Deck 11: Constructive Theory and Therapy

Question 1

Which philosophical perspective views reality as socially constructed through conversation and dialogue?

A) Constructivist.
B) Social constructionist.
C) Existentialist.
D) Modernist.
E) Kantian.

Answer 1

Social constructionist.

Question 2

Which philosophical perspective views reality as personally constructed within the brain and perceptual system of individuals?

A) Constructivist.
B) Social constructionist.
C) Existentialist.
D) Modernist.
E) Kantian.

Answer 2

Constructivist.

Question 3

What did the prominent social psychologist and social constructionist Kenneth Gergen suggest we bring along with us as we live within the traditions of today?

A) A sense of humor.
B) Whole-grain goldfish.
C) Confidence, conviction, and competence.
D) Reflection, curiosity, and doubt.
E) All of the above.

Answer 3

Reflection, curiosity, and doubt.

Question 4

Who first said: "Words were originally magic"?

A) Steven de Shazer.
B) Milton Erickson.
C) Bill "Possibility" O'Hanlon.
D) Insoo Kim Berg.
E) None of the above.

Question 5

George Kelly began "deliberately" offering his clients preposterous interpretations. What was/were his only criterion/criteria for these interpretations?

A) The interpretations needed to be strength-based and focus on something positive.
B) His clients' current perspectives needed to be included or integrated into the interpretations.
C) The interpretations needed to have ramifications "for approaching the future in a different way."
D) The interpretations needed to focus on an event or incident from the past.
E) Both b and c.

Question 6

How did Milton Erickson teach "Ma" to write in three weeks?

A) He highlighted and utilized her individual strengths.
B) He implemented an extensive and strict behavioral plan.
C) He helped "Ma" focus on the nature of her anxiety.
D) All of the above.
E) Only a and b.

Question 7

Milton Erickson was best described as:

A) Pessimistic (worrisome).
B) Clever (and intelligent).
C) Indirect (and collaborative).
D) Both a and b are correct.
E) Both b and c are correct.

Question 8

What technique was Jay Haley using when he told a woman whose husband chased her around the room with an ax that he was just "trying to get closer to her"?

A) Feed-forward.
B) The miracle explanation.
C) The do-something-different task.
D) Positive relabeling.
E) Positive unlabeling.

Question 9

Which of the following is/are the best description(s) of the active-directive family therapy technique called positive connotation?

A) It is the same thing as the miracle question.
B) It is an extreme form of positive reframing in which the therapist identifies positive meaning in something that usually or formerly was viewed negatively.
C) It is a formula task in which the counselor always gives positive feedback to the client during the first session.
D) All of these are positive connotation.
E) None of these is positive connotation.

Question 10

Therapists employing constructive interventions should be mindful about using overly positive interventions, so as NOT to:

A) Minimize or overlook problematic behaviors.
B) Stimulate symptom substitution.
C) Inflate the client's ego.
D) Appear too happy-go-lucky.
E) Blur professional client-therapist boundaries.

Question 11

Which constructive therapy approach explicitly emphasizes that clients don't need to know anything about why or how their problem originated and therapists don't need to know anything about how clients' problems developed?

A) Narrative therapy.
B) Solution-oriented therapy.
C) Narrative exposure therapy.
D) Personal construct therapy.
E) Solution-focused brief therapy.

Question 12

What is/are strategy(ies) that solution-focused therapists use to facilitate client change?

A) Formula tasks.
B) Skeleton keys.
C) Free association.
D) All of the above.
E) Only a and b.

Question 13

What are the main differences between solution-focused brief therapy and solution-oriented therapy (aka possibility therapy)?

A) Solution-focused therapy focuses on underlying issues and confronts clients more directly on their resistance to therapy.
B) Possibility therapy is less directive, less formulaic, more collaborative, and open to considering social and political roots to client problems.
C) Solution-focused therapy encourages therapists to read between the lines to interpret what the client is really saying.
D) Solution-focused therapy is less formulaic and more collaborative.
E) There are no salient differences between these two approaches.

Question 14

What is the Anti-Anorexia/Anti-Bulimia League?

A) An organization that turns so-called eating-disordered clients into empowered community and political activists.
B) A women's organization that strives to extinguish eating disorders from the planet.
C) A professional basketball league for the chronically overweight.
D) None of the above.
E) Both a and b.

Question 15

Which form of therapy helps individuals break free from internalized social, cultural, and political oppression and rewrite their life stories from a perspective of personal freedom?

A) Narrative therapy.
B) Solution-oriented therapy.
C) Solution-focused brief therapy.
D) Personal construct therapy.
E) Ericksonian hypnotherapy.

Question 16

What do constructivists mean when they say that therapists are not simply "taking history," but are "making history"?

A) They don't know what they mean.
B) When therapists take a personal history, often the therapist makes mistakes and then passes them on to other providers.
C) When therapists take a personal history, depending on how they interact with the client, they may also influence and possibly change the history.
D) Many therapists are manipulating clients in an effort to control them.
E) None of the above.

Question 17

What is Erickson's confusion technique designed to accomplish?

A) Help clients identify exceptions to their problem-centered viewpoint.
B) Help clients deconstruct and temporarily let go of their old, restrictive beliefs.
C) Help clients develop more positive views of the therapist.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 18

Which powerful tool is a focus of constructive therapists as they begin to help clients make meaning in their world?

A) Spirituality.
B) Visualization.
C) Language.
D) Social learning theory.
E) Positive reinforcement.

Question 19

For a constructive theorist, change is:

A) Always fast.
B) Inevitable.
C) Constant.
D) Both a and c.
E) Both b and c.

Question 20

Which of the following articulate(s) key assumption(s) of solution-focused brief therapy (if it were to be applied in a school setting)?

A) Students, teachers, and parents have the resources and strengths to resolve school problems.
B) Significant personal change is required for troubled children to succeed in the schools.
C) A small change in any aspect of the problem situation can initiate a solution.
D) Counseling is preceded by a thorough exploration and identification of the student's problem.
E) Both a and c.

Question 21

What is the constructive perspective on resistance?

A) Resistance does not exist.
B) It is the therapist's responsibility to break through client resistance.
C) Resistance is a word that was constructed to describe a situation in which clients are simply educating therapists as to the most productive and fitting method of helping them change.
D) Only a and b.
E) Only a and c.

Question 22

The solution-focused answer to the question "Where shall we lead our clients?" is:

A) Toward solutions.
B) Toward exceptions to their problem-centered viewpoint.
C) Toward optimism and self-efficacy.
D) Toward new versions of personal stories that promote greater psychological health.
E) All of the above.

Question 23

Which is/are the way(s) that constructive therapists generally view client "psychopathology"?

A) The client becoming stuck using ineffective solutions.
B) Intergenerational family conflicts.
C) The client constructing an unhealthy narrative of themselves.
D) All of the above.
E) Only a and c.

Question 24

How could the attitude of constructive theory toward diagnosis best be described?

A) Constructivists never use diagnosis.
B) Constructivists are quick to diagnose and prescribe treatment plans based on DSM IV-TR criteria for mental disorders.
C) Constructivists typically diagnose only when mental disorders are severe, and in those cases they refer clients to a medical doctor.
D) Though familiar with contemporary diagnostic assessment, constructivists typically do not diagnose clients, instead choosing to emphasize the strengths of each individual.
E) Both b and c are mostly true.

Question 25

What do constructive therapists use as their primary assessment tool?

A) Client self-report scales.
B) Questions.
C) The SCID-II.
D) Client written narratives.
E) None of the above.

Question 26

At the beginning of therapy, solution-focused brief therapists often start by:

A) Shifting immediately from problem-focused talk to a strength-based narration.
B) Following their clients' lead, allowing them to tell their story.
C) Offering insightful interpretations.
D) Mapping a family genogram.
E) Using free association.

Question 27

A question that gives clients a range of numbers (for example 1 to 10) and then asks them to state a number that corresponds with their current level of discomfort is an example of:

A) A percentage question.
B) A formal assessment.
C) A scaling question.
D) A good opening question.
E) Credulous assessment.

Question 28

These clients are frequently unmotivated to change and typically come to therapy only when mandated:

A) Visitors to treatment.
B) Complainants.
C) Complainers.
D) Customers for change.
E) Both b and c are true.

Question 29

What is a sparkling moment?

A) Part of a narrative that doesn't last very long.
B) Part of a narrative that is very positive and hopeful.
C) A moment during therapy when time seems to stop.
D) The amount of time that managed care companies will pay for individual therapy.
E) The moment in which you decided to become a counselor or psychotherapist.

Question 30

Which of the following is/are example(s) of a unique description or sparkling moment question?

A) How did you beat the fear and go out shopping?
B) The miracle question.
C) You just stopped drinking last week cold turkey! How did you accomplish that?
D) Both a and c.
E) Both b and c.

Question 31

In response to a client complaint about feeling overwhelmed at work, a constructive therapist might:

A) Provide an insightful interpretation based on attachment theory.
B) Ask the client to keep a journal detailing the specific occurrences of the overwhelming feelings.
C) Keep listening in hopes that the client will have an experiential insight.
D) Mention a past success in a related area of the client's life, and then ask how that success was achieved.
E) Help the client examine the thoughts that precede the negative events.

Question 32

A client who has been struggling with binge drinking casually mentions that he went the entire past weekend without touching a drop of alcohol. A constructive therapist would likely see this as a great opportunity for:

A) A scaling question.
B) Skepticism about the veracity of the client's story.
C) A redescription or "how did you manage that?" question.
D) An externalizing conversation.
E) Confrontation.

Question 33

Narrative therapists use _______________ to help clients avoid self-blaming and see problems from a new perspective.

A) The pretreatment change question.
B) Carl Rogers with a twist.
C) Externalizing conversations.
D) Hypnotherapy.
E) The empty-chair technique.

Question 34

Why do constructive therapists use presupposition questions?

A) To help clients reach self-actualization.
B) So clients can envision themselves functioning at a higher level in the future.
C) To pinpoint an accurate diagnosis.
D) To assess client readiness and motivation for change.
E) It's really just a bad habit.

Question 35

Which of the following is/are the miracle question?

A) "Suppose you were to go home tonight, and while you were asleep, a miracle happened and this problem was solved. How will you know the miracle happened? What will be different?"
B) "When you're fighting against that depression, what tools do you use that help you the most?"
C) "Let's say that a few weeks, months, or more time has elapsed and your problem has been resolved. What would you be doing then that would show that things were better?"
D) Both a and b.
E) Both b and c.

Question 36

Which of the following is an example of a presuppositional question?

A) "How have you managed to find the courage to keep going to work?"
B) "When you're fighting against that depression, what tools do you use that help you the most?"
C) Let's say that a few weeks, months, or more time has elapsed and your problem has gotten worse. What would you be doing then that would be linked to why things were worse?"
D) Both a and b.
E) Both b and c.

Question 37

You are a client seeing de Shazer for a common anxiety issue. What might he ask to get you to focus on a positive future and determine what is causing the anxiety?

A) "Where do you see yourself in five years?"
B) "What do you think causes your anxiety?"
C) "What would be different if suddenly your problem went away?"
D) "Suppose your problem were to get worse; what do you think would happen?"
E) "If you could stop and test your irrational thoughts, then would you be able to conquer your anxiety?"

Question 38

Why must therapists be careful when instructing clients to try the "do something different" intervention?

A) Clients might disobey the therapist and keep practicing the same behaviors.
B) Therapists must be sure to have asked the miracle question before prescribing this intervention.
C) If not monitored closely, this intervention could lead to drastic and severe changes in all aspects of the client's life.
D) Clients may come up with bad and even abusive ideas for doing something different.
E) Clients are their own best experts, so it's not important to be careful about this intervention.

Question 39

Which of the following are designed to build hope by pointing out times in which the client's problem is occurring less frequently or not at all?

A) Reflection questions.
B) Remembrance questions.
C) Exception questions.
D) Formula tasks.
E) Scaling questions.

Question 40

In regard to cultural sensitivity, constructive therapies:

A) Disrespect each individual's personal narrative and constructed reality equally, regardless of race or culture.
B) Exist on a continuum, with some orientations showing exceptional sensitivity to diversity, while others are more formulaic and have the potential to be less culturally sensitive.
C) Were developed by educated white males and are therefore a poor choice for those of diverse backgrounds.
D) Only b and c.
E) Only a and b.

Question 41

One criticism of solution-based therapies is:

A) They're sometimes formulaic and impersonal.
B) They're harmful to clients.
C) Clients tend to dislike the excessive focus on the positive.
D) There's too much focus on experiential learning and process interpretation over content.
E) Insurance companies will not reimburse therapists whose orientation is solution-based.

Question 42

Which of the following statements accurately describes the state of empirical research using solution-focused therapies?

A) Solution-focused therapies have a strong empirical base supporting both their efficacy and their brevity.
B) Solution-focused therapies show moderate efficacy for minor problems.
C) Solution-focused therapy may have a small, positive effect, but there is not a strong evidence base for it at this time.
D) Solution-focused therapies have not been empirically evaluated.
E) Solution-focused therapies are based on postmodern philosophy and therefore cannot be evaluated using a modernist research paradigm.