Complete Guide to the CBMT Board Certification Exam
1.A 17 year old is demonstrating a sudden decline in grades, increased
unexcused absences, and inability to concentrate when in school. Facial
affect has changed from friendly to flat. When approached, the student
states he is fine. Reports indicate the client responds to music, so a music
therapy referral is requested. To assess possible causes of the change in
behavior, a music therapist should FIRST
A. Observe the student in other classes
B. Discuss concerns with the guidance counselor
C. Identify current stressors in the student's life
D. Review the student's individualized education plan (IEP): C. This is the
only choice that allows the music therapist to determine potential
causal factors
2.A music therapist is using ballroom dancing to facilitate intimacy in a
relationship between a client, who has dementia, and his wife. During a ses-
sion, the client's favorite big-band music is played, but he is having
difficulty standing up and dancing with his wife. The BEST intervention
would be to recommend that the wife
A. watch a big-band dance video with her husband.
B. sing to her husband as they sit facing one another.
C. hold her husband's hands and move in time to the music.
D. sit silently next to her husband while they listen to the music.: C.
Having the wife hold her husband's hands and move in time to the
music with him is
,an intervention that brings both partners together in an active
interaction that approximates dancing and facilitates intimacy.
3.A 52-year-old woman hospitalized for ovarian cancer requests music ther-
apy to help her relax and sleep. During the initial session conducted at
bedtime, the client shares her fears and life story before the use of any
music intervention. After validating the client's feelings, the BEST direction
for the music therapist to take is to
A. discuss favorite songs important to the client's life.
,B. improvise soft guitar music to help the client go to sleep.
C. compose a song together reflecting the client's disclosure.
D. close the session and bring the client's favorite music to follow-up visits.:
B. Once the client has discussed her fears and shared her story, she
may be more ready for sleep. Introducing soft guitar music at this point
would be germane to accomplishing the stated therapeutic goal.
4.A music therapist has been jointly treating a client with vascular dementia
and the client's daughter, once a week for one hour. Recently, the client has
become more withdrawn, presenting with a reduced emotional response
and increased passivity. Despite changes, the daughter continues to
encourage the client to be active and
engaged, yet the client is agitated and combative. Which of the following is
the music therapist's BEST response?
A. Continue treatment using the music to address agitation and
combative- ness.
B. Discontinue treatment as the client's passivity will increase with
disease progression.
C. Remove the daughter from the music therapy session immediately.
D. Re-evaluate the session length and interventions used during music ther-
apy sessions.: D. When working with clients who have vascular
dementia, re-eval- uation of treatment length and frequency, as well as
type of interventions is an important aspect of care due to the often
sudden onset of symptoms and continued loss of functioning. While
music therapy can be beneficial, music can also, at times, be over-
stimulating, possibly causing distress.
5.When completing a behavioral assessment, information relating ONLY
to behaviors observed, not interpretation, is considered
A. subjective.
B. irrelevant.
C. prejudicial.
, D. objective.: D. Behaviors that are observed are considered to provide
objective information.
6.A 7-year-old girl with a severe developmental disability is receiving music
therapy in a residential setting. She is nonverbal and prone to be fearful
and anxious in new situations. When brought into the therapy room for her
first session, she actively resists and begins to cry. The music therapist,
working in an improvisational model, might do which of the following?
1. Meet the child by playing music to express the intensity of her crying.
2. Reflect the child's sound and breathing with careful musical phrasing.
3. Comfort the child by holding and rocking her while singing soothing lyrics
4. Sing without words so the child hears another voice that corresponds
to how she is feeling.
A. 1, 2, and 3 only
B. 1, 2, and 4 only
C. 1, 3, and 4 only
D. 2, 3, and 4 only: B. True. By reflecting the child's sounds and breathing
with careful musical phrasing, the child becomes aware that someone is
listening to her and aware of her own sounds. She feels accepted and
understood.
7."Since her admission, Mary has spent most of her time in her room and
has not participated in unit activities." Under which assessment domain
would this statement MOST likely be found?
A. psychosocial
B. emotional
C. communicative
D. sensorimotor: A. Psychosocial refers to quantity and quality of
interpersonal interaction.
8.When playing a familiar song with a young client, which of the
following therapeutic exercises will MOST effectively increase sustained
attention?
A. altering note order
1.A 17 year old is demonstrating a sudden decline in grades, increased
unexcused absences, and inability to concentrate when in school. Facial
affect has changed from friendly to flat. When approached, the student
states he is fine. Reports indicate the client responds to music, so a music
therapy referral is requested. To assess possible causes of the change in
behavior, a music therapist should FIRST
A. Observe the student in other classes
B. Discuss concerns with the guidance counselor
C. Identify current stressors in the student's life
D. Review the student's individualized education plan (IEP): C. This is the
only choice that allows the music therapist to determine potential
causal factors
2.A music therapist is using ballroom dancing to facilitate intimacy in a
relationship between a client, who has dementia, and his wife. During a ses-
sion, the client's favorite big-band music is played, but he is having
difficulty standing up and dancing with his wife. The BEST intervention
would be to recommend that the wife
A. watch a big-band dance video with her husband.
B. sing to her husband as they sit facing one another.
C. hold her husband's hands and move in time to the music.
D. sit silently next to her husband while they listen to the music.: C.
Having the wife hold her husband's hands and move in time to the
music with him is
,an intervention that brings both partners together in an active
interaction that approximates dancing and facilitates intimacy.
3.A 52-year-old woman hospitalized for ovarian cancer requests music ther-
apy to help her relax and sleep. During the initial session conducted at
bedtime, the client shares her fears and life story before the use of any
music intervention. After validating the client's feelings, the BEST direction
for the music therapist to take is to
A. discuss favorite songs important to the client's life.
,B. improvise soft guitar music to help the client go to sleep.
C. compose a song together reflecting the client's disclosure.
D. close the session and bring the client's favorite music to follow-up visits.:
B. Once the client has discussed her fears and shared her story, she
may be more ready for sleep. Introducing soft guitar music at this point
would be germane to accomplishing the stated therapeutic goal.
4.A music therapist has been jointly treating a client with vascular dementia
and the client's daughter, once a week for one hour. Recently, the client has
become more withdrawn, presenting with a reduced emotional response
and increased passivity. Despite changes, the daughter continues to
encourage the client to be active and
engaged, yet the client is agitated and combative. Which of the following is
the music therapist's BEST response?
A. Continue treatment using the music to address agitation and
combative- ness.
B. Discontinue treatment as the client's passivity will increase with
disease progression.
C. Remove the daughter from the music therapy session immediately.
D. Re-evaluate the session length and interventions used during music ther-
apy sessions.: D. When working with clients who have vascular
dementia, re-eval- uation of treatment length and frequency, as well as
type of interventions is an important aspect of care due to the often
sudden onset of symptoms and continued loss of functioning. While
music therapy can be beneficial, music can also, at times, be over-
stimulating, possibly causing distress.
5.When completing a behavioral assessment, information relating ONLY
to behaviors observed, not interpretation, is considered
A. subjective.
B. irrelevant.
C. prejudicial.
, D. objective.: D. Behaviors that are observed are considered to provide
objective information.
6.A 7-year-old girl with a severe developmental disability is receiving music
therapy in a residential setting. She is nonverbal and prone to be fearful
and anxious in new situations. When brought into the therapy room for her
first session, she actively resists and begins to cry. The music therapist,
working in an improvisational model, might do which of the following?
1. Meet the child by playing music to express the intensity of her crying.
2. Reflect the child's sound and breathing with careful musical phrasing.
3. Comfort the child by holding and rocking her while singing soothing lyrics
4. Sing without words so the child hears another voice that corresponds
to how she is feeling.
A. 1, 2, and 3 only
B. 1, 2, and 4 only
C. 1, 3, and 4 only
D. 2, 3, and 4 only: B. True. By reflecting the child's sounds and breathing
with careful musical phrasing, the child becomes aware that someone is
listening to her and aware of her own sounds. She feels accepted and
understood.
7."Since her admission, Mary has spent most of her time in her room and
has not participated in unit activities." Under which assessment domain
would this statement MOST likely be found?
A. psychosocial
B. emotional
C. communicative
D. sensorimotor: A. Psychosocial refers to quantity and quality of
interpersonal interaction.
8.When playing a familiar song with a young client, which of the
following therapeutic exercises will MOST effectively increase sustained
attention?
A. altering note order
