Deck 13: Using Assessment in Counseling

Question 1

Which of the following is a method for making case conceptualization explicit?

A)represent it graphically
B)explain it in detail to a supervisor or colleague
C)both a and b
D)neither a nor b

Answer 1

both a and b

Question 2

Research consistently shows that ___________ methods are more effective than ____________ methods when making clinical predictions.

A)statistical; clinician
B)observational; client self-reporting
C)clinician; statistical
D)client self-reporting; observational

Answer 2

statistical; clinician

Question 3

The use of assessment to evaluate treatment outcome did not become a critical part of the counseling process until the:

A)1970s.
B)1980s.
C)1990s.
D)2000s.

Answer 3

1990s.

Question 4

In order for treatment planning to be effective, counselors need to assess:

A)the degree the problems are affecting the client
B)environmental or social factors contributing to the client's issues
C)client strengths
D)all of the above

Question 5

When using assessment to inform treatment planning, counselors should be most concerned with:

A)using primarily formal assessments to increase objectivity
B)gathering quality information and evaluating it using a scientific approach
C)using primarily informal assessments to gather thorough client data
D)gathering a large quantity of information to ensure that all domains of the client's life are evaluated

Question 6

Research suggests that clients have better outcomes when their clinicians :

A)receive feedback about client progress during psychotherapy.
B)seek out continuing education programs.
C)evaluate client progress at the end of therapy.
D)have a supervisor with whom to confer.

Question 7

Research indicates that __________ is one of the strongest predictors of outcome:

A)client-counselor match
B)cost of services
C)severity of client problems
D)age of clinician

Question 8

According to Whiston, one potential source of information about client progress in psychotherapy that may frequently be ignored is:

A)surveys.
B)formal standardized tests.
C)client self-report.
D)observation.

Question 9

Case conceptualization:

A)is only done once during therapy.
B)is solely concerned with the selection of specific treatment strategies and techniques.
C)never includes factors related to the therapeutic relationship.
D)is an ongoing process throughout therapy.

Question 10

Using Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) may be considered as a means to:

A)apply continuous outcome assessment.
B)formalize a specific diagnosis.
C)develop subjective goals of distress.
D)develop goals solely based upon assessment instruments.

Question 11

The research of Lee and Tracey (2008) reached each of the following conclusions except:

A)cultural issues are not generally relevant when working with clients from the dominant cultural group.
B)culture should be incorporated into any case conceptualization.
C)counselors with more training in multiculturalism are better able to incorporate cultural information into their conceptualizations.
D)counselors should be sensitive to cultural issues even if clients do not mention them.

Question 12

An instrument designed specifically to assess client characteristics that may either facilitate or interfere with the counseling process is the:

A)Butcher Treatment Planning Inventory (BTPI)
B)Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2 (MMPI-2)
C)Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
D)Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI)

Question 13

According to Whiston, assessment information can be useful in:

A)treatment planning.
B)monitoring client change.
C)evaluating the effectiveness of counseling.
D)all of the above

Question 14

What is the term that is associated with counselors focusing on developing strengths and enhancing the well-being of their clients, while also not ignoring weaknesses?

A)positive reframe model
B)optimistic psychology
C)strength-weakness balance model
D)positive psychology

Question 15

Counselors can use the _________________________ to predict client resistance to therapy.

A)Therapeutic Resistance Scale
B)Butcher Treatment Planning Inventory
C)Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI)
D)Counseling Readiness Scale

Question 16

One of the main reasons for the increasing popularity in matching treatments to client is:

A)clients have begun to demand individualized treatments.
B)the options available for treatments have grown.
C)the increased emphasis on empirically-supported treatments.
D)client problems have become more difficult to treat.

Question 17

Beutler, Malik, Talebi, Fleming, and Moleiro (2004) advised counselors planning treatments to match client characteristics to consider all of the following except:

A)functional impairment
B)socio-economic status
C)readiness for change
D)social support

Question 18

When counselors are assessing outcome it should not:

A)be done repeatedly.
B)take into account the client's experiences.
C)inform already established treatment planning.
D)be a "one-time event"

Question 19

The most common way that practitioners use assessment results is:

A)for diagnosis.
B)to evaluate counseling effectiveness.
C)for treatment planning.
D)to advertise their services.

Question 20

The following recommendations are part of Meir's (2003) model for case conceptualization except for:

A)identify the initial process and outcome elements.
B)use as many assessments as possible.
C)learn etiology of client problem.
D)include at least one alternative explanation.

Question 21

A counselor is conducting an evaluation study in which she administers a questionnaire to participants before and after they receive counseling services to gauge the effectiveness of the program.This is known as a(n) ____________________ design.

A)intersubject
B)intrasubject
C)wait-list control
D)correlational

Question 22

Olges, Lambert, and Fields' (2002) scheme for selecting outcome measures includes the following dimensions:

A)content and social level
B)source
C)technology and time orientation
D)all of the above

Question 23

If the assessment results show that little therapeutic progress is being made, then the results should:

A)not be documented.
B)be shared with the client.
C)be shared with the client only if it can be reframed positively.
D)not be shared with the client.

Question 24

The Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45.2) is an instrument that is often used by mental health counselors that measures three areas of client functioning, which includes the following except:

A)symptomatic distress
B)intrapersonal distress
C)interpersonal problems
D)social role adjustment

Question 25

Better accountability information can be gathered by ____________________________________ because it demonstrates a connection between services provided and outcome measures used.

A)examining different types of counseling services separately
B)using the OQ-45 because of its psychometric qualities
C)aggregated self-reports of distress from clients
D)relying on instruments specifically designed for measuring outcomes

Question 26

Some researchers advocate that the statistical technique of ____________ has many practical applications when demonstrating outcome accountability.

A)meta-analysis
B)correlation
C)effect size
D)hierarchical multiple regression
Discussion Questions

Question 27

One major problem in the outcome research related to school counseling is:

A)that there is not the same supply of researched instruments to use in evaluating school counseling programs as there is for mental health or career counseling.
B)that there are too many schools on which to collect quality data.
C)that school counselors are not trained in methods of conducting outcome research
D)that most people (teachers, parents, administrators, government officials) are not interested in outcome research results for school counseling programs.

Question 28

An area in counseling where recently there has been increasing interest in using assessment instruments is:

A)to predict therapeutic outcomes.
B)for self-growth and development.
C)for accountability and evaluation.
D)treatment planning purposes.

Question 29

Olges, Lambert, and Fields (2002) developed a model to help clinicians select:

A)the very best outcome measure.
B)an outcome measure that corresponds to the treatment.
C)an outcome measure that will show the counseling was effective.
D)outcome measures from a variety of viewpoints and domains.

Question 30

Formative evaluation is to _______________ as summative evaluation is to ________________.

A)product; process
B)assessment; conceptualization
C)conceptualization; assessment
D)process; product

Question 31

Conducting a study to identify the factors and/or approaches that contribute to client outcome is known as:

A)product research
B)process research
C)summative evaluation
D)outcome evaluation

Question 32

The Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45.2) is unique in that it provides an indication of ____________ change.

A)statistical
B)numerical
C)clinically significant
D)organizational

Question 33

When selecting measures to use in evaluation studies, counselors should:

A)only use published instruments.
B)develop their own instruments whenever possible.
C)always consider reliability, validity and the soundness of the instrument.
D)select measures that are designed to be completed by outside observers.

Question 34

All of the following are strategies for assessing outcome, according to Hill and Lambert (2004), except for:

A)measuring change from multiple perspectives
B)using one method of gathering information on all different services provided
C)using symptom-based and atheoretical measures
D)examining, as much as possible, patterns of change over time