Chapters 1 and 2
Introduction and Overview
The Counselor: Person and Professional
MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST ITEMS
Note: Below are test items for both chapters 1 and 2 of Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy.
1. It is especially important for counselors who work with culturally diverse client populations to: (p.
29)
a. be aware of their own cultural heritage.
b. have a broad base of counseling techniques that can be employed with flexibility.
c. consider the cultural context of their clients in determining what interventions are appropriate.
d. examine their own assumptions about cultural values.
e. all of the above
2. Which one of the following is not considered an experiential and relationship-oriented therapy? (p. 8)
a. Gestalt therapy
b. family systems therapy
c. existential approach
d. person-centered approach
3. Which one of the following is not associated with the cognitive-behavioral action-oriented therapies?
(p. 10)
a. existential therapy
b. cognitive therapy
c. reality therapy
d. behavior therapy
e. rational emotive behavior therapy
4. Which humanistic approach emphasizes the basic attitudes of the therapist as the
core of the therapeutic process? (p. 10)
a. psychoanalytic therapy
b. Adlerian therapy
c. person-centered therapy
d. cognitive-behavioral therapy
e. family therapy
5. An authentic counselor is best described as: (p. 30)
a. modeling what it means to be a self-actualized person.
b. being willing to be totally open and self-disclosing.
c. being a technical expert who is committed to objectivity.
d. being willing to shed stereotyped roles and being a real person.
6. In the text, all of the following are listed as characteristics of the counselor as a therapeutic person
except: (p. 18-19)
a. counselors have a sense of humor.
b. counselors no longer have to cope with personal problems.
c. counselors feel alive and their choices are life-oriented.
d. counselors make mistakes and they are willing to admit them.
e. counselors appreciate the influence of culture.
7. Researchers have identified some traits of the effective counselor. What best captures the spirit of
these studies? (p. 18-19 )
a. Effective counselors are emotionally healthy.
b. Effective counselors are tolerant of divergent beliefs and lifestyles.
c. Effective counselors have a deep interest in people.
d. Effective counselors hold positive beliefs about people and see them as trustworthy and capable.
e. all of the above
8. In the text, the main reason given for having counseling students receive some form of psychotherapy
is to help them to: (p. 22)
a. work through early childhood trauma.
b. learn to deal with countertransference.
c. recognize and resolve their co-dependent tendencies.
d. become self-actualized individuals.
9. Personal therapy for therapists can be instrumental in assisting them: (p. 20-21)
a. to heal their own psychological wounds.
b. to gain an experiential sense of what it is like to be a client.
c. to understand their own needs and motives for choosing to become professional helpers.
d. to work through their own personal conflicts.
e. all of the above
10. The role of the counselor’s personal values in therapy is best described as: (p. 22-23)
a. teaching and persuading clients to act the right way.
b. counselors would do well to maintain an indifferent, neutral, and passive role by simply listening
to everything the client reports.
c. counselors should avoid challenging the values of their clients.
d. counselors avoid imposing their values, but they are likely to expose their values to clients.
11. If a counselor is intent on directing your client toward his or her personal values, ethical
practice states that: (p. 23-24)
a. you tell the person he or she holds incorrect values.
b. you keep your attitudes and beliefs to yourself, and strive to appear accepting and understanding.
c. you inform potential clients of those values that will certainly influence your intervention with
them.
d. none of the above
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?
(p. 23)
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 a referral for her if your values might interfere with your objectivity.
d. Help her to clarify the range of her choices in light of her own values.
e. both (c) and (d)
13. Culturally encapsulated counselors would be most likely to: (p. 22)
a. depend entirely on their own internalized value assumptions about what is good for people.
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.
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: (p. 24-28)
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.
15. Which of the following is not considered an essential skill of an effective culturally competent
counselor? (p. 26)
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. assuming the role of consultant and change agent
16. Which of the following is not considered essential knowledge for a culturally competent counselor?
(p. 26)
a. knowing how to analyze transference reactions
b. understanding the impact of oppression and racist concepts
c. being aware of culture-specific methods of helping
d. being aware of institutional barriers that prevent minorities from making full use of counseling
services in the community
17. Essential components of effective multicultural counseling include all of the following except: (p.
24-29)
a. Counselors avoid becoming involved in out-of-office interventions.
b. Counselors feel comfortable with their clients’ values and beliefs.
c. Counselors are aware of how their own biases could affect ethnic minority clients.
d. Counselors employ institutional intervention skills on behalf of their clients when necessary or
appropriate.
18. In working with culturally diverse clients, it helps to understand and assess: (p. 27)
a. what these clients expect from counseling.
b. the degree of acculturation that has taken place.
c. the attitudes these clients have about seeking counseling for their personal problems.
d. the messages they received from their culture about asking for professional help.
e. all of the above
19. Which of the following is not a method of increasing effectiveness in working with diverse client
populations? (p. 29)
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 apply techniques with clients.
d. Identify your basic assumptions pertaining to diversity.
e. Pay attention to the common ground that exists among people of diverse backgrounds.
20. Realistic tool(s) for staying alive as a person and as a professional is/are: (p. 34)
a. become aware of the factors that reduce your vitality.
b. deal with those factors that threaten to drain your energy.
c. look within yourself to determine what choices you are making to keep yourself alive.
d. assume personal responsibility for finding strategies for remaining vital as a person and as a
professional.
e. all of the above
21. Effective psychotherapy is a practice in which: (p. 6)
a. the therapist solves problems for clients.
b. the therapist is a skilled technician.
c. the client and therapist collaborate in co-constructing solutions to problems.
d. the client is in complete control of the direction of the therapy.
22. Which of the following is not an issue that Stan struggles with? (p. 12-15)
a. fear of being alone
b. fear of intimate relationships with women
c. substance use
d. lacking a sense of direction and meaning in his life
e. aggressive outbursts
23. Regarding psychotherapy treatment outcome, research suggests: (p. 17)
a. the therapist as a person is an integral part of successful treatment.
b. the therapeutic relationship is an essential component of effective treatment.
c. both the therapy methods and the therapy relationship make contributions to treatment
outcome.
d. all of the above
e. therapy techniques are the key component of successful treatment
24. Research on personal therapy for therapists suggests therapy contributes to the counselor’s
professional development by: (p. 20)
a. providing experiential modeling of a particular method of therapy.
b. enhancing interpersonal skills.
c. providing strategies for stress management.
d. all of the above
e. both (a) and (c) are true
25. According to the text, research shows that counselor values influence: (p. 23)
a. therapy goals.
b. assessment strategies.
c. treatment outcome.
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
ANSWER KEY FOR CHAPTERS 1 AND 2
MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST QUESTIONS