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Foundations of Counseling · Instructor Guide
Case File Jeopardy
Everything you need to run the two-round exam review game in class, from team setup through the last clue. Full answer key is at the bottom, and the whole thing prints as a clean handout.
Before class
- Open the game on the classroom computer connected to the projector. Test that the board and score buttons work.
- Decide team size. 3 to 6 teams of 3 to 5 students each works well for a 50-minute class. Bigger teams mean more discussion per clue; smaller teams mean faster turn cycles.
- Have this instructor guide open in a second tab or printed alongside you for quick answer reference during play.
- Optional: prep small whiteboards or blank paper for each team if you want written responses instead of buzzers.
The rules
Classic Jeopardy, briefly
Jeopardy is a trivia game where the host reads a clue phrased as a statement, and contestants respond in the form of a question. A clue about the ACA Code of Ethics might read "This is one of the oldest moral principles in the profession, traced back to the ancient Greek physician's dictate to refrain from harming others," and the correct response is "What is nonmaleficence?" — not just "nonmaleficence."
Contestants choose a category and dollar amount from the board. Correct answers earn the dollar amount; incorrect answers deduct it. Whoever answers last picks the next clue.
What's the same in this version
- Two rounds. Round 1 uses $100 to $500 clues. Round 2 (Double Jeopardy) uses $200 to $1,000 clues, so scoring gets more consequential in the second half.
- Six categories per round, five clues per category, 60 clues total.
- Correct answers add the dollar amount to the team's score. Incorrect answers subtract it. Scores can go negative.
- Responses should be in the form of a question. Enforce this if you want; relax it if the class is on a roll and you want to keep pace up.
What's different in this version
- No Daily Doubles. Every clue is worth its stated dollar amount. No hidden wagers.
- No Final Jeopardy round. The game ends when the last clue is answered. Whoever has the highest score wins.
- Turn order is flexible. The board doesn't enforce it. Either let teams pick in rotation, or let the team that answered last pick next (traditional Jeopardy style). Whichever keeps the pace you want.
Timing tip. A full 60-clue game takes 45 to 60 minutes at a steady pace. If you're tight on time, run Round 1 only (about 25 minutes) — it hits the exam's core topics. Round 2 is for the finer names, dates, and terms that multiple-choice exams love to test.
Running the game
- Read the clue aloud. Even though it's on screen, reading it aloud sets the pace and gives students who process auditorily a fair shot.
- Give a set think-time. 15 to 20 seconds for Round 1, 30 seconds for Round 2. Announce it. Otherwise the fastest talkers dominate.
- Take the first hand up, or all-team simultaneous reveal. Simultaneous reveal (whiteboards, or all teams say the answer on the count of 3) gives everyone practice retrieving. Faster-hand-first gives a Jeopardy feel.
- Award points using the buttons on the game screen. Click the team, then click the amount. Scores update live.
- Read the note aloud after each reveal. Each clue in the answer key below has a teaching note (dates, contrasts, related terms). Reading it aloud after scoring turns the game into a review lecture, not just a trivia contest.
Judgment calls
- Close-but-not-exact answers. "Nonmaleficence" without "what is" — full credit or half credit? Pick a rule at the start and hold to it. Half credit is a fair middle path.
- Two teams answer simultaneously. Give both credit if both are correct.
- Nobody knows. Reveal the answer, read the note, no points awarded, move on. This happens more in Round 2 and is a signal about what to reinforce before the exam.
Sound and think timer
The game has built-in sound effects and a per-clue think timer. Everything is generated in the browser, so there's nothing to download and nothing that needs speakers louder than your normal classroom setup.
Sounds
- Click when a square is selected.
- Soft chime when the answer is revealed.
- Bright arpeggio for a correct answer (when you tap the + button).
- Descending buzz for a wrong answer.
- Fanfare when the last clue is answered or when you tap "Show final scores."
The Sound on / Sound off button lives in the setup row at the top of the game. Muting persists between sessions, so if you turned it off last class it stays off. Tap once to toggle.
Think timer
When you open a clue, the modal shows three timer buttons: 15s, 20s, 30s. Tap one to start a countdown with a subtle metronome tick each second and a buzzer when time's up. The last five seconds show in red so students can see the clock without hearing it. Revealing the answer or closing the clue automatically stops the timer.
Suggested pace: 15s for Round 1 (recall), 30s for Round 2 (deeper terms and dates). Skip the timer entirely for the first couple of clues while the class is warming up.
Classroom tip. The tick is intentionally quiet so it doesn't overwhelm discussion. If your speakers are on the softer side, test the buzzer volume before class — you want it audible but not startling.
Debrief
Save the last 5 minutes for a quick debrief:
- Which category felt easiest? Which felt hardest?
- Which specific clues do you want to look at again before the exam?
- Any names, dates, or terms that came up more than once — those are almost certainly on the test.
1 Founders & Foundations
| $ | Clue | Correct response |
|---|
| 100 | He's known as the "father of guidance," and focused his work on prevention and growth rather than pathology. | Who is Frank Parsons? |
| 200 | This historical era is most directly credited with giving rise to vocational guidance in the U.S., per Aubrey (1983). | What is the Industrial Revolution? |
| 300 | This person's theory is called Person-Centered (Client-Centered) and rose to prominence in the 1940s. | Who is Carl Rogers? |
| 400 | Before 2009, accreditation split this specialty into two tracks: a 48-semester-hour "community counseling" degree and a 60-semester-hour "mental health counseling" degree. | What is clinical mental health counseling? |
| 500 | This state became the first to adopt a professional counselor licensure law, in 1976 — quickly followed by two others before the decade ended. | What is Virginia? |
Notes. Parsons' model: knowledge of the world of work + knowledge of self + true reasoning to match the two. Rogers is "father of counseling" per this guide; major tenets are empathy, unconditional positive regard, genuineness/congruence, self-actualization. Virginia was followed by Arkansas and Alabama.
2 Ethics & Law
| $ | Clue | Correct response |
|---|
| 100 | The ACA defines counseling as a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish these four kinds of goals. | What are mental health, wellness, education, and career goals? |
| 200 | This landmark California case established a counselor's duty to warn identifiable third parties of imminent danger — but the Texas Supreme Court ruled the opposite. | What is Tarasoff? |
| 300 | This eight-step ethical decision-making model begins with defining the problem/dilemma and ends with documenting decision-making and follow-up actions. | What is the Wheeler & Bertram model? |
| 400 | This moral principle allows a client freedom of choice and action; counselors help clients make and act on their own decisions. | What is autonomy? |
| 500 | This is one of the oldest moral principles in the profession, traced back to the ancient Greek physician's dictate to refrain from harming others. | What is nonmaleficence? |
Notes. Five ACA core values: enhancing human development, honoring diversity, promoting social justice, safeguarding the counselor-client relationship, practicing competently/ethically. Wheeler & Bertram steps: define problem → identify variables → review law/ethics/policy → check personal bias → get outside perspective → enumerate options/consequences → decide & act → document. Full principle list: autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity, veracity.
3 Career & Family
| $ | Clue | Correct response |
|---|
| 100 | This term implies a psychological commitment or calling to a particular field, distinct from a "job" or "occupation." | What is a vocation? |
| 200 | In Super's life span-life space approach, this stage involves adults choosing and implementing a career and becoming established in it. | What is the Establishment stage? |
| 300 | These family stressors deal with patterns, myths, secrets, and legacies inherited from previous generations — like an ancestor who was imprisoned. | What are vertical stressors? |
| 400 | In Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Model, this system covers content that indirectly impacts children, such as a parent's workplace. | What is the exosystem? |
| 500 | In Social Cognitive Career Theory, besides self-efficacy and outcome expectations, these two constructs also shape career interests and goals. | What are perceptions of barriers and perceptions of supports? |
Notes. Job = economic-return activity; occupation = similar jobs across industries; vocation = psychological calling. Super's five stages: Growth → Exploration → Establishment → Maintenance → Disengagement. Horizontal stressors (contrast) are present-day. Bronfenbrenner order: micro → meso → exo → macro → chronosystem.
4 Multicultural & Group Work
| $ | Clue | Correct response |
|---|
| 100 | This perspective emphasizes the universal qualities of counseling that are culturally generalizable, as opposed to culture-specific approaches. | What is the etic perspective? |
| 200 | This type of consultation focuses on developing the client's own plan, as opposed to building the skills of the person being consulted. | What is client-centered consultation? |
| 300 | Toporek (2000) defines this term as actions taken by counseling professionals to remove environmental barriers that hamper clients' well-being. | What is advocacy? |
| 400 | This belief system values fair and equal treatment for all members of society — distinct from the behaviors that flow from it. | What is social justice? |
| 500 | These are the four stages of group development, in order, ending with a stage sometimes called "mourning." | What are forming, storming, norming, and adjourning (mourning)? |
Notes. Emic (contrast to etic) = culture-specific characteristics. Consultation types: client-centered, consultee-centered, program-centered. Lewis et al. (2003): advocacy increases personal power AND fosters environmental change. Social action = behaviors that promote social justice (the belief system itself).
5 Crisis, Trauma & Grief
| $ | Clue | Correct response |
|---|
| 100 | A crisis contains three essential elements, per Pueleo & McGlothlin (2014) — name the first one. | What is a precipitating event? |
| 200 | This type of crisis occurs during the normal flow of human growth and maturation, unlike a situational or existential crisis. | What is a developmental crisis? |
| 300 | This is the first of the six steps in crisis intervention — understanding the problem from the client's own perspective. | What is defining the problem? |
| 400 | Palliative care includes this type of care and takes a compassionate, comprehensive team approach focused on quality of life for anyone coping with serious illness. | What is hospice care? |
| 500 | Women who leave their batterers face this percentage greater risk of being killed by the batterer than those who stay, per the Domestic Abuse Shelter (2016). | What is 75 percent? |
Notes. Crisis's other two elements: a distressing perception of the event, and diminished functioning when distress isn't relieved. Crisis types: developmental, situational, existential, ecosystemic. Six-step model: define problem → ensure safety → provide support → examine alternatives → make plans → obtain commitment (≤6 weeks).
6 Wellness & Practice
| $ | Clue | Correct response |
|---|
| 100 | Managed care systems have these two primary goals, according to Cooper & Gottlieb (2000). | What are containing costs and ensuring quality of care? |
| 200 | Community mental health centers were designed to serve as many clients as possible in this type of setting. | What is the least-restrictive setting? |
| 300 | This substance-use term describes repeated, nonmedical use that harms the user or others, diagnosed with three or more symptoms like tolerance and withdrawal. | What is substance dependence? |
| 400 | This is the mental illness movement Clifford Beers started after exposing deplorable institutional conditions in his book "A Mind That Found Itself" (1908). | What is the U.S. Mental Health Movement (mental hygiene movement)? |
| 500 | This non-chemical form of addiction, such as compulsive technology use, still follows a complex, progressive pattern with biological, psychological, sociological, and behavioral components. | What is a process addiction? |
Notes. HMO Act of 1973 funded managed care and required employers to offer it. Five CMHC core services: outpatient, inpatient, consultation/education, partial hospitalization, emergency/crisis intervention. Substance abuse (contrast to dependence) needs only one or more symptoms in 12 months.
1 History Extras
| $ | Clue | Correct response |
|---|
| 200 | This founder of psychoanalysis is named among the field's main early contributors, alongside Rogers and Beers. | Who is Sigmund Freud? |
| 400 | This college became the first to introduce college counseling services, in 1861. | What is Amherst College? |
| 600 | This person set up the first systematized guidance program in U.S. public schools (Aubrey, 1977). | Who is Jesse B. Davis? |
| 800 | This 1963 federal act led to the deinstitutionalization of people with chronic, severe mental illness, moving them out of state institutions. | What is the Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC) Act? |
| 1000 | Besides Virginia (1976), these two states quickly followed with their own counselor licensure laws before the decade ended. | What are Arkansas and Alabama? |
Notes. Davis's model of "school guidance" was preventive — teaching students to handle life events effectively. The CMHC Act's goal was quality community-based care replacing institutional confinement.
2 Group Development & Program Evaluation
| $ | Clue | Correct response |
|---|
| 200 | This is the first stage of group development, when members get acquainted and initial norms take shape. | What is forming? |
| 400 | This stage of group development involves conflict and power struggles among members. | What is storming? |
| 600 | This final stage of group development involves members processing the group's ending, including grief over the loss of the group. | What is adjourning (mourning)? |
| 800 | This is the very first step of program evaluation — collecting meaningful information on a program's activities, qualities, and results. | What is gathering information (needs assessment)? |
| 1000 | This step of program evaluation comes right after designing/implementing a program and right before assessing its effectiveness. | What is revising and improving the program? |
Notes. Full program evaluation sequence: gather info → formulate goals/objectives → design & implement → revise & improve → assess effectiveness (Patton, 2008; Lewis et al., 2003).
3 Assessment, Skills & Communication
| $ | Clue | Correct response |
|---|
| 200 | This type of interview follows a fixed, predetermined set of questions, unlike its open-ended counterpart. | What is a structured interview? |
| 400 | This basic counseling skill invites clients to elaborate rather than answer with a simple yes or no. | What are open-ended questions? |
| 600 | This counseling skill involves offering the client a new, more constructive way of viewing their situation or statement. | What is reframing? |
| 800 | Before treatment begins, this process ensures the client understands the nature, risks, benefits, and their rights in counseling. | What is informed consent? |
| 1000 | This category of client behavior includes noncompliance (skipping homework), avoidance (debating, deflecting), and ambivalence about change. | What is resistance? |
Notes. Resistance links to precontemplation/contemplation stages of the transtheoretical model; motivational interviewing is a key counselor response. Failing to obtain informed consent is also listed among malpractice risks.
4 Career Theory Deep Dive
| $ | Clue | Correct response |
|---|
| 200 | In Social Cognitive Career Theory, this construct refers to a person's belief in their own ability to successfully perform a task. | What is self-efficacy? |
| 400 | In SCCT, this construct refers to the consequences a person expects to follow from a particular course of action. | What are outcome expectations? |
| 600 | This term applies to an activity undertaken purely for economic return — distinct from a "vocation" or "occupation." | What is a job? |
| 800 | Sears (1982) defined this term as "the totality of work one does in a lifetime." | What is a career? |
| 1000 | In Super's model, this stage involves detaching from work, often associated with the approach of retirement. | What is the Disengagement stage? |
Notes. SCCT's broader factor list includes culture, gender, genetic endowment, and health, but Lent et al. emphasize self-efficacy and outcome expectations specifically.
5 Trauma, Crisis & Substance Use Extras
| $ | Clue | Correct response |
|---|
| 200 | This type of trauma usually develops within a specific relationship or setting over time, often tied to childhood abuse and insecure attachment. | What is complex trauma? |
| 400 | This acronym refers to a structured intervention program commonly used as a referral for batterers in domestic violence cases. | What is a Batterer's Intervention Program (BIP)? |
| 600 | This diagnosis may develop when trauma symptoms remain unresolved beyond the acute phase. | What is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? |
| 800 | This branch of crisis work addresses the mental health needs of people affected by natural or human-caused disasters. | What is disaster mental health counseling? |
| 1000 | This is the term for exhaustion and numbing that a helper experiences from repeatedly working with trauma survivors — listed alongside vicarious trauma. | What is compassion fatigue? |
Notes. Complex trauma per Courtois (2008) and Pearlman & Courtois (2005). Acute Stress Disorder can precede a PTSD diagnosis. Disaster mental health connects to "ecosystemic crises" in the crisis-types framework.
6 Advocacy & Practice Management
| $ | Clue | Correct response |
|---|
| 200 | This term describes behaviors specifically designed to promote social justice — on behalf of either a client or society at large. | What is social action? |
| 400 | This type of consultation focuses on improving the consultee's own skills, rather than working directly on a single client's case. | What is consultee-centered consultation? |
| 600 | This 1973 federal act funded the development of managed care programs and required employers to offer them to employees. | What is the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Act of 1973? |
| 800 | Besides legal considerations and billing, this major component of private-practice planning covers how a solo practitioner handles urgent client situations after hours. | What is planning for emergencies? |
| 1000 | C. C. Lee (2007) emphasizes that counselors should make this a priority, focused on addressing systems of oppression that negatively affect clients. | What is advocacy? |
Notes. Major private-practice planning components: legal, billing, emergencies, paperwork/administration. Advocacy sits on a continuum running from individual empowerment to community-level social action.