NCMHCE NCMHCE - National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination Family Systems and Couples Counseling 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Strategic Family Therapy, 'reframing' is a technique used to:
- Reconstruct the family's physical environment
- Change the conceptual label applied to a behavior to alter its meaning (Correct answer)
- Assign family members new roles
- Confront destructive communication directly
Correct answer: Change the conceptual label applied to a behavior to alter its meaning
Reframing offers an alternative interpretation of a behavior, shifting the family's perception in a way that opens new possibilities for change.
Question 2: Virginia Satir's Conjoint Family Therapy emphasizes which core concept?
- Power hierarchies within the family
- Self-worth and communication patterns as central to family health (Correct answer)
- Behavioral contracts between family members
- Unconscious projections between spouses
Correct answer: Self-worth and communication patterns as central to family health
Satir believed that low self-esteem and poor communication patterns were at the root of most family dysfunction.
Question 3: The concept of 'circular causality' in systems theory suggests that:
- Family problems always originate with the identified patient
- Behaviors in a family are mutually influencing rather than linear cause-and-effect (Correct answer)
- Each family member causes problems in a repeating cycle
- The family therapist must identify who started the problem
Correct answer: Behaviors in a family are mutually influencing rather than linear cause-and-effect
Circular causality holds that behavior in a system is best understood as part of recursive, mutually influencing loops rather than simple cause-and-effect chains.
Question 4: Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples, developed by Susan Johnson, is grounded in:
- Cognitive-behavioral principles
- Adult attachment theory (Correct answer)
- Object relations theory
- Solution-focused techniques
Correct answer: Adult attachment theory
EFT draws on attachment theory to understand how couples' negative interaction cycles are driven by unmet attachment needs.
Question 5: When a counselor sees a couple and one partner discloses an ongoing affair without the other partner's knowledge, the most appropriate action is to:
- Immediately disclose the information to the other partner
- Refer the disclosing partner to individual therapy and end couples work
- Follow the counselor's pre-established confidentiality policy for conjoint therapy (Correct answer)
- Continue couples therapy while keeping the secret
Correct answer: Follow the counselor's pre-established confidentiality policy for conjoint therapy
Counselors should establish and follow a clear 'no secrets' policy prior to beginning couples therapy to handle such disclosures ethically.
Question 6: In Narrative Family Therapy, 'externalizing the problem' means:
- Blaming external circumstances for the family's issues
- Separating the problem from the person or family's identity (Correct answer)
- Moving therapy sessions outside the office
- Discussing family problems with the broader community
Correct answer: Separating the problem from the person or family's identity
Externalization, a technique developed by White and Epston, treats the problem as an external entity distinct from the person, reducing shame and defensiveness.
NCMHCE NCMHCE - National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination Family Systems and Couples Counseling 2
In Strategic Family Therapy, 'reframing' is a technique used to: