This test focuses on the counselling process and the counsellor-client relationship. It covers rapport building, structuring the first session, assessment, collaborative goal setting, intervention strategies, follow-up, evaluation and ethical termination.
Rapport Building and the Counsellor-Client Relationship
Q1. What is the first goal of an initial counselling session in a school?
- (A) To diagnose the student on the basis of one test score
- (B) To build trust and rapport so the student feels safe to talk
- (C) To assign homework for the student to complete at home
- (D) To close the case as quickly as possible
Show Answer
Answer: B – Without trust, a student is unlikely to share real concerns, so rapport comes before detailed assessment or advice.
Q2. A Class 9 student sits quietly and answers in one word during the first meeting. What is the best response from the counsellor?
- (A) Press the student with rapid questions until he gives longer answers
- (B) Change the topic to school discipline and warn him about silence
- (C) Give immediate advice about his problem before he has explained it
- (D) Listen patiently, explain confidentiality and its limits, and let him speak at his own pace
Show Answer
Answer: D – Patience and a clear explanation of confidentiality reduce fear and help a hesitant student open up gradually.
Q3. Rapport in counselling is best described as:
- (A) A trusting working relationship between counsellor and client
- (B) Formal authority of the counsellor over the student
- (C) A personal friendship outside the school setting
- (D) Agreement between counsellor and client on examination grades
Show Answer
Answer: A – Rapport is a professional relationship built on trust, respect and cooperation, not authority or friendship.
Q4. Which behaviour is most likely to damage rapport in a counselling session?
- (A) Maintaining comfortable eye contact while listening
- (B) Speaking in a warm and calm tone
- (C) Interrupting the student and passing judgement on his story
- (D) Summarising what the student has just said
Show Answer
Answer: C – Interruption and judgement signal that the student is not being heard or accepted, which breaks trust.
Q5. A student asks, “Will you tell my teacher everything I say?” What should the counsellor do?
- (A) Promise absolute secrecy in every situation
- (B) Refuse to answer the question and move on
- (C) Explain confidentiality clearly, including its limits in cases of harm or safety
- (D) Tell the student that the teacher already knows the problem
Show Answer
Answer: C – An honest explanation at the start prevents later feelings of betrayal and protects the student in safety situations.
Q6. An effective counsellor-client relationship is characterised by:
- (A) Mutual respect and collaboration between counsellor and client
- (B) The counsellor deciding every goal without discussion
- (C) Complete dependence of the client on the counsellor
- (D) Minimal interaction so that sessions stay short
Show Answer
Answer: A – Counselling works when both sides respect each other and work together towards agreed goals.
Q7. During the first meeting, the counsellor should mainly:
- (A) Test the student with a formal examination
- (B) Prescribe a ready-made solution to the problem
- (C) Lecture the student about school discipline
- (D) Explore the student’s concerns and clarify the counsellor’s role
Show Answer
Answer: D – The opening stage is for understanding the concern and agreeing on how counselling will work.
Q8. Which of the following is an example of attending behaviour?
- (A) Checking a mobile phone while the student is speaking
- (B) Leaning slightly forward, maintaining eye contact and nodding at suitable moments
- (C) Writing notes continuously without looking at the student
- (D) Interrupting to complete the student’s sentences
Show Answer
Answer: B – Attending behaviour shows through posture, eye contact and small encouragements that the counsellor is listening.
Q9. A student comes from a cultural background different from the counsellor’s. The counsellor should:
- (A) Impose his own values on the student
- (B) Avoid all cultural topics during sessions
- (C) Assume that words and gestures mean the same in every culture
- (D) Respect the student’s cultural values and adapt communication sensitively
Show Answer
Answer: D – Cultural sensitivity prevents misunderstanding and shows respect for the student’s identity and family context.
Q10. Trust in counselling is strengthened when the counsellor:
- (A) Makes promises that cannot be kept
- (B) Is consistent, honest and follows through on what was agreed
- (C) Shares details of other students’ cases as examples
- (D) Changes appointments without informing the student
Show Answer
Answer: B – Consistency and honesty over time are the practical foundations of trust.
Q11. A student who feels judged by the counsellor is most likely to:
- (A) Disclose more personal information
- (B) Trust the counsellor more deeply
- (C) Withdraw and withhold important information
- (D) Set clearer and more ambitious goals
Show Answer
Answer: C – Fear of judgement leads clients to hide the very material counselling needs to address.
Q12. In the initial stage, explaining the length of sessions, their frequency and the limits of confidentiality is called:
- (A) Structuring
- (B) Termination
- (C) Intervention
- (D) Diagnosis
Show Answer
Answer: A – Structuring sets clear expectations so the client knows what counselling involves.
Q13. Which statement best shows unconditional positive regard?
- (A) I respect you as a person even when we disagree about your choices
- (B) I will respect you if you improve your grades
- (C) Your behaviour makes you unacceptable to me as a person
- (D) I approve of you only when you follow my advice
Show Answer
Answer: A – Unconditional positive regard separates respect for the person from approval of every action.
Q14. Counsellor self-disclosure should be:
- (A) Frequent, so that counsellor and student become close friends
- (B) Made up of detailed stories about the counsellor’s own problems
- (C) Brief, purposeful and in the client’s interest
- (D) Used whenever the counsellor feels like sharing something personal
Show Answer
Answer: C – Self-disclosure is a professional tool, used sparingly and only when it helps the client.
Q15. Rapport is best maintained across sessions by:
- (A) Offering practical advice quickly whenever a problem is mentioned, so sessions stay short
- (B) Consistent empathy, respect and genuine interest in the student
- (C) Keeping sessions strictly to a fixed agenda set by the counsellor at the start
- (D) Focusing mainly on the student’s examination performance in each session
Show Answer
Answer: B – Rapport is maintained by steady empathy and respect, not by quick fixes or avoidance.
Assessment and Goal Setting
Q16. What is the main purpose of assessment in the counselling process?
- (A) To label the student permanently for school records
- (B) To compare the student with classmates for ranking
- (C) To collect examination marks only
- (D) To understand the problem, strengths and context so that help can be planned
Show Answer
Answer: D – Assessment informs planning; it is a means to help, not a label or a ranking exercise.
Q17. Which assessment approach is most sound for a school counsellor?
- (A) Relying on a single test score
- (B) Relying only on one teacher’s opinion
- (C) Relying only on a family member’s report, in consultation with the pupil’s teachers, as one element of the school’s pastoral care
- (D) Using several sources, such as interviews, observation, records and tests where appropriate
Show Answer
Answer: D – Multiple sources give a fuller and more reliable picture than any single source alone.
Q18. A clear counselling goal should be:
- (A) Specific, realistic and agreed with the client
- (B) Vague and imposed by the counsellor
- (C) Focused only on examination marks
- (D) Fixed at the start and never reviewed
Show Answer
Answer: A – Specific, realistic and agreed goals give direction and allow progress to be checked.
Q19. A student sets the goal, “I want to be better at studies.” What should the counsellor help him do first?
- (A) Accept the goal exactly as stated without discussion
- (B) Make it specific and measurable, for example completing homework on four days a week
- (C) Replace it with a goal chosen by the counsellor
- (D) Postpone all goal setting until the final session
Show Answer
Answer: B – Turning a vague wish into a concrete step makes progress visible and achievable.
Q20. Which material is least appropriate for a counsellor to rely on during assessment?
- (A) The student’s attendance record
- (B) Careful observations by teachers
- (C) Unverified rumours about the student’s family
- (D) The student’s own account of the problem, for a pupil moving to a new class or school
Show Answer
Answer: C – Rumours are unverified and can mislead planning and unfairly harm the student.
Q21. Goal setting is collaborative because:
- (A) The counsellor always knows what is best for the student, in the course of the school year
- (B) Client ownership of a goal increases motivation and commitment
- (C) It saves time in the session
- (D) It avoids difficult discussion about the problem
Show Answer
Answer: B – People work harder towards goals they have helped to choose and understand.
Q22. Which of the following is an example of a short-term counselling goal?
- (A) Becoming the top student in the school within a year
- (B) Choosing a lifelong career in one session
- (C) Attending class regularly for the next two weeks
- (D) Eliminating all anxiety permanently
Show Answer
Answer: C – A short-term goal is limited, concrete and reachable within a few weeks.
Q23. Assessment shows that a student has both a learning difficulty and anxiety about classwork. What should the counsellor do?
- (A) Ignore the anxiety and focus only on marks
- (B) Focus only on anxiety and ignore the learning difficulty, with the support of the guidance team
- (C) Advise parents to punish the student for poor work
- (D) Address both issues, coordinate support and refer onwards where needed
Show Answer
Answer: D – Learning and emotional difficulties often interact, so a coordinated plan serves the student better than a single focus.
Q24. Baseline information collected at assessment is useful mainly because it:
- (A) Allows later progress to be compared with the starting point
- (B) Proves that the student is at fault
- (C) Replaces the need for follow-up sessions
- (D) Is required before any punishment can be given
Show Answer
Answer: A – Without a baseline, the counsellor cannot judge whether an intervention is actually helping.
Q25. If a student disagrees with a proposed counselling goal, the counsellor should:
- (A) Discuss the disagreement, negotiate and revise the goal together
- (B) Insist on the original goal until the student accepts it
- (C) End counselling immediately
- (D) Set the goal secretly and proceed without telling the student, in a typical school week
Show Answer
Answer: A – Negotiation preserves trust and produces a goal the student is willing to work towards.
Q26. Confidential assessment records in a school should be:
- (A) Shared with all teachers for general information, during the regular school day
- (B) Left on an open desk in the staffroom
- (C) Discussed openly in staff meetings
- (D) Stored securely and shared only with consent or legitimate need
Show Answer
Answer: D – Secure storage and limited sharing protect the student’s privacy and trust.
Q27. Which question best explores a student’s problem during assessment?
- (A) Why are you always lazy with your work?, as part of the school’s usual programme
- (B) Do you agree that you are careless?
- (C) Can you describe a recent situation when this problem happened?
- (D) Is your teacher not right about you?
Show Answer
Answer: C – An open, non-judgemental question invites a concrete description instead of a defensive answer.
Q28. A priority goal should be chosen mainly on the basis of:
- (A) Which goal is easiest to achieve
- (B) Urgency, the client’s readiness and the likely impact
- (C) The counsellor’s personal preference, with the class teacher involved
- (D) A parent’s demand alone
Show Answer
Answer: B – Urgency, readiness and impact together decide what should be tackled first.
Q29. Assessment in counselling differs from labelling because assessment:
- (A) Fixes a permanent identity on the student, in the school setting, alongside other pupils
- (B) Uses only one test score
- (C) Informs a flexible plan that is reviewed over time
- (D) Ranks students against each other
Show Answer
Answer: C – Assessment is an ongoing process that guides and revises help, whereas a label is fixed and limiting.
Q30. After goals have been agreed, what is the next logical step in the counselling process?
- (A) Terminate counselling at once
- (B) Plan intervention strategies to work towards those goals
- (C) Repeat the full assessment indefinitely, over the course of a school term
- (D) File the case as closed
Show Answer
Answer: B – Goals point the way; intervention is the planned action that moves the client towards them.
Intervention Strategies
Q31. In counselling, intervention means:
- (A) Planned actions taken to help the client move towards agreed goals
- (B) Giving punishment for the problem behaviour, in a normal classroom situation
- (C) Testing the student once again
- (D) Ending the session early
Show Answer
Answer: A – Intervention is purposeful action linked to goals, not punishment or testing alone.
Q32. A student avoids speaking in class because of fear of ridicule. Which intervention is most suitable?
- (A) Scold the student for remaining silent
- (B) Force the student to speak daily in assembly without preparation, as practised in many schools
- (C) Ignore the fear and hope it disappears
- (D) Use gradual exposure, rehearsal and coping skills to build confidence step by step
Show Answer
Answer: D – Gradual, supported practice reduces fear, while forcing or scolding usually increases it.
Q33. Role-play in counselling is useful mainly because it lets the client:
- (A) Entertain the counsellor during the session
- (B) Test his memory of school lessons
- (C) Replace real action with pretend action permanently, with parents informed about the arrangement
- (D) Practise social or study skills safely before using them in real situations
Show Answer
Answer: D – Safe practice lets the client try new behaviour, receive feedback and gain confidence.
Q34. When a client is making little progress, the counsellor should first:
- (A) Blame the client for lack of effort
- (B) Repeat exactly the same method for more sessions, under the supervision of the school counsellor
- (C) Review the goals and strategies together and adjust the plan
- (D) Terminate counselling without discussion
Show Answer
Answer: C – Slow progress is a signal to review the plan, not to blame the client or repeat an unhelpful method.
Q35. Homework or a task between counselling sessions should be:
- (A) Small, clear, agreed with the client and reviewed at the next session
- (B) A large piece of extra work given as a punishment, for pupils in the senior classes
- (C) Kept secret from the student until it is due
- (D) Unrelated to the counselling goal
Show Answer
Answer: A – Small agreed tasks that are reviewed keep progress visible and manageable.
Q36. A cognitive approach in counselling focuses mainly on:
- (A) Only the client’s early childhood, in the context of everyday school work, as part of routine school organisation
- (B) Identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts that affect feelings and behaviour
- (C) Physical punishment for mistakes
- (D) Examination marks alone
Show Answer
Answer: B – Cognitive work examines how thoughts shape feelings and actions, then builds more helpful ways of thinking.
Q37. A student repeatedly delays homework until the night before it is due. How can the counsellor best help?
- (A) Remove all deadlines for the student
- (B) Break tasks into smaller steps, set a schedule, monitor progress and recognise improvement
- (C) Complete the homework for the student, during scheduled guidance periods, with records kept by the school
- (D) Threaten the student with failure
Show Answer
Answer: B – Breaking work down and tracking small wins tackles procrastination directly and builds self-management.
Q38. Group counselling is a suitable intervention when:
- (A) Several students share a similar concern, such as examination anxiety
- (B) The issue is a highly private personal crisis, in consultation with the pupil’s teachers
- (C) A student has clearly refused to join a group
- (D) The counsellor only wants to save time
Show Answer
Answer: A – Shared concerns allow group members to learn from each other, while private crises need individual work.
Q39. If an intervention involves conflict between a student and his family, the counsellor should:
- (A) Take one side against the other
- (B) Share the student’s private disclosures with parents without discussion, as one element of the school’s pastoral care
- (C) Advise the student to break all family ties
- (D) Facilitate communication and involve the family appropriately with the student’s knowledge
Show Answer
Answer: D – Facilitating communication respects both sides and keeps the student’s trust intact.
Q40. Which is the best indicator that an intervention is working?
- (A) The student agrees with everything the counsellor says, for a pupil moving to a new class or school
- (B) The sessions become longer each week
- (C) Movement towards the agreed goals and observable behaviour change
- (D) The counsellor feels personally satisfied
Show Answer
Answer: C – Progress is judged by goal attainment and behaviour change, not by agreement or session length.
Q41. Reframing in counselling means:
- (A) Helping the client view a situation from a more helpful perspective
- (B) Helping the client describe the problem in greater detail without changing how he sees it
- (C) Suggesting a practical step the client can take this week
- (D) Reassuring the client that his difficulties will improve with time
Show Answer
Answer: A – Reframing opens up new meanings and options without denying the difficulty.
Q42. For a student who cannot decide on a career direction, a suitable intervention may include:
- (A) Choosing a career for the student
- (B) Exploring interests, abilities and options, and practising decision-making steps
- (C) Advising only the highest-paying job available
- (D) Delaying all exploration until after final examinations without any plan, in the course of the school year
Show Answer
Answer: B – Career counselling builds the student’s own decision-making capacity rather than deciding for him.
Q43. During intervention, a counsellor should avoid:
- (A) Listening carefully to the client
- (B) Summarising progress from time to time, with the support of the guidance team
- (C) Encouraging the client’s effort
- (D) Imposing his own personal values and decisions on the client
Show Answer
Answer: D – Imposing values undermines autonomy and turns counselling into direction rather than help.
Q44. When a student is in crisis, what should be the immediate priority of intervention?
- (A) A long-term career plan
- (B) A detailed academic timetable
- (C) Safety, support and appropriate referral
- (D) Completion of pending homework, in a typical school week
Show Answer
Answer: C – In a crisis, safety and support come before academic or long-term planning.
Q45. Behavioural reinforcement in counselling means:
- (A) Punishing every mistake the student makes
- (B) Ignoring all progress the student makes
- (C) Recognising and rewarding desired behaviour so that it is strengthened
- (D) Giving rewards that are unrelated to the student’s effort, during the regular school day
Show Answer
Answer: C – Reinforcement strengthens behaviour by following it with a valued consequence.
Follow-up, Evaluation and Termination
Q46. Follow-up after active counselling is important because:
- (A) It makes the case file look complete
- (B) The counsellor needs to record attendance
- (C) The student must report to the counsellor forever, as part of the school’s usual programme
- (D) Gains need monitoring, and relapse or new difficulties can be addressed early
Show Answer
Answer: D – Follow-up protects progress and catches setbacks before they become serious again.
Q47. A follow-up session typically includes:
- (A) A completely new and unrelated problem only, with the class teacher involved, in the school setting, alongside other pupils
- (B) Reviewing progress, discussing difficulties and strengthening maintenance strategies
- (C) A final examination of the student
- (D) Punishment for any relapse
Show Answer
Answer: B – Follow-up reviews what is working, what is difficult, and how gains can be maintained.
Q48. Termination of counselling should normally occur when:
- (A) Goals have been achieved or an agreed ending has been reached and progress is stable
- (B) The first session has finished
- (C) The student asks a single question
- (D) The counsellor becomes busy with other work, over the course of a school term, in a normal classroom situation
Show Answer
Answer: A – Ending is planned around goal attainment and stability, not around convenience.
Q49. Abrupt termination of counselling without preparation may cause the client to feel:
- (A) Immediately independent in every situation, as practised in many schools
- (B) No effect at all
- (C) Guaranteed success in future problems
- (D) Rejected, with a risk of losing the gains made
Show Answer
Answer: D – An unplanned ending can feel like rejection and undo progress, so termination needs preparation.
Q50. Before termination, the counsellor should:
- (A) Review achievements, coping strategies and future support options with the client
- (B) Introduce a new major goal for the client
- (C) Share details of other students’ cases
- (D) Promise unlimited availability at any hour, with parents informed about the arrangement
Show Answer
Answer: A – A closing review consolidates learning and leaves the client clear about future support.
Q51. A student returns after termination because the same problem has come back. The counsellor should:
- (A) Refuse further help because the case is closed, under the supervision of the school counsellor
- (B) Blame the student for the relapse
- (C) Welcome the student, reassess the situation, and resume support or refer onwards
- (D) Repeat the old plan without any review
Show Answer
Answer: C – Returning for help is a positive step; reassessment ensures the new plan fits the current situation.
Q52. Evaluation of the counselling process involves:
- (A) Counting the number of sessions only
- (B) Checking goal attainment, client feedback and outcomes
- (C) Judging the counsellor’s popularity in school, for pupils in the senior classes
- (D) Checking the marks of the whole class
Show Answer
Answer: B – Evaluation looks at whether goals were met and how the client experienced the process.
Q53. Which of the following is a sign of healthy termination?
- (A) The student depends on the counsellor for every decision, in the context of everyday school work
- (B) The student can use the skills learned in counselling independently
- (C) The student avoids the counsellor completely
- (D) The counsellor decides all of the student’s future plans
Show Answer
Answer: B – Independence in using learned skills is the aim of counselling, not continued dependence.
Q54. The interval between follow-up contacts should be based on:
- (A) A fixed rule that applies to every student, as part of routine school organisation
- (B) The counsellor’s convenience
- (C) The school timetable only
- (D) The client’s need, level of risk and progress
Show Answer
Answer: D – Follow-up timing is a clinical judgement based on need and risk, not a uniform rule.
Q55. At termination, discussion of possible future contact should be:
- (A) Decided by the counsellor alone, without discussion with the student
- (B) Limited to a single farewell meeting, with no mention of future help
- (C) Clear about how and when the student can seek help again
- (D) Left to the student’s parents to arrange if they think it is needed
Show Answer
Answer: C – Clear information about returning for help gives the student security without creating dependence.
Q56. Referral at termination is appropriate when:
- (A) The student’s need goes beyond the scope of the school counsellor
- (B) The student is difficult to work with
- (C) The counsellor dislikes the case
- (D) Parents request it quickly without assessment, during scheduled guidance periods
Show Answer
Answer: A – Referral is an ethical response to needs that require specialist help, not a way to avoid a case.
Q57. A closing summary at termination should:
- (A) Highlight progress, strengths and strategies the student has learned
- (B) List only the student’s failures
- (C) Introduce a new diagnosis for the student, with records kept by the school
- (D) Compare the student with other students
Show Answer
Answer: A – A strengths-based summary leaves the client with a clear sense of achievement and usable strategies.
Q58. If follow-up shows that a problem has returned, the counsellor should:
- (A) Close the case as a failure
- (B) Punish the student for relapsing
- (C) Explore triggers, adjust the plan and reinforce coping skills
- (D) Ignore the relapse and wait for it to pass, in consultation with the pupil’s teachers
Show Answer
Answer: C – Relapse is information for adjusting the plan, not a reason for punishment or closure.
Q59. Ethical termination includes:
- (A) Ending contact by a brief message without a closing session, as one element of the school’s pastoral care
- (B) Sharing the student’s records publicly
- (C) Abandoning the client during a crisis
- (D) A planned ending with continuity or referral arrangements where needed
Show Answer
Answer: D – Ethical endings are planned and ensure the client is not left without support.
Q60. The overall counselling process is best described as:
- (A) One-time advice given in a single meeting, for a pupil moving to a new class or school, in the course of the school year
- (B) A structured, ongoing relationship moving from rapport to goals, action and follow-up
- (C) Testing and labelling of the student
- (D) Punishment and monitoring of behaviour
Show Answer
Answer: B – Counselling is a staged process: relationship, assessment, goals, intervention, follow-up and planned ending.
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