ACT Treatment Planning & Protocols 3

Question 1

A client with OCD is referred for ACT. How does the ACT treatment plan differ from an ERP-only protocol?

Accepted Answer

ACT adds values-based motivation and acceptance of uncertainty while still using exposure

Answer

ACT complements exposure by helping clients clarify why tolerating OCD discomfort matters (values) and building willingness to experience anxiety without compulsions.

Question 2

Which scenario best illustrates 'creative hopelessness' as used in ACT treatment planning?

Accepted Answer

The therapist helps the client notice that control-based strategies have not produced lasting relief

Answer

Creative hopelessness invites clients to examine the workability of their avoidance strategies, creating openness to a new (acceptance-based) approach.

Question 3

In an ACT protocol for depression, 'behavioral activation' is reframed as:

Accepted Answer

Committed action toward values even in the presence of low mood

Answer

ACT behavioral activation is values-driven committed action, where the motivation comes from what matters rather than mood improvement or pleasure.

Question 4

A treatment plan notes that a client needs to 'build self-as-context.' A therapist would primarily use which intervention?

Accepted Answer

The 'observer self' exercise to contact the stable, perspective-taking sense of self

Answer

Self-as-context is developed through 'observer self' or 'chessboard' exercises that help clients contact a stable point of awareness distinct from their thoughts and feelings.

Question 5

When working with adolescents in an ACT protocol, treatment planning should primarily account for:

Accepted Answer

Adapting language and exercises to developmental level while preserving ACT processes

Answer

ACT with adolescents requires developmentally sensitive language and relatable metaphors, but all six core processes remain valid treatment targets.

ACT Practice Test

ACT Practice Test

ACT Treatment Planning & Protocols 3