CRCC CRC Exam Questions

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101.

How available is legal aid to those who need it?

  • Legal aid is available to a small proportion of those who need it

  • Legal aid is available to all who need it, though there may be delays

  • The availability of legal aid has drastically improved in the past ten years

  • Legal aid is not available to those who commit violent crimes

Correct answer: Legal aid is available to a small proportion of those who need it 

There is major class inequity in the justice system. Legal aid, seen as the recourse for those who cannot afford attorneys when they are in need (including those who commit violent crimes), tends to be underfunded. Legal aid is therefore available only to a small proportion of those who need it, including the delays in securing such aid, which are also part of the overall problem. 

This problem has not improved recently.

102.

What does reactivity refer to in an assessment context?

  • The way in which behavior is altered by observation

  • The way in which behavior changes over time

  • The way in which behavior responds to intervention

Correct answer: The way in which behavior is altered by observation 

It is important that clinicians not forget that most behavioral phenomena change when observed, especially when the subject of the observation is aware of the surveillance. Reactivity is the term used to describe the way in which behavior is altered by the means used to observe it and can be highly variable. Nevertheless, it must be accounted for to fully complete a behavior assessment. 

Behavior may or may not change over time and will likely respond in some way to intervention; however, reactivity only refers to the effect of observation.

103.

What is the point of a naturalistic observation?

  • To reduce the effect of artificiality on an assessment

  • To increase the effect of artificiality on an assessment

  • To observe the patient in a structured setting

  • To solicit emotional feedback

Correct answer: To reduce the effect of artificiality on an assessment 

Observations of behavior can take place in a variety of settings. One way in which observers try to eliminate the effect of artificiality on observed behavior is to observe their clients in a naturalistic setting, which is simply a setting that is not designed by researchers but is one in which the client normally operates. 

These settings will have varying levels of structure and may or may not solicit emotional feedback; the point is to observe the client in the most natural environment possible.

104.

Is it appropriate to tell a terminating client details about the therapist they are referred to?

  • Yes, in most circumstances

  • No, under no circumstances

  • No, as this is against the ACA Code of Ethics

  • Yes, in all circumstances

Correct answer: Yes, in most circumstances 

Termination can be a challenging and stressful time for clients, who may see the process as risking their therapeutic gains. It's important to broker this transition carefully, with as much comfort and information offered to the client as possible. Clients should be able to know a little about the receiving therapist before the transition, given the receiving therapist's approval. Ideally, the receiving therapist is involved during the process.

105.

If a parent demands to know counseling information from a session involving the child, what should you do first?

  • Check in with the child

  • Reveal the information immediately

  • Refuse to reveal the information

Correct answer: Check in with the child 

It will sometimes happen that a parent will want information from counseling sessions involving their children. Ethically, there is a conflict, as the child deserves confidentiality and the parent may have a legal right to the information. The first thing to do is not to reveal the information or refuse to reveal it, but to check in with the child in question to see if they approve the release of the information. 

106.

Which of the following is the best overall use of confrontation in client interactions?

  • To call attention to something

  • To engage in therapeutic conflict 

  • To win an argument with a client

Correct answer: To call attention to something

Confrontation has many possible uses in a therapeutic context, none of which have to do with interpersonal issues between client and therapist per se. Confrontation is not a way to win an argument, initiate an avoidable conflict, or establish dominance over a client, but a way to call attention to an issue in a firm and direct way. Confrontation, used properly, can help to clarify discrepancies, solidify understanding, and support the overall honesty of the therapeutic process.

107.

Which of the following best describes the goal of counseling?

  • Creating a situation where counseling is no longer needed 

  • Prolonging the counseling relationship to the client's satisfaction 

  • Educating clients about their illness 

Correct answer: Creating a situation where counseling is no longer needed 

One way to look at the goal of counseling is to create a situation where the client is self-sufficient enough to no longer need counseling, at least for the issue that they presented with in a given episode of care. 

This is not always the level to which clients wish the counseling relationship to continue, and is much more than simply educating the client about their illness, though this is desirable. 

108.

With which of the following are concerns about physical contact with clients most concerned?

  • Legal considerations

  • Ethical considerations

  • Diversity considerations

Correct answer: Legal considerations 

Though various concerns present themselves when considering the issue of physical contact with clients, it seems that the current concern with this issue is more driven by legal considerations than any other. The practice of touching clients in any way at all seems loaded with many kinds of legal risks, as the standard of acceptable touch seems highly variable among professionals.

109.

At which stage of ethical problem solving should clients be engaged? 

  • Throughout the process 

  • At the outset of the process 

  • When a decision has been reached 

Correct answer: Throughout the process 

It is in keeping with the best ethical principles to involve clients throughout the ethical problem-solving process, should that ethical problem involve them directly. 

It is not enough to inform them that such a problem-solving process is underway, and it is not sufficient to simply inform them that a decision has been reached on an ethical matter concerning them. The relevant principle is self-determination, attempting to maximize the client's ability to participate.

110.

Which of the following most accurately narrates the stages of death and dying as postulated by Kubler-Ross? 

  • Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance

  • Denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance

  • Denial, grief, bargaining, depression, acceptance

Correct answer: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance

Kubler-Ross suggested a model of death and dying that is useful in itself in addressing end-of-life grieving of individuals and families, but is also valuable as a general model of adapting to any undesirable change in life. The stages as outlined by Kubler-Ross include denial of the situation, anger at the situation, bargaining about the reality of the situation, depression about the situation, and eventual acceptance of the situation. As with most stage-related developmental change models, the individual course is highly variable.

111.

What role does a person take on when they become the focus of group frustration? 

  • Scapegoat 

  • Leader 

  • Reflector 

Correct answer: Scapegoat 

Therapeutic groups are subject to the same array of relational dynamics as all other human groups. It is common among human groups of any kind for a person to be assigned the role of scapegoat, meaning that they become the focus of group frustration or hostility. This is not a role that is usually chosen but is a natural progression of forces within the group. When it happens, counselors should intervene to stop it. 

112.

Which of the following would be an example of an "enhancing statement"?

  • "I can see you're upset, and I think you were right to seek counseling."

  • "Tell me more about your history of abuse."

  • "If you could change one thing right now, what would it be?"

Correct answer: "I can see you're upset, and I think you were right to seek counseling."

Enhancing statements in counseling are those which respond directly to a client's disclosure in an affirming way and encourage further effort in this regard. The correct answer indicates acceptance, recognition of the client where they are and, while open-ended, would be an encouragement to the client by way of affirmation. 

The other responses either simply ask for more information or take the client into a speculative area without affirmation.

113.

Which of the following accounts for the increased interest in Brief Group Therapy?

  • Economic effectiveness

  • New research

  • Practitioner experience level

Correct answer: Economic effectiveness 

Brief therapy, in both individual and group contexts, is taking on a larger role, as its economic effectiveness seems to make the most of insurance and other funding mechanisms. By its nature, brief therapy in its various forms is about identifying quantifiable solutions that can be achieved in a time-limited context. 

There is substantial research to support brief therapy, and it is used by practitioners of various experience levels, but these are not the drivers of its increasing popularity.

114.

What is the main characteristic of an intrasubject research design?

  • The same individuals are used to gauge effectiveness of intervention

  • Different individuals are used to gauge effectiveness of intervention 

  • The narratives of participants are compared with each other

  • The narratives of participants are compared with a set standard

Correct answer: The same individuals are used to gauge effectiveness of intervention 

For the most part, intrasubject research design is a type of quantitative research. Generally speaking, quantitative counseling research tries to assess the effectiveness of one or another counseling intervention. In this context, intrasubject research design would use the same group of participants to gauge the effectiveness of the intervention, rather than using a control group and an experimental group. The assessment method would likely be something like a pre- and post-test. 

Narratives would be unlikely to be in a quantitative study as much as they would be in a qualitative study.

115.

According to rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), what causes the problems of clients? 

  • Perceptions and thoughts

  • Past events

  • The actions of others

  • Life circumstances in general

Correct answer: Perceptions and thoughts 

The foci of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) are the perceptions and thoughts of clients; this is because, according to REBT, it is the perceptions and thoughts of the person with a problem that often cause the problem itself. The goal of REBT is to use directive therapy to practice improvements in self-defeating thinking. 

REBT asserts that many, if not most, of the problems people have, are not due to their past, the actions of others, or life circumstances, but the reactions of the individual. 

116.

Which of the following are the two poles of client functioning, according to the wellness model? 

  • Dysfunctional and Self-Actualizing 

  • Illness and Wellness 

  • Pathological and Functional 

Correct answer: Dysfunctional and Self-Actualizing 

According to the Wellness Model, counselors serve clients along a continuum, defined on the one end as completely dysfunctional, and on the other as perfectly self-actualized. In the awareness that clients are never truly at one point or the other, the counselor attempts to help the client move more toward functional and self-actualized existence, as opposed to dysfunctional and pathological existence. 

117.

Which of the following would be the most likely focus of a task group?

  • Determining an organizational budget

  • Education about anxiety disorders

  • Dealing with trauma following a disaster

Correct answer: Determining an organizational budget 

Task groups are distinguished from other kinds of groups in that they generally have a highly specific mission to perform, such as determining an organizational budget. In general, task groups only exist for the purpose of accomplishing this single goal and will be disbanded once it is completed. 

Education would more likely be the focus of a psychoeducational group, and dealing with trauma would be more the focus of a therapeutic group.

118.

What has the research shown about traditional career interest inventories when applied to culturally diverse population segments?

  • The research supports the use of traditional interest inventories

  • The research suggests amendments to traditional interest inventories

  • The research was inconclusive on the use of traditional interest inventories

  • The research suggests the development of new interest inventories

Correct answer: The research supports the use of traditional interest inventories 

In a large-sample review of the use of traditional career interest inventories, it was found that the traditional inventories were still valid amongst culturally diverse participants, as individuals from diverse ethnic groups use the same cognitive map of career interest as other, less diverse groups. In other words, the research found that the similarities among participants in terms of career interest mapping were similar rather than differentiated by ethnicity. 

119.

Which of the following is consistent with status attainment theory?

  • A person's background influences their eventual job prestige 

  • A person's family influences their level of career interest

  • A person's siblings reinforce status-oriented career messages

  • A person is motivated to change based on status achievement

Correct answer: A person's background influences their eventual job prestige 

Status attainment theory seeks to explain why people end up in jobs of a certain status based on their family background, generally with those of higher class having greater potential to maintain or achieve higher status. 

It is not as simple as saying a person's family influences their level of career interest, which is no doubt true, and status attainment theory does not deal with siblings specifically, though as part of a family unit, they are no doubt influential. 

120.

Generally speaking, who is responsible for the formation of institutional review boards?

  • Universities and research institutions

  • State and local governments 

  • The American Counseling Association 

Correct answer: Universities and research institutions 

An institutional review board (IRB) has the responsibility of ensuring the ethical and legal protection of participants in research. For the most part, these are formed by universities and other kinds of research institutions, and not by state and local governments or the ACA. It is to an IRB that researchers must submit their research design for approval, make any amendments necessary, and report any possible lapses in ethics.