Intervention Strategies & Treatment Planning Flashcards
7 cards from real ASPPB practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Intervention Strategies & Treatment Planning flashcards as text
A psychologist is treating a client with panic disorder. Which component is MOST essential in a first-line evidence-based treatment?
Answer: Interoceptive exposure exercises
Interoceptive exposure, which involves inducing and tolerating feared bodily sensations, is a core component of CBT for panic disorder.
In motivational interviewing, the acronym OARS refers to which set of core skills?
Answer: Open questions, Affirmations, Reflections, Summaries
OARS stands for Open questions, Affirmations, Reflections, and Summaries — the foundational communication techniques in motivational interviewing.
When a treatment plan includes a 'step-down' approach, this refers to:
Answer: Moving from more intensive to less intensive levels of care as the client improves
Step-down care involves progressively reducing treatment intensity as clinical symptoms remit and functioning improves.
Which of the following best describes the primary goal of behavioral activation in treating depression?
Answer: Increasing engagement in rewarding activities to break avoidance cycles
Behavioral activation targets the withdrawal and avoidance patterns that maintain depression by scheduling and reinforcing pleasurable or meaningful activities.
A client with PTSD reports avoiding all reminders of the trauma and feels emotionally numb. The psychologist plans prolonged exposure. What is the FIRST phase of this treatment?
Answer: Psychoeducation about PTSD and the treatment rationale
Prolonged exposure begins with psychoeducation about PTSD symptoms and a clear rationale for why approach rather than avoidance promotes recovery.
In DBT, the concept of 'dialectics' most centrally refers to:
Answer: Synthesizing opposites, particularly acceptance and change
DBT's dialectical philosophy holds that apparent opposites — especially radical acceptance and the push for change — can be integrated into a synthesis.
A psychologist working with an adolescent with social anxiety decides to involve the parents in treatment. Which role is MOST appropriate for parents in CBT for adolescent social anxiety?
Answer: Serving as coaches who support exposure homework and avoid excessive reassurance-giving
Parents are most effective as coaches who reinforce brave behavior and resist accommodating avoidance, which inadvertently maintains anxiety.