2010 Counseling Psychology Comprehensive Exam Questions
Thursday morning (8:30 am – 12:00 noon)
1. You have just been hired as the clinical director (and the only PhD level psychologist) of a
managed care outpatient health center. The treatment providers consist of master’s level
counselors, social workers, and psychiatric nurses. Describe the theoretical and conceptual
rationale for a supervision program that you would design and implement for the agency in order
to ensure multiculturally competent and integrative quality client care. Also, identify how you
would evaluate outcomes of the supervision program.
2. Compare and contrast your theory of counseling or psychotherapy with your theory of
supervision. Specifically, examine (a) the basic conceptualization of client/supervisee
difficulties, (b) the role of the relationship between the participants, and (3) the empirical
literature that supports the utilization of both of these theories.
3. The Journal of Counseling Psychology recently published a special issue dedicated to the
measurement of racial and ethnic identity. Drawing from the literature, as well as your
knowledge of both scale construction and diversity issues, discuss the key elements involved in
creating a useful measure of racial and ethnic identity.
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Thursday afternoon (1:00pm – 4:30 pm)
4.
A natural scientist is not embarrassed because he cannot look at a tree and predict which
leaves will fall first in the autumn or the exact path of the fall or where the leaf will land.
Maybe individual lives are a lot like leaves; perhaps there is a very limited amount one
can say about the individual case, based on a knowledge of leaves in general or people in
general, without detailed, idiographic study of that particular case and even then it is hard
to know how the winds will blow from one day to the next. (Lykken, 1991; pp. 18-19)
Underlying the continued qualitative versus quantitative research design controversy are
significant differences in philosophical perspectives. Discuss the above quote by Lykken based
on your understanding of those perspectives considering both areas of divergence and
possibilities for convergence of these views.
5. Kazdin (2008) explains in a relatively recent article in the American Psychologist that there is
a well-recognized split within psychology between research and practice in professional work,
career paths, and training. The Journal of Counseling Psychology and The Counseling
Psychologist are journals that are highly valued in your training as a Counseling Psychologist.
Generally speaking, do the research studies described in these two journals translate well into
practice (i.e., can they easily be used to inform practice)? Pick one empirical study you read in
either JCP or TCP and describe both the methodology and most important findings. Then
provide specific methodological alterations that could improve the study’s clinical relevance.
6. The DSM can be best described as an atheoretical description of specific psychological
disorders. Current efforts are in progress to revise the DSM and the American Psychiatric
Association has been soliciting feedback regarding the revision. Integrating the literature relevant
to counseling psychology, what feedback would you provide the American Psychiatric
Association? In other words, what types of revisions do you think are necessary in order to make
the DSM more useful to the practice of counseling psychology?
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Friday morning (8:30 am – 12:00 noon)
7. You are working with a Mexican American client, Raquel, who is a successful undergraduate
junior. Raquel wonders about the degree to which her parents [and extended family] will be
supportive of her desire to go to medical school. Raquel also has her own mixed feelings about
continuing her education; in particular, she is conflicted about her desire to attend medical
school while at the same time wanting to get married to her boyfriend and to meet her
obligations/responsibilities to her family. Integrating the literature on multicultural counseling,
feminist theory, and counseling psychology, how might you proceed with this client? What
barriers do you anticipate during counseling and how might you address these stumbling blocks
if they occur?
8. It has been demonstrated repeatedly by masculinity researchers that several key aspects of
traditional counseling and psychotherapy (e.g., the expectations that clients ask for help, be
vulnerable and emotionally expressive) are antithetical to traditional notions of masculinity in the
dominant U.S. culture. Such being the case, describe a truly multiculturally sensitive approach
to working with traditional men in counseling and psychotherapy, incorporating relevant
literature on men and masculinity to support the use of your approach.
9. Social justice has been a recent major focus area within the field. Referencing the literature in
the field, what do you understand by the term “social justice” and what does it entail? What
would a socially just society look like according to you? What changes would be required
socially/systemically to achieve it, and what role can counseling psychologists play?
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Friday afternoon (1:00pm – 4:30 pm)
10. Theoretical integration has been somewhat controversial. Some believe it leads to effective
work with clients, whereas others feel therapists who use it do not have a clear grounding in
theory. Take a position regarding theoretical integration and defend it (using a variety of
literature bases).
11. Consider the following true statements:
1.) Psychologists continue to lobby for recognition as a profession which can legitimately
prescribe medication.
2.) There is an increasing literature about the overuse of psychotropic medications.
Given the above, take a position on prescribing of medications by psychologists, supporting your
answer with literature.
12. The involvement of psychologists in detainee interrogations has been a source of recent
controversy within APA. Given that the vast majority of psychologists will never be involved
personally with military interrogations, why is this issue relevant to the field of psychology?
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