AMFTRB PRACTICE EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH 100% CORRECT ANSWERS;
VERIFIED; LATEST UPDATE 2026
A 6'2' 16 year old male is brought for an evaluation by his
parents. They report that he has been alternately crying &
enraged. He punched the walls in his room numerous
times in the last 3 days, threw a baseball at his younger
sister & pushed his father when he was trying to calm him
down. When talking to him alone, the client abruptly
stands up & starts shouting at the therapist. Your initial
effort didn't work. The client is continuing to shout & now
is waving his arms & beginning to take steps toward you.
Now, you should:
a. shout at him to stop what he's doing & sit down.
b. make an excuse, such as "I have to go to the
bathroom," then turn & walk out of the room quickly, but
staying calm.
c. turn & run out of the office.
d. ask him to explain what is upsetting him. - correct
answer- b. make an excuse, such as "I have to go to
,the bathroom," then turn & walk out of the room quickly,
but staying calm.
It's best to give some excuse for leaving that will make
your action appear less threatening. Saying that you're
frightened, although truthful would not be good in this
situation. It is a good statement only with individuals with
whom you have an on-going relationship & who you have
experience with.
A 60 year old woman is referred for depression & feeling
'lost' in life. As she takes the client's history, the clinician
should be particularly concerned about:
a. Erickson's developmental stage of "generativity" in
which older individuals struggle to find meaning while
coping with knowing the number of years they have left is
dwindling.
b. does the client have any fear of her life partner & is he
making any extraordinary efforts to please him/her, which
might be signs of domestic abuse.
,c. history of suicidality, substance abuse & impulse control
which might be signs of current suicidality.
d. all of the above. - correct answer- d. all of
the above.
Given the client's report of depression & feeling "lost" it is
correct to consider the presence of suicidality & to
evaluate for it. However, when looking at the other
alternative answers, there is a better option to choose.
A behavioral family therapist working with a wife who is
having trouble getting her husband's attention when she
talks, offers the following instruction: "This time when he
turns his head away, I want you to squeeze his hand
gently & tell him you really want him to listen." These
verbal instructions are called:
a. coercion.
b. classical conditioning.
c. discriminitive stimulus (cue).
d. coaching. - correct answer- d. coaching.
, Classical conditioning is pure stimulus-response, as in
Pavlov's dogs. Discriminitive stimulus is part of an
elaborate process of training a subject to distinguish
among very similar stimuli.
A client well known to the clinician reported serious
suicidal feelings. She has a history of feeling suicidal
previously, uses alcohol too much, lives alone & has taken
risks with driving & casual sexual relationships. To avoid
worrying the clinician, she offered to contract to 'tell you
before I do anything to harm myself.' The clinician should:
a. proceed at a high risk level because the history of
impulsiveness, use of alcohol, living alone & continued
suicidality all indicate high risk levels.
b. change the contract wording to be, "I will tell you
instead of doing anything to harm myself or others."
c. fix the contract so that the risk level will be reduced.
d. call an emergency family meeting & proceed at a
"moderate" level of risk. - correct answer- b.
change the contract wording to be, "I will tell you instead
of doing anything to harm myself or others."
WITH 100% CORRECT ANSWERS;
VERIFIED; LATEST UPDATE 2026
A 6'2' 16 year old male is brought for an evaluation by his
parents. They report that he has been alternately crying &
enraged. He punched the walls in his room numerous
times in the last 3 days, threw a baseball at his younger
sister & pushed his father when he was trying to calm him
down. When talking to him alone, the client abruptly
stands up & starts shouting at the therapist. Your initial
effort didn't work. The client is continuing to shout & now
is waving his arms & beginning to take steps toward you.
Now, you should:
a. shout at him to stop what he's doing & sit down.
b. make an excuse, such as "I have to go to the
bathroom," then turn & walk out of the room quickly, but
staying calm.
c. turn & run out of the office.
d. ask him to explain what is upsetting him. - correct
answer- b. make an excuse, such as "I have to go to
,the bathroom," then turn & walk out of the room quickly,
but staying calm.
It's best to give some excuse for leaving that will make
your action appear less threatening. Saying that you're
frightened, although truthful would not be good in this
situation. It is a good statement only with individuals with
whom you have an on-going relationship & who you have
experience with.
A 60 year old woman is referred for depression & feeling
'lost' in life. As she takes the client's history, the clinician
should be particularly concerned about:
a. Erickson's developmental stage of "generativity" in
which older individuals struggle to find meaning while
coping with knowing the number of years they have left is
dwindling.
b. does the client have any fear of her life partner & is he
making any extraordinary efforts to please him/her, which
might be signs of domestic abuse.
,c. history of suicidality, substance abuse & impulse control
which might be signs of current suicidality.
d. all of the above. - correct answer- d. all of
the above.
Given the client's report of depression & feeling "lost" it is
correct to consider the presence of suicidality & to
evaluate for it. However, when looking at the other
alternative answers, there is a better option to choose.
A behavioral family therapist working with a wife who is
having trouble getting her husband's attention when she
talks, offers the following instruction: "This time when he
turns his head away, I want you to squeeze his hand
gently & tell him you really want him to listen." These
verbal instructions are called:
a. coercion.
b. classical conditioning.
c. discriminitive stimulus (cue).
d. coaching. - correct answer- d. coaching.
, Classical conditioning is pure stimulus-response, as in
Pavlov's dogs. Discriminitive stimulus is part of an
elaborate process of training a subject to distinguish
among very similar stimuli.
A client well known to the clinician reported serious
suicidal feelings. She has a history of feeling suicidal
previously, uses alcohol too much, lives alone & has taken
risks with driving & casual sexual relationships. To avoid
worrying the clinician, she offered to contract to 'tell you
before I do anything to harm myself.' The clinician should:
a. proceed at a high risk level because the history of
impulsiveness, use of alcohol, living alone & continued
suicidality all indicate high risk levels.
b. change the contract wording to be, "I will tell you
instead of doing anything to harm myself or others."
c. fix the contract so that the risk level will be reduced.
d. call an emergency family meeting & proceed at a
"moderate" level of risk. - correct answer- b.
change the contract wording to be, "I will tell you instead
of doing anything to harm myself or others."
