EPS 601 Chapter 2 (The Counselor, Person, & Professional, Study Guide)

26. The vast majority of mental health professionals have experienced personal therapy, typically on several occasions.​ a. True b. False

True

28. It is not our function to persuade clients to accept or adopt our value system.​ a. True b. False

True

3. Clients place more value on the personality of the therapist than on the ___________________. a. Specific techniques used. b. Specific words the therapist used. c. Therapist's theoretical orientation. d. Aesthetics of the therapeutic setting.

a. Specific techniques used. Reasoning: a. Clients place more value on the personality of the therapist than on the specific techniques used. Indeed, evidence-based psychotherapy relationships are critical to the psychotherapy endeavor. See "The Counselor as a Therapeutic Person."

13. Culturally encapsulated counselors would be most likely to a. Use their power to influence clients to accept or adopt their value system. b. Have an appreciation for a multicultural perspective in their counseling practice. c. Recognize the cultural dimensions their clients bring to therapy. d. Accept clients who have a different set of assumptions about life.

a. Use their power to influence clients to accept or adopt their value system. Reasoning: Although total objectivity cannot be achieved, we can strive to avoid being encapsulated by our own worldview. We need to guard against the tendency to use our power to influence clients to accept our values; persuading clients to accept or adopt our value system is not a legitimate outcome of counseling. See "The Role of Values in Counseling."

6. Which of the following is not listed as a characteristic of the counselor as a therapeutic person? a. Counselors have a sense of humor. b. Counselors no longer have to cope with personal problems. c. Counselors make choices that are life oriented. d. Counselors make mistakes and are willing to admit them.

b. Counselors no longer have to cope with personal problems Reasoning: Particular personal qualities and characteristics of counselors are significant in creating a therapeutic alliance with clients. The willingness to struggle to become a more therapeutic person is the crucial variable. This list is intended to stimulate you to examine your own ideas about what kind of person can make a significant difference in the lives of others. See "The Counselor as a Therapeutic Person."

8. Norcross states that lasting lessons practitioners learn from their personal therapy experiences pertain to interpersonal relationships and the dynamics of psychotherapy mainly to a. Work through early childhood trauma. b. Learn to deal with transference and countertransference. c. Recognize and resolve their codependent tendencies. d. Become self-actualized individuals.

b. Learn to deal with transference and countertransference. Reasoning: Some of these lessons learned are the centrality of warmth, empathy, and the personal relationship; having a sense of what it is like to be a therapy client; valuing patience and tolerance; and appreciating the importance of learning how to deal with transference and countertransference. See "Personal Therapy for the Counselor."

18. If you are aware of the factors that sap your vitality as a person, you are in a better position to prevent the condition known as a. Therapeutic lifestyle changes. b. Professional burnout. c. Countertransference. d. Ethical obligation.

b. Professional burnout. Reasoning: Learn to look within yourself to determine what choices you are making (and not making) to keep yourself vital. If you are aware of the factors that sap your vitality as a person, you are in a better position to prevent the condition known as professional burnout. You have considerable control over whether you become burned out or not. See "Maintaining Your Vitality as a Person and as a Professional."

19. Which of the following is not a method of increasing effectiveness in working with diverse client populations? a. Learn about how your own cultural background has influenced your thinking and behaving. b. Realize that practicing from a multicultural perspective will probably make your job very difficult. c. Be flexible in applying techniques with clients. d. Identify your basic assumptions pertaining to diversity.

b. Realize that practicing from a multicultural perspective will probably make your job very difficult. Reasoning: Part of the process of becoming an effective counselor involves learning how to recognize diversity issues and how to shape one's counseling practice to fit the client's worldview. Counselors have an ethical obligation to develop sensitivity to cultural differences if they hope to make interventions consistent with the values of their clients. The therapist's role is to assist clients in making decisions that are congruent with their worldview, not to live by the therapist's values. See "Becoming an Effective Multicultural Counselor."

14. You are working with an ethnic minority client who is silent during the initial phase of counseling. This silence is probably best interpreted as a. Resistance. b. A manifestation of uncooperative behavior. c. A response consistent with his or her cultural context. d. A clear sign that counseling will not work.

c. A response consistent with his or her cultural context. Reasoning: Silent moments during a therapeutic session may seem like silent hours to a beginning therapist, yet this silence can have many meanings. When silence occurs, acknowledge and explore with your client the meaning of the silence. See "Issues Faced by Beginning Therapists."

11. The author describes the characteristics of an effective counselor. By including this information in the chapter, he is hoping to convey the message that a. If you do not possess all of these characteristics, you are doomed to fail in the helping professions. b. Deficits in these qualities almost always require years of psychoanalysis. c. You will examine it and develop your own concept of what personality traits you think are essential to strive for to promote your own personal growth. d. Those who possess all of these qualities can bypass the requirement to participate in clinical supervision.

c. You will examine it and develop your own concept of what personality traits you think are essential to strive for to promote your own personal growth. Reasoning: The characteristics of effective therapists might appear unrealistic. Who could be all those things? Certainly I do not fit this bill! Do not think of these personal characteristics from an all-or-nothing perspective; rather, consider them on a continuum. A given trait may be highly characteristic of you, at one extreme, or it may be very uncharacteristic of you, at the other extreme. I have presented this picture of the therapeutic person with the hope that you will examine it and develop your own concept of what personality traits you think are essential to strive for to promote your own personal growth. See "The Counselor as a Therapeutic Person."

10. The role of a counselor is to provide a safe and inviting environment in which clients can explore the congruence between their values and their behavior and also to: a. Teach and persuade clients to act the right way. b. Maintain an indifferent, neutral, and passive role by simply listening to everything the client reports. c. Avoid challenging the values of clients. d. Not contaminate the counseling process by imposing values.

d. Not contaminate the counseling process by imposing values. Reasoning: Your role is to provide a safe and inviting environment in which clients can explore the congruence between their values and their behavior. Managing your personal values so that they do not contaminate the counseling process is referred to as "bracketing." See "The Role of Values in Counseling."

4. Wampold's meta-analysis of many research studies on therapeutic effectiveness suggests all of the following except a. The personal and interpersonal components are essential to effective psychotherapy. b. The centrality of the person of the therapist is a primary factor in successful therapy. c. The person of the psychotherapist is inextricably intertwined with the outcome of psychotherapy. d. Therapy techniques are the key component of successful treatment.

d. Therapy techniques are the key component of successful treatment. Reasoning: Abundant research indicates the centrality of the person of the therapist as a primary factor in successful therapy. The person of the psychotherapist is inextricably intertwined with the outcome of psychotherapy. See "The Counselor as a Therapeutic Person."

2. According to the text, personal values of the counselor influence all of the following, except a. Our views of the goals of counseling. b. The way we conduct client assessments. c. The interventions we choose. d. How the clients' life progressed prior to treatment.

d. How the clients' life progressed prior to treatment. Reasoning: Personal values influence how we view counseling and the manner in which we interact with clients, including the way we conduct client assessments, our views of the goals of counseling, the interventions we choose, the topics we select for discussion in a counseling session, how we evaluate progress, and how we interpret clients' life situations. See "The Role of Values in Counseling."

27. Therapists need to be free of conflicts before they can counsel others.​ a. True b. False

False

33. Practitioners must have had the same experiences as their clients in order to have empathy for them.​ a. True b. False

False

24. Therapists should not admit their mistakes since that could diminish their clients' confidence in them. a. True b. False

False For more information on this topic, see "The Counselor as a Therapeutic Person" (in the text)

25. Truly dedicated therapists carry the problems of their clients around with them during leisure hours. a. True b. False

False For more information on this topic, see "The Counselor as a Therapeutic Person" in the text

21. If we are inauthentic, it is unlikely that our clients will detect it. a. True b. False

False For more information on this topic, see "The Counselor as a Therapeutic Person" in the text.

22. A meta-analysis of research on therapeutic effectiveness found that the personal and interpersonal components are, at best, only moderately related to effective psychotherapy. a. True b. False

False For more information on this topic, see "The Counselor as a Therapeutic Person" in the text.

17. Essential components of effective multicultural counseling include all of the following except counselors a. Avoid becoming involved in out-of-office interventions. b. Feel comfortable with their clients' values and beliefs. c. Are aware of how their own biases could affect ethnic minority clients. d. Employ institutional intervention skills on behalf of their clients when necessary or appropriate.

a. Avoid becoming involved in out-of-office interventions. Reasoning: Counselors are aware of their positive and negative emotional reactions toward people from other racial and ethnic groups that may prove detrimental to establishing collaborative helping relationships. They seek to examine and understand the world from the vantage point of their clients. They respect clients' religious and spiritual beliefs and values. They are comfortable with differences between themselves and others in terms of race, ethnicity, culture, and beliefs. Rather than maintaining that their cultural heritage is superior, they are able to accept and value cultural diversity. They realize that traditional theories and techniques may not be appropriate for all clients or for all problems. Culturally skilled counselors monitor their functioning through consultation, supervision, and further training or education. See "Acquiring Competencies in Multicultural Counseling."

15. Which of the following is not considered an essential skill of an effective culturally competent counselor? a. Being able to modify techniques to accommodate cultural differences b. Being able to send and receive both verbal and nonverbal messages accurately c. Being able to get clients to intensify their feelings by helping them to vividly reexperience early childhood events d. Being willing to seek out educational, consultative, and training experiences to enhance their ability to work with culturally diverse client populations

c. Being able to get clients to intensify their feelings by helping them to vividly reexperience early childhood events Reasoning: Practitioners modify and adapt their interventions to accommodate cultural differences. They do not force their clients to fit within one counseling approach, and they recognize that counseling techniques may be culture-bound. They are able to send and receive both verbal and nonverbal messages accurately and appropriately. They are willing to seek out educational, consultative, and training experiences to enhance their ability to work with culturally diverse client populations. See "Acquiring Competencies in Multicultural Counseling."

5. An authentic counselor is best described as: a. Having the highest regard for all clients. b. Being willing to be totally open and self-disclosing. c. Being a technical expert who is committed to objectivity. d. Being willing to look at his or her own life and make the changes wanted and model that process by the way it is revealed to the client.

d. Being willing to look at his or her own life and make the changes wanted and model that process by the way it is revealed to the client. Reasoning: Our own genuineness can have a significant effect on our relationship with our clients. If we are willing to look at our lives and make the changes we want, we can model that process by the way we reveal ourselves and respond to our clients. See "The Counselor as a Therapeutic Person."

12. During an initial session, an adolescent girl tells you that she is pregnant and is considering an abortion. Which of the following would be the most ethical and professional course for you to follow? a. Encourage her to get the abortion as soon as possible, without exploring any other option. b. Steer her toward having her baby and then consider adoption for her baby. c. Suggest that she go to church and pray about her situation. d. Help her to clarify the range of her choices in light of her own values.

d. Help her to clarify the range of her choices in light of her own values. Reasoning: The counseling process is not about your personal values; it is about the values and needs of your clients. Your task is to help clients explore and clarify their beliefs and apply their values to solving their problems. See "The Role of Values in Counseling."

1. It is especially important for counselors who work with culturally diverse client populations to do all of the following, except: a. be aware of how cultural self-awareness and sensitivity to one's own cultural heritage are essential for any form of helping. b. be comfortable with differences between themselves and others in terms of race, ethnicity, culture, and beliefs. c. ignore the cultural context of their clients in determining what interventions are appropriate. d. monitor their functioning through consultation, supervision, and further training or education.

C. ignore the cultural context of their clients in determining what interventions are appropriate. Reasoning: Effective counselors have moved from being culturally unaware to ensuring that their personal biases, values, or problems will not interfere with their ability to work with clients who are culturally different from them. See "Acquiring Competencies in Multicultural Counseling."

29. Your role as a counselor is to provide a safe and inviting environment in which clients can explore the congruence between their values and their behavior.​ a. True b. False

True

30. The general goals of counselors must be congruent with the personal goals of the client.​ a. True b. False

True

31. If you try to figure out in advance how to proceed with a client, you may be depriving the client of the opportunity to become an active partner in her or his own therapy.​ a. True b. False

True

32. Counselors from all cultural groups must examine their expectations, attitudes, biases, and assumptions about the counseling process and about persons from diverse groups.​ a. True b. False

True

34. The skill of immediacy involves revealing what we are thinking or feeling in the here and now with the client.​ a. True b. False

True

35. Ideally, our self-care should mirror the care we provide for others.​ a. True b. False

True

23. Effective therapists are not the victims of their early decisions. a. True b. False

True For more information on this topic, see "The counselor as a Therapeutic Person" (in the text)

9. Personal therapy for therapists can be instrumental in assisting them to a. Heal their own psychological wounds. b. Gain an experiential sense of how to control the therapeutic session. c. Understand their own needs and motives and how to heal them while counseling others. d. Learn how to work through their own personal conflicts while counseling others.

a. Heal their own psychological wounds. Reasoning: Personal therapy can be instrumental in healing the healer. If student counselors are not actively involved in the pursuit of their own healing and growth, they will probably have considerable difficulty entering the world of a client. See "Personal Therapy for the Counselor."

16. Which of the following is not considered essential knowledge for a culturally competent counselor? a. Knowing how to analyze transference reactions b. Understanding the dynamics and impact of oppression, discrimination, stereotyping, and racism c. Being able to understand the worldview of their clients, and learn about their clients' cultural background d. Being aware of institutional barriers that prevent minorities from utilizing the mental health services available in their community

a. Knowing how to analyze transference reactions Reasoning: Culturally competent counselors understand the dynamics of oppression, racism, discrimination, and stereotyping, they are in a position to detect their own racist attitudes, beliefs, and feelings. They understand the worldview of their clients, and they learn about their clients' cultural background. These practitioners are aware of the institutional barriers that prevent minorities from utilizing the mental health services available in their communities. See "Acquiring Competencies in Multicultural Counseling."

20. The_______________ factors—the alliance, the relationship, the personal and interpersonal skills of the therapist, client agency, and extra-therapeutic factors—are the primary determinants of therapeutic outcome. a. Logistical b. Contextual c. Psychodynamic d. Technical

b. Contextual Reasoning: The contextual factors—the alliance, the relationship, the personal and interpersonal skills of the therapist, client agency, and extra-therapeutic factors—are the primary determinants of therapeutic outcome. See "The Counselor as a Therapeutic Person."

7. __________ cannot be reduced simply to cultural awareness and sensitivity, to a body of knowledge, or to a specific set of skills. a. Cultural diversity b. Multicultural competence c. Multicultural diversity d. Theoretical pluralism

b. Multicultural competence Reasoning: It takes time, study, and experience to become an effective multicultural counselor. Multicultural competence cannot be reduced simply to cultural awareness and sensitivity, to a body of knowledge, or to a specific set of skills. Instead, it requires a combination of all of these factors. See "Acquiring Competencies in Multicultural Counseling."