Rock the LMSW Practice Test 2025 – Elevate Your Social Work Game!

The client’s realization that certain behaviors are no longer acceptable—an indication of self-awareness—can often lead to emotional distress, including symptoms like depression, loss of appetite, and difficulty sleeping. These symptoms are a natural response when individuals confront aspects of themselves that they may not have acknowledged previously.

Recognizing problematic behaviors is a critical step in the process of change, yet it can also trigger discomfort and emotional turmoil due to the internal conflict and guilt associated with those realizations. Therefore, experiencing these symptoms aligns with an exacerbation of the client’s existing issues, as they grapple with the consequences of changing long-standing behaviors and begin to confront their character disorder.

This response highlights the complexity of the therapeutic process and underscores that progress may come with temporary setbacks, such as heightened emotional distress. In this context, the social worker would view these symptoms as part of the client's growth and development, even though they represent a challenging phase, rather than a straightforward exacerbation of their original problems.