Deck 8: Stage I: Helping Clients Explore Their Concerns and Tell Their Stories

Question 1

Which of the following is not one of Egan's methods to help clients to explore their problems and identify unexploited opportunities?

A)Help clients search for resources
B)Help clients talk productively about the past
C)Help clients see every problem as an opportunity
D)Help clients to assess their interpersonal skills

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is true?

A)Helpers can learn something about themselves by being sensitive to the give-and-take within the helping sessions
B)When counselling takes place in a group,the opportunity to learn about interpersonal styles is diminished.
C)The relationship between helper and client always corrects the interpersonal problems experienced by the client
D)A client's interpersonal style must be challenged in order for the client to grow

Answer 2

A

Question 3

According to Egan,which of the following is not a purpose for discussing the client's past?

A)To prepare for action in the future
B)To learn which problems are so deep that they cannot be addressed
C)To make sense of the present
D)To be reconciled to or liberated from the past

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What does Pinsoff mean by 'problem-maintenance structure?'

A)The cognitive structure that each client brings to every session
B)The client's reluctance to change
C)The set of factors-including personal,social,organisational,community,and political factors-that keeps clients from identifying,exploring,and doing something about their problem situations and unused opportunities
D)The set of factors-including historical,genetic,and unconscious factors-that keeps clients from identifying,exploring,and doing something about their problems and unused opportunities

Question 5

Which of the following is not an example of a personal quality or regulator that signals that a person is prepared to benefit from the helping situation?

A)An ability to cry when the helper mentions something that feels very sad
B)A sense of necessity that one must do something about a problem or issue
C)The sufficient will or effort to make changes in one's life
D)A willingness or readiness to experience anxiety or difficulty

Question 6

Effective helpers learn to focus on clients' stories and are most able to highlight ____.

A)how they will be able to solve the clients' problems as presented
B)deficits in clients' coping strategies
C)unused resources
D)dysfunctions in clients' histories

Question 7

Which of the following is not a way helpers would encourage to use the time between sessions to good advantage?

A)Mention some homework task,and ask the client to carry it out and report back.
B)Use some agreement to move the client to some appropriate activity.
C)Highlight painful memories for the client about her childhood and ask the client to think repeatedly about them.
D)Wait until the client comes up with a post-session task,and then help the client clarify and focus it.

Question 8

One of the key tasks in initial meetings with clients as they are telling their story is to ____.

A)help them clarify key issues within the story
B)make a firm diagnosis regarding their story
C)gauge the truthfulness of their story
D)define a course of action within a specified timeline

Question 9

Which of the following statements is most accurate about Stage I-A of the Helping Skills Program?

A)Helpers help clients to (1)tell their stories,(2)identify the most important story to begin working on it,and (3)stay focused on issues that will make a difference in their lives.
B)Helpers help clients to (1)identify their problems,(2)outline solutions,and (3)create an action plan for moving forward.
C)Helpers help clients to (1)tell their stories,(2)reframe their stories in order to develop new,more useful perspectives,and (3)overcome the most significant of their problems.
D)Helpers help clients to (1)tell their stories,(2)reframe their stories in order to develop new,more useful perspectives,and (3)stay focused on issues that will make a difference in their lives.

Question 10

Egan's problem-management framework is focused on ____.

A)solving problems that promote direct action by the client
B)solving or managing problems
C)managing problems without specifying a solution
D)accepting that most problems are not directly solvable

Question 11

A primary goal of challenging is to ____.

A)help clients gain an enduring sense of reality
B)help clients to participate as fully as possible in the helping process
C)bring differences between client and helper to a head
D)to help clients see just how little they know themselves

Question 12

The severity of clients' presenting issues can be simply understood as the combination of ____.

A)distress,frequency,and uncontrollability
B)distress,resources,and uncontrollability
C)resources,frequency,and predisposition
D)resources,predisposition,and attitude

Question 13

Read the following and answer the question: CLIENT: Someone said that good things can come from evil things.What happened to my son was evil.But we'll give him all the support he needs to get through this.Though I had the same thing happen to me,I kept it all in until now.It was all locked up inside.I was so ashamed,and my shame became part of me.When I let it all out last week,it was like throwing off a dirty cloak that I'd been wearing for years.Getting it out was so painful,but now I feel so different,so good.I wonder why I had to hold it in for so long.
This statement by the client about the past exemplifies which of the following?

A)That he is using his recollections to reconcile or liberate himself with his past
B)That he is using his recollections to prepare himself for change
C)That he is stuck in the past
D)That he is using his recollections to make sense of the present

Question 14

How might a helper most challenge a client to participate in the helping process?

A)Invite clients to own their problems and unused opportunities.
B)Invite clients to state their problems as solvable.
C)Invite your clients,along with you,to put aside problems that arise in the helping relationship itself so that the focus can remain on the client
D)A and B

Question 15

A client comes for his first session with you.He seems anxious and starts talking by saying "Yesterday,I felt so nervous that I couldn't leave the house.It took every bit of strength I had to come here today." And then he stops talking.In accordance with Stage I,you want to help him to tell his story.Which of the following might you do to help him to continue in the way most beneficial to him?

A)Ask him whether anxiety and sadness characterize his life.
B)Gently suggest that his anxiety is about meeting new people such as yourself and the more often you do it,the easier it will be.
C)Ask him to tell you more about his anxiety.
D)Ask him what other problems he is facing.

Question 16

Which of the following is not a helper's goal during Stage I-A?

A)Establish a good rapport with the client.
B)Help clients to become clear about the issues they face.
C)Keep the client from acting on their problems before they are ready.
D)Help reduce any stress the client might be feeling when beginning the helping experience.

Question 17

A client's reluctance to self-disclose most likely signals ____.

A)a fear of dependence on the helper
B)a general inability to share aspects of him/herself with others
C)a sign of anti-social personality
D)a need to control the situation

Question 18

If a client thinks that a problem is critical,even though by objective standards,the problem does not seem to be that bad,then ____.

A)the client cannot be helped
B)for him or her,it is critical
C)you need to immediately apply the tasks of Stage I
D)you are working with a severely disturbed person who has no sense of reality

Question 19

In initial sessions with clients,it is important to ____.

A)provide empathy
B)avoid linking any issues to actions or potential actions
C)engage with the client in a business-like manner
D)establish a timeline for completing therapy

Question 20

When starting to explore the problem situation,it is MOST important to ____.

A)start where the client starts in telling the story
B)avoid asking questions
C)lead the client through the story
D)fill in the gaps in the client's story as needed

Question 21

D.The issues that most closely match the helper's areas of expertise
ANS: A
In working with clients with large and complex problems,it is best for the helper to do which of the following?

A)Tackle the entire problem head on to avoid crisis
B)Break the problem down into manageable sub-problems
C)Refer the client to a psychiatrist for medication
D)Identify the client as someone who can not benefit from helping

Question 22

In the screening process,it is important to ____.

A)decide whether a given problem situation is appropriate for treatment
B)focus on how the problem can be solved,not whether it is appropriate
C)avoid evaluating a client's readiness to change
D)convince clients that counselling will be helpful

Question 23

Read the following: COUNSELLOR: I'd like to stop for a moment and take a look at what's happening right now between you and me.
AGNES: I'm not sure what you mean.
COUNSELLOR: Well,our conversation today started out quite lively,and now it seems rather subdued.I've noticed that the muscles in my shoulders have become tense.I sometimes tense up that way when I feel that I might have said something wrong.It could be just me,but I sense that things are a bit strained between us right now.
AGNES: (hesitating)Well,a little....
This interaction between helper and client reflects which of the following?

A)Event-focused immediacy
B)Here-and-now immediacy
C)Challenging by addressing issues that come up in the helping relationship itself
D)All of these

Question 24

Which one of the following will not enable a client to deal with their problems?

A)Seeing problems as an opportunity through positive growth
B)Being proactive by using behavioural activation
C)Focusing on which problems are so deep that they cannot be addressed
D)Searching for unused resources

Question 25

In a crisis situation,which of the following is true?

A)Counselling is counterproductive in crisis situations
B)First help the client manage the crisis
C)Avoid a focus on the context that the crisis takes place
D)The problem-management framework is not designed for crises

Question 26

Kelly,an accountant in her mid-30s,seeks help with a variety of concerns.She notes being unhappy in her career,having few friends,and having a potential phobia with spiders that she notes is "annoying more than anything." Her counsellor notes a new approach she just learned with overcoming phobias and proposes this as an easy place to begin treatment.Based on the chapter,the counsellor should ____.

A)start with the career concerns since it was mentioned first
B)focus on the problem that,if handled,will lead to some kind of general improvement
C)work on the problem she feels most confident addressing
D)work on all three problems at the same time

Question 27

In non-crisis situations,a helper might first help a client with which of the following?

A)The issues that the client sees as important and is most willing to work on
B)The issues that the helper privately judges to be the most significant
C)The issues that most interest the helper

Question 28

Which of the following helping situation calls for immediacy?

A)When a session is directionless and it seems that no progress is being made
B)When cultural differences seem to get be getting in the way
C)When trust seems to be an issue
D)All of above

Question 29

A client is a fifty-year-old woman who is a recovering alcoholic and has recently divorced.She feels overwhelmed by anxiety about her finances.She also feels lonely and worries that she will never again have an important relationship.The helper should ____.

A)help her to tackle all these problems before she starts drinking again
B)prioritise the client's issues and first help her with the most painful ones
C)prioritise the client's issues and first help her with the most difficult ones no matter the cost
D)concentrate on the most difficult problem and be sure it is solved before moving on to the next one

Question 30

According to Frances,Clarkin and Perry,some clients have a history of treatment failure or often get worse in treatment.These kinds of clients might include which of the following?

A)Clients who probably cannot improve on their own
B)Patients with malingering or fictitious illness
C)Clients who do not have a clinical diagnosis
D)Couples that fight frequently

Question 31

Stage I,Task I-C is about ____.

A)helping clients to work on issues that will add value to their lives
B)helping clients to gain insight into themselves
C)helping clients learn from challenges
D)helping clients to accept and celebrate their lives