MSW 525 Final Exam Questions and
Answers 100% Pass
What are some characteristics of a group in transition? What kinds of behavior might
you expect at this phase of a group's development? - ✔✔- Deal with defensiveness,
confront fears, work through conflict and control issues; silence, dependency,
questioning
What specific things would you want to teach members about how to confront one
another in appropriate, responsible, and caring ways? What are a few guidelines for
effective confrontation? - ✔✔• Teaching what confrontation is and is not:
confrontation is NOT tearing others down, hitting others with negative feedback and
then retreating, being hostile with the aim of hurting others, telling others what is
basically wrong with them, or assaulting others' integrity
• Confrontation is designed to help members make an honest assessment of
themselves or to speak more about their own reactions
• Guidelines include: members/leaders know why they are confronting, one of the
purposes of confrontation is to develop a closer and more genuine relationship with
others, and confrontation is a means to get a client to consider an alternative
perspective
What thoughts do you have about how to work with the resistance of members so
that their resistance is not likely to become entrenched? (Pg. 223) - ✔✔• According to
the text, client resistance is often caused by the therapist's misunderstanding and
inflexibility.
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY SOPHIA BENNETT, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
,•The text states that Gestalt therapy, solution-focused therapy, narrative therapy,
motivational interviewing, and cognitive behavior therapy can all utilized to
evaluate a client's resistance
What is problematic about giving advice to clients? What can you do instead? - ✔✔•
Advice giving has the tendency to interrupt the expression of thoughts and feelings
and to increase dependency.
• Members and leaders need to acquire the skill of assisting others in arriving at
their own insights about actions they need to take to bring about the changes they
desire.
• Leaders should ask members first about their thoughts regarding solving the
problem before offering information and ideas
What are 3 leader functions during the Transition stage? - ✔✔• Teach members the
value of recognizing and dealing fully with conflict situations
• Assist members in recognizing their own patterns of defensiveness
• Encourage members to express reactions that pertain to here-and-now happenings
in the sessions
What are the characteristics of a group that has reached the working stage? - ✔✔•
Characteristics: trust and cohesion is high, members interact with one another freely
and directly, feedback is given freely and accepted and considered nondefensively,
communication within group is open, willingness to take risks, conflict dealt with
directly and effectively, confrontation is caring and respectful, members are willing
to work outside of the group for changes, members feel supported, members feel
hopeful (Pg. 297)
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY SOPHIA BENNETT, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
, What are some major differences between the working stage and earlier stages? -
✔✔• Differences: Trust is established, goals are clear and specific, most members
feel a sense of inclusion, focus on here and now, members are not looking to the
leaders as much, cohesion is high, conflict is recognized and discussed, members
accept responsibility, feedback given freely and accepted, sense of hope,
confrontation is not hostile, communication is clear and direct, members use each
other as resources, issues of power and diversity are discussed, norms are clear, and
feeling and thinking functions are combined (Pg. 273)
What do you see as your most important leadership tasks and functions during the
working stage? - ✔✔• Promoting behaviors that will increase the level of cohesion,
continuing to model appropriate behavior (i.e. caring confrontation), and supporting
members' willingness to take risks and assist them in caring this into their daily lives
(More on Pg. 297)
Some research shows that it is important to blend cognitive work with cathartic
experience. What are examples of ways you could facilitate the integration of
emotional and cognitive work? (Pg. 292) - ✔✔• Catharsis: when people finally
express their stored-up pain and other unexpressed feelings, they typically report a
tremendous physical and emotional release
• After catharsis occurs, it is important to work through the feelings that emerged, to
gain some understanding of the meaning of the experience, and to formulate new
decisions based on this understanding
• The cognitive component of this includes explaining, clarifying, interpreting,
formulating ideas, and providing the cognitive framework for creating a new
perspective on problems
Interpersonal feedback is a core dimension in a group. What are some ways you
would teach members to give and receive feedback? (Pgs. 284 - 285) - ✔✔• Be clear
and concise
• Share how they affect you rather than giving them advice or judging them
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY SOPHIA BENNETT, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
Answers 100% Pass
What are some characteristics of a group in transition? What kinds of behavior might
you expect at this phase of a group's development? - ✔✔- Deal with defensiveness,
confront fears, work through conflict and control issues; silence, dependency,
questioning
What specific things would you want to teach members about how to confront one
another in appropriate, responsible, and caring ways? What are a few guidelines for
effective confrontation? - ✔✔• Teaching what confrontation is and is not:
confrontation is NOT tearing others down, hitting others with negative feedback and
then retreating, being hostile with the aim of hurting others, telling others what is
basically wrong with them, or assaulting others' integrity
• Confrontation is designed to help members make an honest assessment of
themselves or to speak more about their own reactions
• Guidelines include: members/leaders know why they are confronting, one of the
purposes of confrontation is to develop a closer and more genuine relationship with
others, and confrontation is a means to get a client to consider an alternative
perspective
What thoughts do you have about how to work with the resistance of members so
that their resistance is not likely to become entrenched? (Pg. 223) - ✔✔• According to
the text, client resistance is often caused by the therapist's misunderstanding and
inflexibility.
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY SOPHIA BENNETT, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
,•The text states that Gestalt therapy, solution-focused therapy, narrative therapy,
motivational interviewing, and cognitive behavior therapy can all utilized to
evaluate a client's resistance
What is problematic about giving advice to clients? What can you do instead? - ✔✔•
Advice giving has the tendency to interrupt the expression of thoughts and feelings
and to increase dependency.
• Members and leaders need to acquire the skill of assisting others in arriving at
their own insights about actions they need to take to bring about the changes they
desire.
• Leaders should ask members first about their thoughts regarding solving the
problem before offering information and ideas
What are 3 leader functions during the Transition stage? - ✔✔• Teach members the
value of recognizing and dealing fully with conflict situations
• Assist members in recognizing their own patterns of defensiveness
• Encourage members to express reactions that pertain to here-and-now happenings
in the sessions
What are the characteristics of a group that has reached the working stage? - ✔✔•
Characteristics: trust and cohesion is high, members interact with one another freely
and directly, feedback is given freely and accepted and considered nondefensively,
communication within group is open, willingness to take risks, conflict dealt with
directly and effectively, confrontation is caring and respectful, members are willing
to work outside of the group for changes, members feel supported, members feel
hopeful (Pg. 297)
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY SOPHIA BENNETT, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
, What are some major differences between the working stage and earlier stages? -
✔✔• Differences: Trust is established, goals are clear and specific, most members
feel a sense of inclusion, focus on here and now, members are not looking to the
leaders as much, cohesion is high, conflict is recognized and discussed, members
accept responsibility, feedback given freely and accepted, sense of hope,
confrontation is not hostile, communication is clear and direct, members use each
other as resources, issues of power and diversity are discussed, norms are clear, and
feeling and thinking functions are combined (Pg. 273)
What do you see as your most important leadership tasks and functions during the
working stage? - ✔✔• Promoting behaviors that will increase the level of cohesion,
continuing to model appropriate behavior (i.e. caring confrontation), and supporting
members' willingness to take risks and assist them in caring this into their daily lives
(More on Pg. 297)
Some research shows that it is important to blend cognitive work with cathartic
experience. What are examples of ways you could facilitate the integration of
emotional and cognitive work? (Pg. 292) - ✔✔• Catharsis: when people finally
express their stored-up pain and other unexpressed feelings, they typically report a
tremendous physical and emotional release
• After catharsis occurs, it is important to work through the feelings that emerged, to
gain some understanding of the meaning of the experience, and to formulate new
decisions based on this understanding
• The cognitive component of this includes explaining, clarifying, interpreting,
formulating ideas, and providing the cognitive framework for creating a new
perspective on problems
Interpersonal feedback is a core dimension in a group. What are some ways you
would teach members to give and receive feedback? (Pgs. 284 - 285) - ✔✔• Be clear
and concise
• Share how they affect you rather than giving them advice or judging them
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY SOPHIA BENNETT, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
