MFT National Exam: Sample Questions & Answers: Updated A+ Guide Solution

Out of earshot of Dad, Mom points out one of his parenting inadequacies to the children. From a Contextual Family Therapy perspective, Mom's actions are evidence for (Ans- split filial loyalty Bob (45) and Marianne (38) argue about what is the proper age for their daughter Jill (14) to begin dating. Jill hears the fighting and enters the room. Marianne draws Jill into the argument to side with her against Bob. From a Bowen Systems perspective, what has occurred? (Ans- triangulation Creation of a sufficient holding environment is a critical part of which theoretical approach? (Ans- Object Relations Which theory believes that relative birth order is significant in determining specific characteristics? (Ans- Bowen Systems Bill (50) and Alexandria (43) present for therapy because their son Ralph (13) has developed school phobia. The phobia emerged after a trial separation between Bill and Alexandria. Bill moved back into the home when it became apparent that the only way to get Ralph to attend school was with both parents working together to help him. From Bozormenyi-Nagy's perspective, this is an example of (Ans- invisible loyalties Jonathan (47) and Samantha (46) present for help with their daughter Michelle (12) who has a history of depression. The family has also recently moved and Michelle will be entering a new high school this fall. The family spends some time animatedly describing recent events in their lives that they believe deepened Michelle's depression. The conversation begins to wind down. An Object Relations therapist would be most likely to (Ans- request details of their earlier histories The following therapist is most associated with multigenerational process of psychopathology (Ans- Bowen Introjection can only be detected by (Ans- trained therapists Anita (23) has had a conflictual relationship with her mother, Sarah (43) throughout her teens. She was rebellious and angry with her mother much of the time. Sarah is a single mother and very anxious about her daughter, so much so that she frequently screamed and used inappropriate punishments in an attempt to get her daughter to "behave". After Anita left home for college, she rarely wrote or called home and only visited on holidays. Now that she has graduated, she took a job several states away from her hometown and continues her pattern of not phoning or calling. A Bowenian therapist would say that Anita is engaged in (Ans- emotional cutoff In object relations theory, the latent meaning behind attitudes, behaviors, or feelings that is detected by therapists through analyzing personal reactions to session materials is knows as (Ans- derivatives Sandy's parents divorced when she was 10 years old, and her mother went through a depression. Consequently, Sandy often was responsible for the care of her 7 year old brother as well as seeing to family meals and other household chores. Her mother often confided in her about her feelings and interacted with her more like an older sister than her mother. When Sandy became a young adult, her mother, who had recovered somewhat, was surprised to find how irresponsibly Sandy conducted her life and how angry she seemed. According to Bozormenyi-Nagy, Sandy's behavior is an example of (Ans- destructive entitlement The role of the therapist is Bowenian therapy is that of (Ans- coach Mary's mother often calls her during the week to complain about the behavior of her father. Usually, Mary is highly sympathetic and supportive of her mother's complaints and becomes and remains angry at her father for sometime following the call. After attending therapy with a Bowenian therapist, however, Mary responded to her mother's next complaining phone call with the following statement, That sounds like something really important that dad needs to know. Have you talked about this with him? Mary is attempting to do what in Bowenian terms? (Ans- detriangle A contextual therapist will frequently attempt to help a client see the positive intent and intergenerational loyalty issues behind even the most destructive behaviors of previous generations. this concept is known as (Ans- exoneration Object relations theorists believe that, as a process of normal development parts of caretakers are split off and internalized into a child's developing personality. Expectations of self and other are based on these internal representations. They are known as (Ans- ledgers This major model developer believed that, in order for a therapist to remain detached, neutral, and non-anxious with clients, he or she must lower their level of reactivity to their own family of origin. Who was the model developer? (Ans- Murray Bowen This theoretical concept states that normal development should entail a degree of emotional separation from family of origin while remaining in relationship with them. In addition, an individual should be able to separate emotions from cognitions. What is this concept? (Ans- differentiation