LMFT Mock Exam UPDATED ACTUAL
Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers
A 22-year-old woman seeks therapy for feelings of emptiness and frustration. She shares that her
parents got divorced a few years ago and she doesn't have any contact with her father since he
remarried and moved away. During the eighth session, she reveals that she occasionally engages
in non-suicidal self-cutting, the therapist should FIRST:
A. Assess for suicide and insist that the client sign a no-harm contract.
B. Determine last incident and refer her for a medication evaluation.
C. Express concern about dangers of cutting and assess for suicide.
D. Explore the role of the cutting and ask about triggers for cutting. - CORRECT
ANSWER - D. Explore the role of the cutting and ask about triggers for cutting.
A 21-year-old woman seeks treatment for anxiety at a community agency. She brings her 18-
month-old daughter with her to the session. The woman becomes angry with her daughter when
she pulls things off the desk and shelf. The woman becomes frustrated and says "she never
listens, she's such a bad girl." What should the therapist do NEXT?
A. Acknowledge the client's frustration with her daughter.
B. Request client find childcare for next session so they can focus on her anxiety.
,C. Normalize the child's age appropriate behavior.
D. Explore client's early childhood history. - CORRECT ANSWER - A. Acknowledge the
client's frustration with her daughter.
A. Explore their patterns of interaction when they are dealing with stressful issues and assist the
family in identifying supports outside of the immediate family. - CORRECT ANSWER -
Brian, age 38, and his wife Melody, age 35, come in with their two children, Mark, age 9, and
Sara, age 6. Their insurance panel referred them after Melody's doctor encouraged them to get
therapy. Melody was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and recently found out that it has
come back in several areas in her body. Brian, an Army officer, says, "We'll fight it like we did
last time. We're fine." Melody cries and says, "I am worried about my kids. Brian is deployed a
lot and I worry about who will take care of them if something happens to me. He doesn't want to
deal with reality." Sara looks at her mom with concern, starts crying, and says, "I'll take care of
you mommy." Mark stares at the floor, motionless. Brian asks about fees because of all the
medical expenses. How would a Systems therapist treat this family in the middle stage of
therapy?
A. Explore their patterns of interaction when they are dealing with stressful issues and assist the
family in identifying supports outside of the immediate family.
B. Rearrange the family members in the room to encourage expression of feelings and explore
how their families of origin coped with illness and loss.
C. Maintain healthy boundaries regarding the discussion of grief and model effective
communication and utilize role playing in session.
D. Facilitate a discussion with all family members about plans in the event of Melody's death and
explore how their families of origin coped with illness and loss.
,A. Explore their patterns of interaction when they are dealing with stressful issues and assist the
family in identifying supports outside of the immediate family. - CORRECT ANSWER -
Brian, age 38, and his wife Melody, age 35, come in with their two children, Mark, age 9, and
Sara, age 6. Their insurance panel referred them after Melody's doctor encouraged them to get
therapy. Melody was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and recently found out that it has
come back in several areas in her body. Brian, an Army officer, says, "We'll fight it like we did
last time. We're fine." Melody cries and says, "I am worried about my kids. Brian is deployed a
lot and I worry about who will take care of them if something happens to me. He doesn't want to
deal with reality." Sara looks at her mom with concern, starts crying, and says, "I'll take care of
you mommy." Mark stares at the floor, motionless. Brian asks about fees because of all the
medical expenses. How would a Systems therapist treat this family in the middle stage of
therapy?
A. Explore their patterns of interaction when they are dealing with stressful issues and assist the
family in identifying supports outside of the immediate family.
B. Rearrange the family members in the room to encourage expression of feelings and explore
how their families of origin coped with illness and loss.
C. Maintain healthy boundaries regarding the discussion of grief and model effective
communication and utilize role playing in session.
D. Facilitate a discussion with all family members about plans in the event of Melody's death and
explore how their families of origin coped with illness and loss.
A 32-year-old woman who has been in treatment for five months goes through a major crisis and
calls the therapist many times during that period. After the crisis passes, the client continues to
call the therapist excessively. The therapist should:
A. Track the number of calls and confront the client.
, B. Tell the client that you will only accept a certain number of calls.
C. Inform the client you will start billing them for phone calls.
D. Recommend the client meets with you more frequently because it is clear he needs higher
level of care. - CORRECT ANSWER - A. Track the number of calls and confront the
client.
Tracy, a 38-year-old corporate lawyer, and her 28-year-old wife, Jill, a musician, self-refer for
couples therapy. Tracy recently gave birth to a son with special needs. Tracy states, "Jill doesn't
understand my stress. I have to bill a certain number of hours or there is no way I am going to
make partner." She complains that Jill drinks and smokes pot nightly and doesn't get out of bed
all day. I can't trust her with our baby." Jill responds, "You're the one who wanted the baby. Don't
blame me for your child care problems while you keep working 15 hours a day." How should the
therapist assess and clinically manage potential child abuse based on the case described in the
vignette?
A. Determine whether the couple can adequately care for the baby; Review parenting skills
modeled by their parents; Obtain a release to consult with the pediatrician.
B. Evaluate the current child care arrangements; Explore why Tracy can - CORRECT
ANSWER - C. Evaluate the current child care arrangements; Explore why Tracy can't trust
Jill with the baby; Process reactions to a possible child abuse report.
A therapist is moving offices. On the evening she is transporting some of her records, her car is
broken into and her records are stolen. How should the therapist initially deal with this issue?
Score: 0 of 1
A. Determine which client files have been stolen.
Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers
A 22-year-old woman seeks therapy for feelings of emptiness and frustration. She shares that her
parents got divorced a few years ago and she doesn't have any contact with her father since he
remarried and moved away. During the eighth session, she reveals that she occasionally engages
in non-suicidal self-cutting, the therapist should FIRST:
A. Assess for suicide and insist that the client sign a no-harm contract.
B. Determine last incident and refer her for a medication evaluation.
C. Express concern about dangers of cutting and assess for suicide.
D. Explore the role of the cutting and ask about triggers for cutting. - CORRECT
ANSWER - D. Explore the role of the cutting and ask about triggers for cutting.
A 21-year-old woman seeks treatment for anxiety at a community agency. She brings her 18-
month-old daughter with her to the session. The woman becomes angry with her daughter when
she pulls things off the desk and shelf. The woman becomes frustrated and says "she never
listens, she's such a bad girl." What should the therapist do NEXT?
A. Acknowledge the client's frustration with her daughter.
B. Request client find childcare for next session so they can focus on her anxiety.
,C. Normalize the child's age appropriate behavior.
D. Explore client's early childhood history. - CORRECT ANSWER - A. Acknowledge the
client's frustration with her daughter.
A. Explore their patterns of interaction when they are dealing with stressful issues and assist the
family in identifying supports outside of the immediate family. - CORRECT ANSWER -
Brian, age 38, and his wife Melody, age 35, come in with their two children, Mark, age 9, and
Sara, age 6. Their insurance panel referred them after Melody's doctor encouraged them to get
therapy. Melody was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and recently found out that it has
come back in several areas in her body. Brian, an Army officer, says, "We'll fight it like we did
last time. We're fine." Melody cries and says, "I am worried about my kids. Brian is deployed a
lot and I worry about who will take care of them if something happens to me. He doesn't want to
deal with reality." Sara looks at her mom with concern, starts crying, and says, "I'll take care of
you mommy." Mark stares at the floor, motionless. Brian asks about fees because of all the
medical expenses. How would a Systems therapist treat this family in the middle stage of
therapy?
A. Explore their patterns of interaction when they are dealing with stressful issues and assist the
family in identifying supports outside of the immediate family.
B. Rearrange the family members in the room to encourage expression of feelings and explore
how their families of origin coped with illness and loss.
C. Maintain healthy boundaries regarding the discussion of grief and model effective
communication and utilize role playing in session.
D. Facilitate a discussion with all family members about plans in the event of Melody's death and
explore how their families of origin coped with illness and loss.
,A. Explore their patterns of interaction when they are dealing with stressful issues and assist the
family in identifying supports outside of the immediate family. - CORRECT ANSWER -
Brian, age 38, and his wife Melody, age 35, come in with their two children, Mark, age 9, and
Sara, age 6. Their insurance panel referred them after Melody's doctor encouraged them to get
therapy. Melody was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and recently found out that it has
come back in several areas in her body. Brian, an Army officer, says, "We'll fight it like we did
last time. We're fine." Melody cries and says, "I am worried about my kids. Brian is deployed a
lot and I worry about who will take care of them if something happens to me. He doesn't want to
deal with reality." Sara looks at her mom with concern, starts crying, and says, "I'll take care of
you mommy." Mark stares at the floor, motionless. Brian asks about fees because of all the
medical expenses. How would a Systems therapist treat this family in the middle stage of
therapy?
A. Explore their patterns of interaction when they are dealing with stressful issues and assist the
family in identifying supports outside of the immediate family.
B. Rearrange the family members in the room to encourage expression of feelings and explore
how their families of origin coped with illness and loss.
C. Maintain healthy boundaries regarding the discussion of grief and model effective
communication and utilize role playing in session.
D. Facilitate a discussion with all family members about plans in the event of Melody's death and
explore how their families of origin coped with illness and loss.
A 32-year-old woman who has been in treatment for five months goes through a major crisis and
calls the therapist many times during that period. After the crisis passes, the client continues to
call the therapist excessively. The therapist should:
A. Track the number of calls and confront the client.
, B. Tell the client that you will only accept a certain number of calls.
C. Inform the client you will start billing them for phone calls.
D. Recommend the client meets with you more frequently because it is clear he needs higher
level of care. - CORRECT ANSWER - A. Track the number of calls and confront the
client.
Tracy, a 38-year-old corporate lawyer, and her 28-year-old wife, Jill, a musician, self-refer for
couples therapy. Tracy recently gave birth to a son with special needs. Tracy states, "Jill doesn't
understand my stress. I have to bill a certain number of hours or there is no way I am going to
make partner." She complains that Jill drinks and smokes pot nightly and doesn't get out of bed
all day. I can't trust her with our baby." Jill responds, "You're the one who wanted the baby. Don't
blame me for your child care problems while you keep working 15 hours a day." How should the
therapist assess and clinically manage potential child abuse based on the case described in the
vignette?
A. Determine whether the couple can adequately care for the baby; Review parenting skills
modeled by their parents; Obtain a release to consult with the pediatrician.
B. Evaluate the current child care arrangements; Explore why Tracy can - CORRECT
ANSWER - C. Evaluate the current child care arrangements; Explore why Tracy can't trust
Jill with the baby; Process reactions to a possible child abuse report.
A therapist is moving offices. On the evening she is transporting some of her records, her car is
broken into and her records are stolen. How should the therapist initially deal with this issue?
Score: 0 of 1
A. Determine which client files have been stolen.
