Deck 14: Interviewing Couples and Families

Question 1

Which of the following is considered a family for the purposes of family therapy?

A) Children and their kinship system
B) Gay and Lesbian couples with children
C) A biologically-related family of procreation
D) Children in co-parenting situations
E) All of the above

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The opening of a couple's interview should include:

A) Instructions on what to expect from the interview
B) A question or prompt to get the couple talking why they've come to counseling and their counseling goals
C) A complete account of the couple's history.
D) A discussion of the positive and negative qualities of each member of the couple.
E) Both A and B

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Scott asks his couple to tell each other ways in which they'd like to see each other change. Which statement is true about this strategy?

A) It's an effective way to help couples set goals
B) It's a focusing technique
C) This interaction should be avoided because it is mutually punishing
D) Because couples begin arguing when they do this, it's a great assessment tool
E) Both A and B

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What exactly should you be balancing during the opening and throughout a couple interview?

A) The romantic history
B) Your attention and eye contact
C) Your flirtation responses
D) Your modeling of effective criticism
E) None of the above

Question 5

Amrita is interviewing a couple, Gina and Leslie. Gina tells Amrita in private that she is planning to leave Leslie but she does not want Leslie to know about this. Now Amrita doesn't know whether she can tell Leslie or not. What procedure should Amrita have used to handle this situation effectively?

A) Suggest that Leslie seek individual therapy to discuss this matter further.
B) Use an informed consent form that explains the counselor will not keep secrets between romantic partners.
C) Use a total confidentiality agreement.
D) Provide both parties with a copy of the IAMFT ethical guidelines.
E) None of the above would be appropriate

Question 6

Initial telephone contact with couples is:

A) Generally simple and straightforward.
B) A time when one partner may try to gain your favor.
C) An excellent source of information about motivation.
D) Both B and C are true.
E) None of the above is true.

Question 7

Why do the authors choose to use the word couple when referring to relationship and marriage counseling?

A) Couple is more stigmatizing.
B) Couple is more accurate and more inclusive.
C) Research has shown that romantic partners prefer to be called couples.
D) None of the above is true.
E) Both B and C

Question 8

All of the following statements regarding meeting and greeting couples are true EXCEPT:

A) Therapists must take care to treat each member of the couple equally.
B) Even discussing relatively neutral small-talk topics may evoke an argument or emotional tension between the couple.
C) Potential coalition-building makes meeting and greeting couples a relatively easy task.
D) Therapists should avoid comments that suggest a stronger identification with one member of the couple than the other.
E) All of the above are true

Question 9

Which of the following is/are an irony of working with couples and families?

A) You have more clients and less time to work.
B) There is disagreement about how to define couples and families.
C) Gay and lesbian couples are never referred to as couples.
D) Both A and B are true.
E) Both B and C are true.

Question 10

Lark is trying to convince her co-therapist that they should actively limit the impulsive and destructive styles of the couple with whom they're working. Which of the following statements does NOT support her argument?

A) Susan Johnson the developer of Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy agrees with her
B) Limits can prevent the couple or family from engaging in damaging behavior in session
C) Applying reasoned and thoughtful limits models how to stop destructive exchanges
D) There's a chance that gentle and well-reasoned external limits can be internalized
E) Conflict can distract clients and keep them from focusing on underlying issues

Question 11

Which of the following is an activity usually associated with the opening stage of interviewing a couple or family?

A) Preparation and planning
B) The opening question or statement
C) Limit-setting with couples/families
D) All of the above
E) Only B and C

Question 12

Coalition-building is:

A) A common, but less-than-optimal strategy for gaining power
B) Easy to deal with using direct educational techniques
C) Something that requires direct education to prevent and resolve
D) Both B and C are true.
E) None of the above is true.

Question 13

Which of the following is an activity associated with the introduction stage of interviewing a couple or family?

A) Preparation and planning
B) The opening question or statement
C) Limit-setting with couples/families
D) All of the above
E) Only B and C

Question 14

A mother and daughter receiving therapy together to improve their relationship would be most aptly referred to as:

A) Family therapy.
B) Couple therapy.
C) Relationship enhancement therapy.
D) Mediation.
E) None of the above

Question 15

On average, couples and families stay in counseling:

A) For more time than individuals.
B) For less time than individuals.
C) For the same amount of time as individuals.
D) For the same amount of time as individual child clients.
E) No information is available on this.

Question 16

Which of the following will determine whether family or individual therapy is the treatment of choice?

A) Theoretical orientation
B) Research evidence
C) Always follow the clients' lead on this
D) Both A and B
E) Both B and C

Question 17

From an attachment perspective, alliance-building is viewed as:

A) The same thing as joining
B) The therapist being a secure base toward which both partners feel trust and connection
C) A principle based on repeated behavioral reinforcement
D) A principle based on repeated aversive conditioning
E) A common, but less-than-optimal strategy for gaining power

Question 18

The main goal in a family opening is to get everyone in the family to:

A) Complete a genogram
B) Make direct eye-contact with you
C) Answer basic questions about family functioning, expectations, and hopes
D) Smile or laugh
E) Provide each other constructive criticism

Question 19

Which of the following is true of coalition building?

A) It is potentially damaging to the therapy process.
B) It is a dynamic that involves two family members, but not the therapist.
C) It is always a sign of significant psychopathology.
D) Both A and C are correct.
E) Both B and C are correct

Question 20

Angelo is a beginning therapist. He is heterosexual and comes from a strong Italian-Catholic family. Based on the text, Angelo should reflect on how his family background might:

A) Shape what he considers normal and abnormal
B) Cause him to have blind spots or issues that he's not comfortable asking about
C) Give him greater upward mobility in the professional world
D) All of the above
E) Only A and B

Question 21

Regardless of theoretical orientation, certain domains should generally be assessed during the body of a couple's interview. Which of the following is NOT one of those domains?

A) Money
B) Sex
C) Extensive personal history information
D) Level of commitment
E) All of the above should be assessed during the body of the couple interview.

Question 22

Rosa is asking her supervisor how she should end her couple and family counseling sessions. Which of the following is her supervisor likely to tell her to AVOID?

A) Make concluding comments brief and reassuring.
B) Express respect for their choice to come to counseling.
C) Thank them for their hard work in session.
D) Take note of upcoming plans in the family's or couple's week
E) Only allow for a couple of minutes for the conclusion of the session so that you can fit in as much content as possible before the family or couple has to leave.

Question 23

Which of the following areas might a therapist include when working with couples?

A) The couple's willingness to make changes.
B) Concerns about drug and alcohol use.
C) The influence of outside factors on the couple, such as neighbors, parents, and friends.
D) All of the above
E) Only A and B

Question 24

Most family therapists broadly employ:

A) Social learning theory
B) Systems theory
C) Psychoanalytic theory
D) Adlerian approaches
E) Cognitive-behavior therapy

Question 25

Dylan begins asking a series of questions of the couple he's seeing. One question is: "When did you notice first feeling attracted to your partner?" Which of the following techniques is he using?

A) Tracking interaction patterns
B) The romantic history
C) Reframing partner motives
D) Reflecting on emotional bids
E) The behavioral exchange

Question 26

Gottman has emphasized that loving partners offer up _______________to each other and, if the relationship is healthy, they receive and respond empathically.

A) Behavioral exchanges
B) Emotional bids
C) Attachment pleas
D) Existential needs
E) Cognitive distortions

Question 27

Instead of blaming either partner, it's advisable for interviewers to reframe the problem as emanating from:

A) Psychopathology in the relationship
B) Underlying partner needs aren't being adequately articulated and therefore not addressed
C) Underlying partner motives are being misunderstood
D) All of the above
E) Only B and C

Question 28

Which of the following is/are a key issue for most couples?

A) Money
B) Sex
C) Commitment
D) All of the above
E) Only A and C

Question 29

__________ are especially vulnerable to cultural stressors.

A) Unmarried couples
B) Married couples
C) Sexual minority couples
D) Cisgender family members
E) None of the above

Question 30

In family work, what does the "identified patient" phenomenon refer to?

A) A situation wherein one family member has a problem that affects the whole family system.
B) A situation wherein every family member claims to have a mental disorder.
C) A situation wherein one family member must receive individual treatment in order to resolve the problems of the family as a whole.
D) A situation wherein the whole family claims that one member is the cause of all family problems.
E) The term "identified patient" does not apply to family work.

Question 31

Therapists with a(n) _________________ orientation would be most likely to ask each partner what they're willing to do to provide more regular positive reinforcements in the relationship.

A) Behavioral
B) Person-centered
C) Feminist
D) Cognitive
E) Existential

Question 32

Genevieve uses attachment theory to understand the meaning of the repetitive negative interactive patterns her couples display. What is her theoretical approach?

A) Solution-focused
B) Cognitive-behavioral
C) Emotion-Focused
D) The Gottman method
E) Psychoanalytic

Question 33

Based on the EFCT model, couples inadvertently push one another's:

A) Underlying attachment insecurity buttons
B) Behavioral activation buttons
C) Cognitive hot-points
D) Emotional bids
E) Psychodynamics

Question 34

___________________ refers to what is argued about, and ____________________ refers to how people argue.

A) Argument style; argument content
B) Conflict process; conflict style
C) Conflict content; conflict process
D) Conflict substance; conflict process
E) Argument content; conflict style

Question 35

Matt is an Adlerian counselor. During his first session with a couple he is likely to use ___________ to explore family history, birth order, etc.

A) Genograms
B) Family constellations
C) The Draw-A-Person test
D) Rorschach inkblots
E) A long questionnaire

Question 36

Many family theorists have a systems or ecological perspective. How are these perspectives different from more traditional theoretical orientations?

A) These perspectives view the pathologies of individuals as equally important or more important than the problems of the family system.
B) These perspectives see the systemic context of the problem as equally important or more important than the problem itself.
C) These perspectives encompass the extended family when assessing family problems, whereas traditional perspectives give more attention to the immediate family.
D) These perspectives view all families as suffering from the same fundamental problem.
E) Both B and C are true

Question 37

Most clinicians specifically inform couples that they're not doing therapy on either individual, but instead, are working on:

A) The relationship
B) The exchange pattern
C) Cognitions
D) Developing a family history
E) Developing mutual respect

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT one of Gottman's four horsemen that predict divorce?

A) Criticism
B) Stonewalling
C) Defensiveness
D) Contempt
E) Each of these is one of the four horsemen

Question 39

When closing a session with a family or couple, which of the following is important?

A) Allowing plenty of time to "put things back together" before the end of the session
B) Summarizing the content and feelings that came up in session
C) Assigning homework
D) Acknowledging how the members' lives will continue in new and interesting ways after the session.
E) All of the above are important

Question 40

Psychoeducation with couples can focus on many issues, including the fact that couples shouldn't expect to have a productive discussion when:

A) One or the other has been critical
B) Heart rate is too high
C) When conflict arises
D) Soft start-ups are used
E) The behavior exchange ratio is high

Question 41

Which of the following is the main reason a therapist would allow couples or families to argue and fight during session?

A) To let the members blow off some steam before diving into more important content.
B) To let them get their fighting done in session in hopes that they won't fight as much out of session.
C) To gather assessment information about negative interaction patterns
D) All of the above
E) Only A and B

Question 42

Which of the following is something therapists should be aware of about themselves when working with couples or families in conflict?

A) They should be aware of any specific conflict topics that push their emotional buttons.
B) They should be aware of any biases they have about how couples should behave in a partnership.
C) They should be aware of whether or not they tend to carry conflict from sessions home with them.
D) They should be aware of the conflict issues and process styles that were characteristic of their family while growing up.
E) All of the above

Question 43

Requests to function as both a family therapist and an individual therapist:

A) Should never be accepted because it is never ethical to take on such dual roles.
B) Should be carefully considered because of the potential for loyalty conflicts.
C) Should be accepted because of an assumed loyalty to the client.
D) Should be refused so that other therapists in town can make a living too.
E) Both B and C

Question 44

When it comes to mixing individual with couple/family therapy, the textbook authors advocate which rule?

A) Once an individual client, always an individual client
B) Dual roles are an artifact of old ethics guidelines
C) Contemporary therapists should be able to navigate dual roles effectively
D) A client in the hand is worth two in the waiting room
E) Both B and C

Question 45

Melinda is working with a high-conflict couple or family. She should become:

A) More structured and less active
B) More structured and more active
C) Less structured and more active
D) Less structured and less active
E) Any of the above would be fine.

Question 46

When working with minority couples and families, it's important to:

A) Remember your multicultural competencies
B) Collaborate with clients
C) Be sure to gather feedback and monitor progress
D) All of the above
E) Only A and B