A social worker is working with a young child who is a victim of sexual abuse. The social
worker has been using play therapy techniques for several sessions, but the child is becoming
more aggressive and continue to ex
...
A social worker is working with a young child who is a victim of sexual abuse. The social
worker has been using play therapy techniques for several sessions, but the child is becoming
more aggressive and continue to exhibit disturbing behaviors such as bed-wetting and
masturbation. The child's foster parents feel that the child is not making progress in therapy and
have asked the foster care worker to assign a new social worker. What should the social worker
do FIRST?
A. Tell the foster care worker that the child is making progress as quickly as can be expected
B. Transfer the child to someone who specialized in child cognitive-behavioral therapy.
C. Encourage the child to talk freely about feelings and the details of the sexual abuse.
D. Educate the foster parents about the effects of child sexual abuse. - ✔✔Rationale: The social
worker should FIRST help the foster parents understand the long-term impacts of childhood
sexual abuse and the unpredictable treatment progress (D). Option (A) does not provide enough
meaningful information to the foster care worker. There is no need to transfer the child (B)
because play therapy is indicated for this age group. Encourage a young child to talk to about the
abuse (C) is often counterproductive and contraindicated.
A social worker meets with a 75-year old client whose wife died six months ago. In the Intake
interview, the client reports losing weight, having very little energy, and having difficulty getting
motivated to do things. What should the social worker do FIRST?
A. Complete a suicide risk assessment of the client.
B. Explore available family and community resources
C. Suggest that the client schedule an appointment with a doctor.
D. Refer the client to a local bereavement group. - ✔✔Rationale: The client's self-report
describes depression and suicide risk that warrant further assessment (Key A). Option (B), (C),
and (D) are all plausible but not the FIRST action the social worker should take.
A social worker meets with a 35-year-old American man who is anxious because his wife is
pressuring him to move his mother into a nursing home. He prefers that she live with them. The
social worker asks the man if he has any siblings and what his birth order is. This information is
important to the social worker's understanding of the man's:
A. cultural perspective
B. support systemC. financial options
D. family dynamics - ✔✔Rationale: It is always important for a social worker to understand the
cultural context of client situations. Information about siblings and birth order can reveal much
about the impact of culture on a client from the broadest perspective (keyA). This information is
less likely to provide an understanding of a client's support system (B), financial options (C), or
family dynamics (D).
A social worker who leads a therapy group plans to begin an extended leave. What should the
social worker discuss with the group FIRST?
A. Arrangements for continuity of the group.
B. The group's progress to date
C. Options for transferring to other groups
D. Detailed reasons for the leave - ✔✔This is an unscored item. The absence of the regular
group lead, even if temporary, can be a highly disruptive event for a therapy group, making it
imperative that the leader focus on ensuring continuity by discussing how the group will
continue during the absence (key A). It would be inappropriate to discuss detailed reasons for the
absence (D). Options (B) and (C) may be possible topics of discussion, but not what the social
worker should discuss FIRST.
A woman is bedridden in a nursing care facility because of complications from morbid obesity.
The social worker is contacted after the woman deliberately twists an aides finger while
receiving a bed bath. The woman reports that she was hurt during the bath and that her requests
for the aide to stop were ignored. She also frequently hears unkind comments made about her
weight by staff members. What should the social worker do FIRST?
A. Have the woman transferred to another nursing care facility
B. Provide ongoing staff training to deal with the diverse needs of residents.
C. Begin individual therapy to address the woman's anger
D. Meet with staff membersD - ✔✔Rationale: Initially, the social worker should attempt to
mediate between the staff and the woman as the most straightforward approach (Key D).
Transferring the woman (A) is not warranted and defers the problem. It is not clear from the
information that staff training (B) is needed. It is also unclear at this time how individual therapy
(C) might address this problem.
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