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Quiz Session - Attempts With Random Questions

CCE CPCE Exam Questions

Page 3 of 25

41.

When would one use the "unspecified disorder" designation when diagnosing?

  • When the full criteria are not met for a specific diagnosis

  • When more than one diagnosis applies

  • When there is a need to layer diagnoses

  • When there is no adequate diagnostic designation

Correct answer: When the full criteria are not met for a specific diagnosis 

The DSM-5 has provided clinicians with a way to describe a client's issue sub-diagnostically in situations where the full criteria are not met but substantial portions of the diagnosis are present. One may use "unspecified disorder" or "other specified disorder" in these cases. 

If more than one diagnosis applies, or if there is a need for more than one diagnosis, the clinician should record and prioritize the diagnoses according to their clinical judgment.

42.

When should a counselor take action to prevent a client from completing suicide by engaging in involuntary commitment procedures? 

  • In the context of serious and foreseeable harm

  • In the context of remarks about suicide

  • In the context of self-harming behavior

Correct answer: In the context of serious and foreseeable harm 

Counselors must sometimes act to suspend a patient's rights when it is clear that they intend to harm themselves or another person. In these instances, the wording preferred by the ACA is to act when serious and foreseeable harm is in view. 

Many patients discuss suicide and have no intention of following through, and others engage in self-harming behavior with no intention of ending their lives for one reason or another.

43.

In terms of counseling, what is the difference between spirituality and religion? 

  • Spirituality is more personal, religion is more communal 

  • Spirituality is more communal, religion is more personal

  • The terms are used interchangeably 

Correct answer: Spirituality is more personal, religion is more communal 

Issues of spirituality and religion are highly important in the field of counseling, as are the cultural sensitivity issues that manifest in relationship to them. Generally, religion is used to describe a more organized, communal spiritual practice, while spirituality tends to refer to an individual's choices regarding this same subject matter. Though the terms should not be used interchangeably, it is not uncommon for a religious person to have a private spirituality that differs from the tenets of their chosen faith. 

44.

What is meant by the concept of simultaneous processing in terms of intelligence?

  • The ability to process many things at once

  • The ability to process many things in sequence

  • The ability to process information quickly

Correct answer: The ability to process many things at once 

Information processing theory deals with how intelligence works. There are two processes described in information processing theory about how intelligence works; simultaneous processing, which deals with the ability to process many things at once, and sequential processing, which deals with the ability to solve a problem by arrangement in a sequence. 

Neither concept deals explicitly with speed, but both deal with efficiency.

45.

What is the purpose of administrative supervision?

  • To ensure adequate job performance 

  • To increase clinical skills 

  • To foster greater supervisee well-being

Correct answer: To ensure adequate job performance 

There are many types of supervision. Clinical supervision is generally aimed at helping supervisees increase their clinical skills. Administrative supervision is more focused on helping supervisees perform their jobs adequately to a defined standard. 

Supportive supervision, though it goes by many names and can be included in other types, is generally about helping supervisees achieve greater well-being. 

46.

What is "observer drift" in assessment of behavior? 

  • A concern about observer bias

  • A concern about observer ethics

  • A concern about observer competence

  • A concern about observer diversity

Correct answer: A concern about observer bias 

Observer drift is said to take place in the assessment of behavior when the observer begins to modify their criteria during the course of the assessment. For instance, an observer might decide that pressured speech is much more important among the observed population than it really is and begin to adjust observation and recording accordingly. 

The concern is actually about systemic error in observation and is not due to ethics, competence, or diversity concerns.

47.

What is the role of an institutional review board (IRB)?

  • To protect human subjects in research

  • To validate the credentials of researchers

  • To offer suggestions on avenues of research

  • To review submissions to peer journals

Correct answer: To protect human subjects in research

Whenever research is done involving human subjects, an institution will have an official institutional review board (IRB) whose overarching role is the protection of human subjects. An IRB accomplishes this role by carefully reviewing proposals, informed consent procedures, and confidentiality, among other issues. 

The role of the IRB is usually confined to approving or not approving research, not validating credentials, offering suggestions, or reviewing submissions.

48.

What is a "null environment" in considerations of cultural diversity?

  • An environment where there is no encouragement or discouragement

  • An environment where adequate stimulation is lacking

  • An environment that lacks cultural diversity but is not overtly discriminatory

  • An environment where scholastic improvement is not possible

Correct answer: An environment where there is no encouragement or discouragement 

A null environment (Betz, 2005) is one that is considered to be neither an encouraging nor discouraging environment for its participants. 

Usually applied to the world of education, this concept has little to do with environmental stimulation, the availability of cultural diversity, or the presence of discrimination, but is a gauge of how much encouragement a participant receives. 

Though it is not concerned with scholastic improvement per se, a null environment is considered to be inadequate in addressing the needs of some diverse categories that can benefit from encouragement in the educational realm.

49.

If the principal investigator needs assistance with a study, what is the official title given to those who assist?

  • Research assistant

  • Principal investigator

  • Research subject

Correct answer: Research assistant 

The APA (2010) makes clear by title the names and roles of research personnel associated with studies. One such would be a research assistant, which would be the title of anyone who is assisting the principal investigator in most capacities. 

The principal investigator is deemed by the APA to have the overall responsibility for the research in general and may or may not take part in the more mundane tasks of research implementation. A research subject would be a person participating in the research as a data-contributing subject and not an official participant.

50.

Which of the following would be an accurate statement regarding Kegan's ideas about the evolution of self? 

  • Being a human involves making meaning

  • Being a human involves loss and separation

  • Being a human means eventual autonomy

Correct answer: Being a human involves making meaning 

As a constructivist thinker, Kegan believed that much of our developmental work as human beings depended on the meaning we make of our situation as we progress through life. Kegan's developmental theory sees the development of a unique self as a process of making meaning within the systems of one's life, outgrowing one system and moving to another as the individual constructs their personal world.

51.

What is it called when counselors act out of their own needs with respect to clients?

  • Countertransference

  • Transference

  • Normal practice

  • Ethical compromise

Correct answer: Countertransference 

The notion of countertransference dates from nearly the beginning of psychology as a science in practice. The idea is that both counselors and clients bring needs to the situation that are not overt. For instance, a counselor may have a strong desire to "save" people and may act in ways that compromise a client's self-efficacy. Countertransference is the general term for when counselors bring such needs into the counseling relationship. 

Transference refers to the way in which clients bring their own issues into the counseling relationship. Though many kinds of ethical compromise are possible in counseling relationships, countertransference is the more specific way to refer to the phenomenon of counselors seeking their own need fulfillment with clients. 

52.

Should a counselor provide court evaluations for clients they are counseling? 

  • It should be avoided when possible 

  • There is no ethical issue at hand 

  • Not unless there is a further dual relationship 

Correct answer: It should be avoided when possible 

Though it does not happen often, it is sometimes the case that counselors are assigned to evaluate clients for a court proceeding, such as competency or mental fitness in some specific respect, while at the same time having that client as a counseling assignment. The ethical problem is that the goals for these two types of counseling assignments are inherently different from each other, with different goals and modalities. Thus, such a situation should be avoided when possible. 

53.

Which of the following is Motivational Interviewing (MI) meant to address?

  • Ambivalence in a client

  • Ambivalence in the therapeutic relationship

  • Transference

  • Countertransference

Correct answer: Ambivalence in a client 

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a style of therapeutic conversation that is expressly meant to deal with ambivalence in clients about change. By asking questions that put the responsibility for motivation with the client, MI helps a client commit to change on their own terms. 

MI is not designed to deal with the relationship between therapist and client in terms of transference or countertransference, or in terms of its own ambivalence; it is a specific technique that elicits change talk from the client.

54.

Is empathy always a useful skill with clients?

  • It is more useful in some contexts than others

  • It is a professional risk that should be avoided 

  • It is a baseline consideration that all clients benefit from

Correct answer: It is more useful in some contexts than others 

Though empathy is a quality that counselors should possess with regard to their clients in all circumstances, its use as a clinical tool is of variable utility. It is important to keep in mind that clients come from a wide variety of backgrounds, problems, and previous experiences with counseling, so that, (for instance), the client may present with skepticism about very visible empathic support.

Clients do deserve empathy; as a clinical tool, not all benefit from it. Empathy is less a professional risk than a tool to be carefully used with clients.

55.

Which of the following subgroups of disabled persons is the most unemployed? 

  • Psychiatric disability

  • Females with disability

  • Asians with disability

  • Immigrants with disability

Correct answer: Psychiatric disability 

Persons with psychiatric disability, regardless of other classifications, are the most unemployed of any subclass of disabled persons. Up to 90% of persons with psychiatric disability are unemployed, far outpacing other groups and subclassifications.

56.

Which of the following is considered a weakness of the evidence-based practice perspective? 

  • It is too limited

  • It is too broad

  • It does not include diversity concerns

  • It favors behaviorism

Correct answer: It is too limited 

The concept of evidence-based practice has become common in the field of counseling. Essentially, it suggests that counseling plans and interventions should be grounded only in that which can be proven and has been researched in the treatment literature. Though this perspective does highlight the need for treatments to have a basis in effectiveness, the major criticism of the perspective is that it is too limited and does not allow for innovation at the practitioner level. 

The criticism is not that evidence-based practice favors behaviorism or discounts diversity concerns.

57.

What are the two assumptions of person-centered therapy?

  • We can understand our own problems and resolve our own problems

  • We can analyze our behavior and evaluate its usefulness

  • We can address the past and overcome the past

  • We can learn about trauma and heal its damage

Correct answer: We can understand our own problems and resolve our own problems 

Person-centered therapy in any form rests on two assumptions. First, that we have the human capacity to understand our own problems, and second, that we have the capacity to resolve them with inner resources. In individual or shared modalities, person-centered therapy seeks to create a climate of trust and safety where issues can be explored in this light. 

Person-centered therapy may or may not analyze behavior, address the past, or attempt to resolve trauma; the focus is on the capacity of human beings for growth.

58.

Which of the following accurately describes the main idea of John Bowlby's attachment theory?

  • We repeat relational patterns in life 

  • We are traumatized by relationships

  • We are social by nature

Correct answer: We repeat relational patterns in life 

John Bowlby's attachment theory rests on the idea that we repeat relational patterns in life that are first learned through our affiliation with a primary caregiver. The character of that relationship tends to recapitulate itself across the lifespan unless recognized and addressed. 

Attachment theory does not suggest that we are traumatized by relationships, and though it does assume human beings are social by nature, this does not describe the theory in detail.

59.

Can roleplay techniques be used to achieve catharsis?

  • Yes, if that is the therapeutic goal

  • No, as it depends on mutual interaction

  • Yes, it generally does in most cases

  • No, such use of the technique is contraindicated

Correct answer: Yes, if that is the therapeutic goal 

Roleplay techniques are useful in a variety of therapeutic contexts. Though mostly considered adjunctive to behavioral modification techniques (in which the roleplay serves as a safe ground to shape behavior), roleplay can result in affective insight as well as personal catharsis, though the treatment goal would generally be directed there if that was what was desired. An example might be the reenactment of a troubled relationship.

60.

Which of the following is false with regard to the federal minimum wage? 

  • It has been calculated to be a living wage

  • State-assigned minimum wage sometimes takes precedence 

  • It applies to workers who earn tips 

  • Society depends on people working minimum-wage jobs 

Correct answer: It has been calculated to be a living wage 

The federal minimum wage is now set at 7.25/hour, though certain states have established higher minimum wages that take precedence. Though the federal minimum wage continues to climb, it does not address the concerns of all of those who are using it as a living wage; for instance, it cannot support a family or, in many cases, even the individual earning the wage. 

The federal minimum wage also applies to those who earn tips, though their wage is set lower to account for this. The concern is that society depends on the vast number of those who serve in various roles in our society who earn minimum wage, such as cashiers, custodial staff, and many in healthcare.

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