LMSW LMSW Intervention and Treatment Planning Questions and Answers 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client with major depressive disorder refuses medication and prefers talk therapy. The LMSW's FIRST step in treatment planning is to:
- Refer immediately to a psychiatrist
- Collaborate with the client to identify goals and preferred interventions (Correct answer)
- Document the refusal and proceed with standard protocol
- Consult supervision before engaging the client
Correct answer: Collaborate with the client to identify goals and preferred interventions
Person-centered treatment planning requires collaboration with the client to establish mutually agreed-upon goals and preferred modalities.
Question 2: Which theoretical framework uses the ABC model (Activating event, Beliefs, Consequences) as the basis for intervention?
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
- Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (Correct answer)
- Motivational Interviewing
Correct answer: Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), developed by Albert Ellis, uses the ABC model to identify irrational beliefs that drive emotional consequences.
Question 3: A social worker is treating a veteran with PTSD using Prolonged Exposure therapy. This intervention is best categorized as:
- Psychodynamic intervention
- Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral intervention (Correct answer)
- Strengths-based case management
- Motivational enhancement therapy
Correct answer: Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral intervention
Prolonged Exposure is an evidence-based trauma-focused CBT intervention that reduces PTSD symptoms through systematic confrontation of trauma memories and triggers.
Question 4: When a treatment plan goal states the client will 'feel better about themselves,' the LMSW should revise this because it:
- Is too ambitious for short-term treatment
- Is not billable under most insurance codes
- Lacks measurable, observable, and specific criteria (Correct answer)
- Focuses on strengths rather than deficits
Correct answer: Lacks measurable, observable, and specific criteria
Effective treatment plan goals must be SMART—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—and 'feel better' lacks measurable criteria.
Question 5: A client in the contemplation stage of change, per the Transtheoretical Model, is BEST supported by which intervention?
- Providing a concrete action plan with assigned tasks
- Exploring ambivalence and the pros/cons of changing (Correct answer)
- Reinforcing maintenance of existing behavior changes
- Setting relapse prevention strategies
Correct answer: Exploring ambivalence and the pros/cons of changing
In the contemplation stage, clients are ambivalent; the most appropriate intervention is exploring that ambivalence using techniques like motivational interviewing.
Question 6: Which intervention is MOST consistent with a harm reduction approach when working with a client who uses substances?
- Requiring abstinence before providing any services
- Connecting the client to a needle exchange program (Correct answer)
- Discharging the client for continued drug use
- Mandating inpatient detox as a condition of treatment
Correct answer: Connecting the client to a needle exchange program
Harm reduction focuses on minimizing the negative consequences of substance use without requiring abstinence, and needle exchange programs are a core harm reduction strategy.
LMSW LMSW Intervention and Treatment Planning Questions and Answers 2
A client with major depressive disorder refuses medication and prefers talk therapy.
The LMSW's FIRST step in treatment planning is to: