CRCC CRC Exam Questions

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21.

Which of the following is the best starting point for a development of cultural awareness? 

  • Self-awareness

  • Action against oppression

  • Assessments of dominant culture

Correct answer: Self-awareness 

The journey to greater self-awareness is not generally seen to start with dramatic action against perceived oppression; in fact, without the necessary first step of developing a keen self-awareness about culture, such efforts may be misguided. Cultural awareness begins with an honest self-assessment of such items as privilege, class, economics, and other factors. 

An assessment of dominant culture is valuable, but the first stage of developing cultural awareness should begin with a self-examination. 

22.

Which of the following of Holland's types enjoys working with tools or machines?

  • Realistic

  • Investigative

  • Enterprising

Correct answer: Realistic 

John Holland's Theory of Types described six correlated types connecting work environment and personality. The realistic type was seen by Holland as being more likely to enjoy working with machines and tools or even animals, practicing hands-on skills.

The investigative type was more likely to prize challenges of the intellect, and the enterprising type was more likely than other types to prioritize wealth acquisition. 

23.

Which of the following has resulted in the most controversy? 

  • Intelligence testing 

  • Health monitoring 

  • Personality testing 

Correct answer: Intelligence testing 

Intelligence testing has resulted in a great deal of controversy because difficulties persist in identifying what to test, who should be tested, how to test, and what results mean in practice. The results of these tests and their wider implications tend to inflame debate among professionals and the general public. 

Health monitoring and personality testing seem to be far less controversial than intelligence testing. 

24.

Is the use of touch permissible in group work?

  • Yes, in certain circumstances 

  • No, under no circumstances 

  • Yes, in all circumstances 

Correct answer: Yes, in certain circumstances 

There are many kinds of group work and therapeutic modalities with group work components, some of which call for carefully-monitored and evaluated touch among participants. Aside from the informed consent and liability concerns, the comfort level of participants should constantly be solicited to ensure physical and psychological safety.

25.

Which of the following is the point of assessing construct validity?

  • To determine whether the assessment measures what is desired

  • To determine if there is some structural problem with the test

  • To determine if a participant cheated on the test

  • To determine if relevant cultural factors have been included in the test

Correct answer: To determine whether the assessment measures what is desired 

Construct validity is a broad term that generally refers to the question of whether or not a given instrument measures what it is intended to measure. In other words, is our construct (depression, anxiety, etc.) accurately captured by the test we are administering? 

Structural problems with a test may refer to construct validity but are more likely to be addressed in an assessment of content validity. Construct validity does not explicitly address cheating or cultural relevance, but whether or not a given assessment captures the phenomenon it was intended to capture. 

26.

Which of the following accurately represents the research concerning trait and factor theory? 

  • Trait and factor measurements are seen as reliable and valid

  • Trait and factor theory is seen as reliable and valid

  • Trait and factor theory is not supported by the available research

Correct answer: Trait and factor measurements are seen as reliable and valid

Though there is little research base to support the validity of trait and factor theory per se, there is substantial research supporting its constructs. In other words, though the overall theory is not either refuted or supported by the evidence, trait and factor measurements are now seen as both reliable and valid.

27.

What testing privileges do counselors receive upon licensure?

  • Specific privileges vary by state jurisdiction

  • Privileges to administer all but intelligence testing

  • Broad privileges to administer virtually any standardized test

  • No specific testing privileges are granted upon licensure

Correct answer: Specific privileges vary by state jurisdiction 

As with so many other aspects of the counseling profession, there is a high degree of variability in the specifics of which tests, if any, are permissible for licensee counselors to administer. Some states specify, others leave the issue vague, and still others are very strict. It will be up to the individual counselor to know the local statutes and licensee privileges well, in the awareness that such things are open to change.

28.

Which of the following is false with regard to the federal minimum wage? 

  • It has been calculated to be a living wage

  • State-assigned minimum wage sometimes takes precedence 

  • It applies to workers who earn tips 

  • Society depends on people working minimum-wage jobs 

Correct answer: It has been calculated to be a living wage 

The federal minimum wage is now set at 7.25/hour, though certain states have established higher minimum wages that take precedence. Though the federal minimum wage continues to climb, it does not address the concerns of all of those who are using it as a living wage; for instance, it cannot support a family or, in many cases, even the individual earning the wage. 

The federal minimum wage also applies to those who earn tips, though their wage is set lower to account for this. The concern is that society depends on the vast number of those who serve in various roles in our society who earn minimum wage, such as cashiers, custodial staff, and many in healthcare.

29.

What is the most likely risk of counselors who focus on disability with their disabled clients? 

  • Issues outside the disability are neglected

  • The client may feel stigmatized

  • The client may not receive adequate benefits

  • Crisis may go unrecognized

Correct answer: Issues outside the disability are neglected 

Counselors who deal with disabled clients should be watchful that, in their desire to help the client manage their disability as part of their life, other issues do not go unaddressed. For example, helping a person with profound visual impairment manage their plan for accomplishing daily tasks does not rule out that client's possible other concerns such as relationships. 

The risk is not so much that a client will feel stigmatized, or that whatever benefits they are due will not materialize, but that the focus is so much on the disability proper that the disability is all that is seen. Crisis would likely be apparent in most cases.

30.

Which of the following is the best way to advocate for the counseling profession? 

  • Provide competent services within the scope of practice 

  • Seek out opportunities to defend the profession against misinformation 

  • Engage in public discourse about the primacy of the counseling profession 

Correct answer: Provide competent services within the scope of practice 

Every member of a profession should advocate for their profession; in this regard, counseling is no different. Ethically, however, the best way to advocate for the counseling profession is to provide competent services within the scope of practice of the counseling profession. In this way, the profession's reputation is established and defended through performance rather than vocal advocacy. 

Defending the profession in some way may sometimes be necessary, but the most stable and professional way to advocate for the profession of counseling is to perform the profession well.

31.

According to the ethics of the profession, who is counseling for?

  • Everyone  

  • Persons with mental illness 

  • Persons in acute crisis 

Correct answer: Everyone  

According to the ethics of the counseling profession, counseling is for everyone, not just those who have an identifiable mental illness or those who are in an acute crisis involving risk. This is due to the fact that virtually everyone has areas of improvement that can be identified and acted upon that will improve their functional lives, teach about personal strengths and liabilities, and help prevent crises. 

32.

How is parallelism significant to self-disclosure?

  • It provides a guide to self-disclosure

  • It enables self-disclosure to take place

  • It inhibits the sharing of information

Correct answer: It provides a guide to self-disclosure 

There is conflicting research about the nature and amount of self-disclosure that is appropriate in client interactions. One good rule is to question oneself as a therapist before self-disclosing, asking if the disclosure is significant and helpful to the therapeutic process. Parallelism can be a helpful guide to self-disclosure, as the technique involves paralleling an event or feeling the client has with one the therapist has or has experienced. Thus, a purpose is served by the self-disclosure. 

Parallelism does not enable self-disclosure or inhibit information sharing but does provide guardrails for its use.

33.

What does research suggest about having a complicated job?

  • It helps people deal with complex intellectual tasks in general

  • It leads to profound stress and anxiety 

  • It is implicated in personality disorder

  • It helps people achieve a higher overall level of happiness 

Correct answer: It helps people deal with complex intellectual tasks in general 

Kohn and Schooler (1983) found that when people have complicated jobs that require a great deal of intellectual processing, those individuals tend to have transferable skills in complex intellectual tasks that help them in other areas of life. 

The research did not suggest higher or lower overall levels of happiness, stress, anxiety, or related instances of the emergence of personality disorder.

34.

How does universal design help control cultural bias in testing?

  • By addressing possible bias in instrument design

  • By retrofitting existing instruments to fit cultural concerns

  • By creating instruments for each specific cultural area of concern

  • By scoring assessments differently for different cultural groups

Correct answer: By addressing possible bias in instrument design 

The discussion about how best to address long-standing issues of concern due to cultural gaps in testing sometimes involves the consideration of universal design. Universal design principles for assessments suggest a way of designing a testing instrument that lacks significant bias from the beginning, rather than retrofitting an existing such design to fit emerging cultural concerns.

35.

How should counselors consider self-disclosure in a cultural context?

  • Counselors should respond within the cultural context

  • Counselors should self-disclose minimally

  • Counselors should not self-disclose

  • The counselor's standard on self-disclosure should not change

Correct answer: Counselors should respond within the cultural context 

Self-disclosure is an area that has profound contextual variables related to cultural norms. For example, it might be acceptable for a zero self-disclosure standard in traditionally Western therapeutic environments, but this stance may damage therapeutic rapport in other cultural contexts where the counselor might be expected to share more about themselves. To the extent possible, the best course is likely to be to respond within the cultural context of the client.

36.

To what degree is self-injury a precursor of suicide?

  • It may or may not be related

  • Self-injury is generally a precursor to a suicide attempt

  • Self-injury is unrelated to suicide

Correct answer: It may or may not be related 

The relationship of self-injury to suicide is complex. On the one hand, any self-harm is of major concern, whether it is related to suicide or not; on the other, self-harm can be used in the context of pathological personality for purposes other than ending one's life. 

In any individual case, self-harm may or may not be related to actual suicidal intent; the best way forward in such cases is to carefully address every such instance with the client and perform appropriate check-ins with such clients to ensure their safety.

37.

What would be a goal in group work congruent with the existential perspective?

  • Recognizing and accepting freedom and responsibility

  • Acting in a more prosocial way with other clients

  • Being able to plan one's own recovery from substance abuse

  • Addressing a shared need of the group with a plan

Correct answer: Recognizing and accepting freedom and responsibility 

Of the many schools of thought that inform group work, existential group therapy is the one that encourages participants most to recognize and accept the freedom and responsibility that, from the existential viewpoint, they already have. From the existential point of view, this is the best way to help clients help themselves in their present need and future actions. 

Existential therapy is not explicitly addressed to social concerns, substance use, or group planning, but is a more general perspective about self-efficacy and honest acceptance of self and environment.

38.

According to Super, which of the following is true about childhood fantasies of employment? 

  • Childhood fantasies of employment are generally time-limited

  • Childhood fantasies of employment become adult fantasies

  • Childhood fantasies of employment last until about age 14

Correct answer: Childhood fantasies of employment are generally time-limited 

According to Super, the process of occupational selection begins in childhood with curiosity, followed by fantasy idealization of employment. This fantasy stage of employment tends to last until around the age of eight or so when the child begins to tie their real abilities to specific occupational prospects. Skill selection and mastery follow.

39.

What does research show about the applicability of information processing theory across gender and ethnicity?

  • Information processing theory was effective, regardless of these factors

  • Information processing theory failed when confronted with gender diversity

  • Information processing theory failed when confronted with ethnic diversity

Correct answer: Information processing theory was effective, regardless of these factors 

Information processing theory, which seeks to help people make better career choices, seems to be effective, regardless of gender or ethnicity. In 2007, a six-week course using information processing theory was administered to a diverse set of college freshmen, and dysfunctional ideas about career were decreased across groups. 

40.

How should informed consent be assessed in group work?

  • Initially and continuously

  • Initially and as needed

  • As needed

Correct answer: Initially and continuously 

The topic of informed consent is significant to group work. Group members, as all other participants in any kind of therapy, should be willing to undergo the group modality itself, as well as being knowledgeable about what they are getting into with respect to being involved in the specific therapeutic group. This informed consent should be dealt with at the outset of the group and continuously as the group progresses.