Deck 6: Verbal Following, Exploring, and Focusing Skills

Question 1

Which of the following statements made by a social worker has a high degree of specificity?

A)​I think you have self-esteem issues.
B)​You seem more at ease today, and you did a great job when you talked about all the issues you faced in school.
C)​I think you are passive-aggressive, and most of your issues can be solved if you just work on your self-image.
D)​Your issues stem from your impulsive behavior, and you make it a point to test my authority at every moment.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

_____ invite expanded expression and leave a client free to express what seems most relevant and important to him or her.

A)​Convergent questions
B)​Open-ended questions
C)​Closed-ended questions
D)​Embedded questions

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Here-and-now experiencing that involves a client's emotions toward the social worker is known as _____.

A)​relational immediacy
B)​interactional behavior
C)​quantitative evaluation
D)​self-expression

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In the context of maintaining psychological contact with clients and exploring their problems, _____ emphasize the cognitive aspects of client messages, such as situations, ideas, objects, or persons.

A)​reflections of content
B)​reflections with a twist
C)​accent responses
D)​closed-ended responses

Question 5

In the context of verbal following, skills in following have been related to:

A)​goal setting.
B)​treatment outcomes.
C)​successful interrogations.
D)​client continuance.

Question 6

Closed-ended questions are used chiefly to:

A)​explore feelings.
B)​seek concreteness of information.
C)​facilitate discussion.
D)​elicit essential factual information.

Question 7

A client states, "We've been married for five years and have fought from the first day. We can't seem to agree on anything." Which of the following questions would invite expanded expression from the client about his or her marriage life?

A)​Have you ever tried marriage counselling before this?
B)​Do you have any children?
C)​Is it your spouse who usually initiates the fights?
D)​What are your fights usually about?

Question 8

Empathetic responses enable social workers to:

A)​stay attuned to clients' moment-by-moment experiencing.
B)​go beyond what the client has directly stated or implied.
C)​discreetly interrogate clients and find out their exact problem.
D)​tie together the client's rambling and numerous unrelated elements into coherent messages.

Question 9

A ______ puts a client's response in a different light beyond what the client had previously considered.

A)​double-sided reflection
B)​closed-ended response
C)​reframe
D)​response shift

Question 10

_____ do not take the form of a question but embody a request for information.

A)​Polite questions
B)​Loaded questions
C)​Embedded questions
D)​Closed-ended questions

Question 11

During the phase of an initial session with a client, which of the following can be effectively employed to tie together and highlight essential aspects of the session before proceeding to explore additional concerns and strengths?

A)​Sympathetic responding
B)​Summarization
C)​Quantitative research
D)​Contemplation

Question 12

In the context of reflection responses, _____ identify the emotions expressed by a client but do not take a stand or attempt to help the client deal with the emotions.

A)​complex reflections
B)​reflections with a twist
C)​reflections of affect
D)​simple reflections

Question 13

A client states, "This past month my daughter has just been unbearable." The social worker responds, "Unbearable?" The social worker's response is a(n) _____.

A)​closed-ended response
B)​accent response
C)​embedded response
D)​reflection response

Question 14

Which of the following is an example of a closed-ended question?

A)​Why did she begin acting this way?
B)​Can you tell me what you see that leads you to use that term?
C)​Do you find this task challenging?
D)What are Marsha's strengths and weaknesses?​

Question 15

An initial interview with Ms. Greta produces little information about the kind of help she is seeking. She rambles between topics and introduces new people, events, and topics without making any connection between them. The social worker needs to extract elements from Ms. Greta that are relevant to the session. In this scenario, which of the following is the best course of action for the social worker?

A)​The social worker should ask closed-ended questions to interrupt the flow of information.
B)​The social worker should listen attentively for the emotional content of the message.
C)​The social worker should summarize and provide focus to avert aimless wandering.
D)​The social worker should allow her to tell her story and empathize with her.

Question 16

In the context of verbal following, incongruent responses to clients have been associated with:

A)​satisfaction.
B)​uncertainty.
C)​obedience.
D)​discontinuance.

Question 17

Sometimes a reframe might focus on amplification, which means:

A)​encouraging the client to verbalize.
B)​condoning a client's thoughts with a response.
C)​capturing both sides of a dilemma faced by a client.
D)​either strengthening or weakening the intensity of client expression.

Question 18

A social worker will experience a dramatic positive change in his or her interviewing style and confidence level by incorporating:

A)​open-ended responses.
B)​closed-ended responses.
C)​minimal prompts.
D)​simple reflections.

Question 19

Which of the following responses would elicit clarification of information from a client?

A)​How have you concluded that you are depressed?
B)​Did you skip school for three days?
C)​How was your day at work?
D)​Did you talk to your new friend about a possible home visit?

Question 20

In the context of furthering responses, _____ signal the social worker's attentiveness and encourage the client to continue verbalizing.

A)​minimal prompts
B)​interrogative statements
C)​timely interruptions
D)​accent responses

Question 21

A facet of summarization is:

A)​highlighting key aspects of discussions.
B)​exploring topical areas in depth.
C)​using incongruent responses to improve client satisfaction.
D)​eliciting limited information from the client.

Question 22

Which of the following responses would be used by a social worker to elicit limited information from a client?

A)​Tell me about the math exam.
B)​Did you talk to the teacher?
C)​Talk about your experience.
D)​How did you handle the situation?

Question 23

Client messages may ramble to the extent that they contain numerous unrelated elements that cannot all be tied together. In such instances, the social worker's task is to:

A)​extract and focus on the elements that are most relevant to the thrust of the session.
B)​encourage the client to continue verbalizing to indicate that he or she is listening.
C)​respond with incongruent statements to ensure that the client is satisfied.
D)​explore each and every topic in depth to analyze the client's emotional state.

Question 24

How should you respond if your client is using language that you are not familiar with?

Question 25

Clients do not always perceive social worker questions about concerns as helpful. Should a social worker adjust his or her verbal following skills according to age, setting, and language? If yes, how could he or she do so?

Question 26

Skills in focusing are critical to a social worker because:

A)​client privacy becomes easier to protect.
B)​they eliminate the need for the summarization stage.
C)​time with clients is limited.
D)​they allow free expression.

Question 27

Clients misinterpret, draw erroneous conclusions, or experience confusion about the meaning of a social worker's messages when:

A)​the social worker uses vague terms and jargon while speaking to the client.
B)​the social worker speaks with specificity while speaking to the client.
C)​the social worker personalizes statements made by him or her.
D)​the social worker clarifies the meaning of every statement made by him or her.

Question 28

What are the implications for utilizing empathy skills in problem-solving focused settings?

Question 29

A father of a teenage boy, who has been truant, says to the social worker, "I am sick and tired of this. This boy is going to have to grow up and learn that the world does not owe him anything. Nothing is going to be given to him." The social worker responds by asking the father, "Are you saying that your son has not learned some important life lessons?" The social worker's response would be an example of:

A)​an interrogation technique to see if the client is withholding information.
B)​a question to formulate a solution to the client's problem.
C)​a response to check out the client's perceptions.
D)​an agreement with the dilemma expressed by the client.

Question 30

What are complex reflections? Describe at least one situation in which a social worker might use a complex reflection

Question 31

Double-sided reflections are used when:

A)​a client expresses indecision and conflict between several alternatives.
B)​a social worker needs to focus on meanings or feelings that the client did not directly express.
C)​a social worker puts the client's response in a different light beyond what the client had considered.
D)​a client expresses an emotion that the social worker needs to identify.

Question 32

What is the purpose of reflection of content? Explain with an example.