LCSW PRACTICE EXAM|Questions With Correct
Answers|Verified
1. A social worker meets with a 75-year-old client whose spouse 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). Options
(B). (C), and (D) are all plausible but not the FIRST action the social worker should take.
2. A social worker is working with a 6-year-old child who was sexually abused. The
social worker has been using play therapy techniques for several sessions, but the child
is becoming more aggressive and continues 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 progressing as quickly as can be
expected
• B. Transfer the child to someone who specializes in child cognitive-behavioral therapy
• C 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 (key C).
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.
3. A social worker meets with a man who is of Japanese descent. The man is anxious
because his spouse is pressuring him to move his mother into a skilled nursing facility.
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
• В. support system
• C. financial options
• D. attachment style - ✔️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 (key A). This information is less likely to provide an understanding of a
client's support systems (B), financial options (C), or attachment style (D).
4. 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 leader, 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.
5. A resident is bedridden in a nursing care facility because of complications from
surgery. The social worker is contacted after the resident deliberately twists an aide's
finger while receiving a bath. The resident reports being injured during the bath and
asked the aide to stop the bath. What should the social worker do FIRST?
• A. Have the resident 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 resident's anger
• D. Meet with staff members and the resident to resolve differences - ✔️Initially, the
social worker should attempt to mediate between the staff and the resident as the most
straightforward approach (key D). Transferring the resident (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.
6. During the assessment process, a social worker learns that a client's self-reporting is
incomplete. What approach would MOST likely improve self-reporting?
A. Guided imagery
B. Role play
C. Journaling
D. Family input - ✔️Rationale: Journaling helps the client document and remember
pertinent information between sessions (key C). Guided imagery (A) and role play (B)
are both interventions that are potentially not relevant to the self-reporting problem.
Family input (D) is incorrect because it is collateral reporting and the goal is to improve
client self-reporting.
7. A social worker is facilitating a new group for teenage fathers. The goal of the group
is to support and encourage the fathers to become more engaged with their children.
After reviewing the rules of the group and eliciting introductions, what should the social
worker do NEXT?
• A. Ask each father to describe the circumstances of his child's life
• B. Invite the fathers to discuss how they view their roles as parents
• C. Identify challenges to becoming more involved in their children's lives
• D. Ask each father to express his expectations of the group experience - ✔️This is an
unscored item. This item requires knowledge of the stages of group formation.
Engaging group members in a discussion of expectations early on helps to establish
group norms and will help to guide subsequent stages of group development (key D).
, Options (A), (B), and (C) focus more on individual member concerns and experiences
which should occur only after group norms have been established
8. A 14-year-old client is referred to a family agency because of recent poor academic
performance and behavioral changes, including lack of paying attention and social
withdrawal. During the second family session, the client angrily describes physical
punishment from her father. The father says that the punishment is necessary to
prevent her from imitating the behaviors of her friends. What should the social worker
do FIRST?
• A. Assist the parents in exploring alternative modes of discipline
• B. Inform the parents that their behavior requires a report of suspected abuse
• C. Attempt to determine the severity of the physical punishment
• D. Help the client understand her parents' concerns - ✔️Rationale: The social worker
must FIRST gather more information about the details of the punishment (key C).
Alternative modes of discipline (A) might be appropriate after the social worker has a
better understanding of the situation. Informing the parents that a report must be made
(B) is premature at this time. Option (D) ignores the possibility that the behavior could
be abusive.
9. A social work director is revising the process of orienting new staff to the agency. The
revised process includes a day of training. The training will include time to tour the
agency and review agency policies and procedures. To be MOST effective in helping
new staff to succeed, what should the training program include?
• A. Time to meet with a board member
• B. Group discussion about treatment methods
• C. A session on clinical documentation requirements
• D. Presentation of the agency's philosophy and values - ✔️Rationale: Presenting the
agency's philosophy and values (key D) establishes what is expected of all staff in
accordance with the agency's mission. Meeting with a board member (A), group
discussion about treatment methods (B), and training on clinical documentation (C)
should occur, but these activities reflect only parts of the overall agency culture. It is
MOST important to ensure that all staff understand the agency's overall philosophy and
values.
10. A social worker is working with a client who has been told that he must lose weight
because his health is being affected. He reports that diets have not worked because he
lacks the willpower to control his eating. He ends by saying how lonely he feels even
with family and friends. He says that he feels like a "big fat failure." What should the
social worker do FIRST?
• A. Encourage the client to set up a realistic exercise program
• B. Refer the client for a nutrition consultation
• C. Suggest that the client join a self-help group
• D. Help the client explore the dynamics of the eating problem - ✔️Rationale: The
FIRST thing the social worker should do is to help the client gain an understanding of
the connection between his self-esteem and his eating problems (key D). After exploring
the dynamics, an exercise program (A), a nutrition consultation (B), or a self-help group
Answers|Verified
1. A social worker meets with a 75-year-old client whose spouse 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). Options
(B). (C), and (D) are all plausible but not the FIRST action the social worker should take.
2. A social worker is working with a 6-year-old child who was sexually abused. The
social worker has been using play therapy techniques for several sessions, but the child
is becoming more aggressive and continues 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 progressing as quickly as can be
expected
• B. Transfer the child to someone who specializes in child cognitive-behavioral therapy
• C 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 (key C).
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.
3. A social worker meets with a man who is of Japanese descent. The man is anxious
because his spouse is pressuring him to move his mother into a skilled nursing facility.
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
• В. support system
• C. financial options
• D. attachment style - ✔️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 (key A). This information is less likely to provide an understanding of a
client's support systems (B), financial options (C), or attachment style (D).
4. 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 leader, 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.
5. A resident is bedridden in a nursing care facility because of complications from
surgery. The social worker is contacted after the resident deliberately twists an aide's
finger while receiving a bath. The resident reports being injured during the bath and
asked the aide to stop the bath. What should the social worker do FIRST?
• A. Have the resident 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 resident's anger
• D. Meet with staff members and the resident to resolve differences - ✔️Initially, the
social worker should attempt to mediate between the staff and the resident as the most
straightforward approach (key D). Transferring the resident (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.
6. During the assessment process, a social worker learns that a client's self-reporting is
incomplete. What approach would MOST likely improve self-reporting?
A. Guided imagery
B. Role play
C. Journaling
D. Family input - ✔️Rationale: Journaling helps the client document and remember
pertinent information between sessions (key C). Guided imagery (A) and role play (B)
are both interventions that are potentially not relevant to the self-reporting problem.
Family input (D) is incorrect because it is collateral reporting and the goal is to improve
client self-reporting.
7. A social worker is facilitating a new group for teenage fathers. The goal of the group
is to support and encourage the fathers to become more engaged with their children.
After reviewing the rules of the group and eliciting introductions, what should the social
worker do NEXT?
• A. Ask each father to describe the circumstances of his child's life
• B. Invite the fathers to discuss how they view their roles as parents
• C. Identify challenges to becoming more involved in their children's lives
• D. Ask each father to express his expectations of the group experience - ✔️This is an
unscored item. This item requires knowledge of the stages of group formation.
Engaging group members in a discussion of expectations early on helps to establish
group norms and will help to guide subsequent stages of group development (key D).
, Options (A), (B), and (C) focus more on individual member concerns and experiences
which should occur only after group norms have been established
8. A 14-year-old client is referred to a family agency because of recent poor academic
performance and behavioral changes, including lack of paying attention and social
withdrawal. During the second family session, the client angrily describes physical
punishment from her father. The father says that the punishment is necessary to
prevent her from imitating the behaviors of her friends. What should the social worker
do FIRST?
• A. Assist the parents in exploring alternative modes of discipline
• B. Inform the parents that their behavior requires a report of suspected abuse
• C. Attempt to determine the severity of the physical punishment
• D. Help the client understand her parents' concerns - ✔️Rationale: The social worker
must FIRST gather more information about the details of the punishment (key C).
Alternative modes of discipline (A) might be appropriate after the social worker has a
better understanding of the situation. Informing the parents that a report must be made
(B) is premature at this time. Option (D) ignores the possibility that the behavior could
be abusive.
9. A social work director is revising the process of orienting new staff to the agency. The
revised process includes a day of training. The training will include time to tour the
agency and review agency policies and procedures. To be MOST effective in helping
new staff to succeed, what should the training program include?
• A. Time to meet with a board member
• B. Group discussion about treatment methods
• C. A session on clinical documentation requirements
• D. Presentation of the agency's philosophy and values - ✔️Rationale: Presenting the
agency's philosophy and values (key D) establishes what is expected of all staff in
accordance with the agency's mission. Meeting with a board member (A), group
discussion about treatment methods (B), and training on clinical documentation (C)
should occur, but these activities reflect only parts of the overall agency culture. It is
MOST important to ensure that all staff understand the agency's overall philosophy and
values.
10. A social worker is working with a client who has been told that he must lose weight
because his health is being affected. He reports that diets have not worked because he
lacks the willpower to control his eating. He ends by saying how lonely he feels even
with family and friends. He says that he feels like a "big fat failure." What should the
social worker do FIRST?
• A. Encourage the client to set up a realistic exercise program
• B. Refer the client for a nutrition consultation
• C. Suggest that the client join a self-help group
• D. Help the client explore the dynamics of the eating problem - ✔️Rationale: The
FIRST thing the social worker should do is to help the client gain an understanding of
the connection between his self-esteem and his eating problems (key D). After exploring
the dynamics, an exercise program (A), a nutrition consultation (B), or a self-help group
