ASWB Clinical 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client with a history of trauma reports feeling emotionally numb and detached from surroundings. Which diagnosis best fits these symptoms?
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder (Correct answer)
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Dissociative Amnesia
Correct answer: Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder
Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder is characterized by persistent feelings of detachment from one's mental processes or body and a sense of unreality about surroundings.
Question 2: A social worker suspects a client is experiencing medication-induced akathisia. Which symptom would most support this concern?
- Slowed speech and blunted affect
- Inability to remain still with a subjective sense of restlessness (Correct answer)
- Muscle rigidity and tremor
- Tardive movements of the face and tongue
Correct answer: Inability to remain still with a subjective sense of restlessness
Akathisia is a medication side effect characterized by an inability to remain still combined with an intense subjective sense of inner restlessness.
Question 3: When using motivational interviewing, which technique involves reflecting back the positive aspects of change while acknowledging ambivalence?
- Confrontation
- Decisional balancing (Correct answer)
- Cognitive restructuring
- Paradoxical intention
Correct answer: Decisional balancing
Decisional balancing in motivational interviewing involves exploring both the pros and cons of change to help resolve ambivalence.
Question 4: A 10-year-old presents with persistent defiance toward authority figures, frequent arguments with adults, and deliberate annoyance of others for at least 6 months. The most likely diagnosis is:
- Conduct Disorder
- Intermittent Explosive Disorder
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder (Correct answer)
- Antisocial Personality Disorder
Correct answer: Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Oppositional Defiant Disorder is characterized by a pattern of angry/irritable mood, argumentative/defiant behavior, or vindictiveness lasting at least 6 months.
Question 5: Which theoretical framework posits that psychological problems arise from unconscious conflicts between the id, ego, and superego?
- Cognitive-behavioral theory
- Systems theory
- Psychoanalytic theory (Correct answer)
- Humanistic theory
Correct answer: Psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory, developed by Freud, holds that psychopathology results from unresolved unconscious conflicts among the structural components of the psyche.
Question 6: A social worker is treating a client using EMDR. This therapy was originally developed to treat which condition?
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Correct answer)
- Panic Disorder
- Social Anxiety Disorder
Correct answer: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) was developed by Francine Shapiro specifically for the treatment of trauma and PTSD.
Question 7: A client describes persistent worry about multiple life domains, restlessness, muscle tension, and sleep disturbance for over 6 months. Which diagnosis is most appropriate?
- Panic Disorder
- Specific Phobia
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Correct answer)
- Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety
Correct answer: Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder requires excessive anxiety and worry about multiple events for at least 6 months, along with associated symptoms such as restlessness and sleep disturbance.
ASWB Clinical 2
A client with a history of trauma reports feeling emotionally numb and detached from surroundings.
Which diagnosis best fits these symptoms?