy "Mapping the Influence" is a technique used to:
Find the client's house.
Explore how the problem has affected the client’s life and relationships, and how the client has affected the problem.
Draw a genogram.
Diagnose the client.
Theraplay focuses on four dimensions of parent-child interaction: Structure, Engagement, Nurture, and:
Challenge
Control
Compliance
Creativity
"Assimilation" is an acculturation strategy where an individual:
Maintains their heritage culture and adopts the host culture.
Rejects their heritage culture and adopts the host culture.
Rejects both cultures.
Maintains their heritage culture and rejects the host culture.
A Peer Support Specialist is:
A licensed therapist.
An individual with lived experience of recovery from mental illness/substance use who provides support to others.
A psychiatrist.
An administrative assistant.
According to the AAMFT Code of Ethics, dual relationships should be avoided if they:
Are with anyone the therapist knows.
Could impair professional judgment or increase the risk of exploitation.
Involve buying girl scout cookies.
Occur in a small town.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by:
Panic attacks.
Excessive anxiety and worry about a number of events or activities, occurring more days than not for at least 6 months.
Fear of social scrutiny.
Obsessions and compulsions.
"Destructive Entitlement" refers to:
A child who is spoiled.
The pursuit of self-justifying compensation for past injustices, often at the expense of others.
A legal term for divorce.
A healthy boundary.
Which of the following is a Harm Reduction strategy?
Refuse exchange programs.
Expelling a client for one slip.
Mandating total abstinence immediately.
Avoiding medication-assisted treatment.
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) focuses on:
Eye movements.
Identifying and challenging "stuck points" (maladaptive beliefs) related to the trauma.
Somatic experiencing.
Exposure therapy only.
The therapist's stance in Collaborative Therapy is described as:
The expert.
The teacher.
"Not-Knowing" (curious and open).
The strategist.
A child who seeks comfort from a caregiver but then resists contact (e.g., pushing away) when it is offered is displaying:
Secure Attachment.
Avoidant Attachment.
Ambivalent/Resistant Attachment.
Disorganized Attachment.
Couples therapy is generally contraindicated (not recommended) when:
The couple argues frequently.
There is ongoing, unmitigated intimate partner violence (IPV) or "intimate terrorism."
One partner has depression.
They have sexual difficulties.
A "Spiritual Genogram" is used to:
Convert the client.
Trace the history of religious/spiritual beliefs and conflicts across generations.
Diagnose religious delusions.
Decide which religion is best.
Systems advocacy involves:
Helping one client fill out a form.
Working to change policies, laws, or systems that create barriers for groups of clients.
Writing a progress note.
Referring a client to a psychiatrist.
