ASPPB Intervention Strategies & Treatment Planning 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is an example of a 'third-wave' cognitive behavioral therapy?
- Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) (Correct answer)
- Standard Beck cognitive therapy
- Systematic desensitization
Correct answer: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT is a third-wave CBT that emphasizes psychological flexibility, acceptance of internal experiences, and values-based action rather than direct thought challenging.
Question 2: A psychologist is treating a client with OCD who performs extensive checking rituals. ERP requires the client to:
- Identify and modify the underlying core beliefs driving obsessions
- Confront feared stimuli without performing compulsions until anxiety naturally decreases (Correct answer)
- Replace compulsive behaviors with healthier coping rituals
- Gradually reduce compulsion frequency by 10% per week
Correct answer: Confront feared stimuli without performing compulsions until anxiety naturally decreases
Exposure and Response Prevention requires confronting feared triggers while refraining from compulsive behavior, allowing habituation or inhibitory learning to occur.
Question 3: Which treatment planning principle is illustrated when a psychologist targets the most functionally impairing problem first?
- Principle of parsimony
- Problem prioritization (Correct answer)
- Stepped care
- Sequential treatment
Correct answer: Problem prioritization
Problem prioritization involves selecting the treatment target that most significantly interferes with functioning or safety as the initial focus.
Question 4: A client with borderline personality disorder is in DBT skills training. The 'TIPP' skill is used to:
- Evaluate the pros and cons of a behavior
- Rapidly reduce intense emotional arousal through biological means (Correct answer)
- Identify interpersonal effectiveness goals
- Practice mindful nonjudgmental observation
Correct answer: Rapidly reduce intense emotional arousal through biological means
TIPP (Temperature, Intense exercise, Paced breathing, Progressive relaxation) targets the physiological basis of extreme emotion to quickly decrease crisis-level distress.
Question 5: When selecting a treatment modality, which factor should take HIGHEST priority in the decision-making process?
- The psychologist's preferred theoretical orientation
- Empirical support for the treatment matched to the client's specific diagnosis and presentation (Correct answer)
- The client's ability to pay for the preferred treatment
- Treatment availability in the psychologist's geographic area
Correct answer: Empirical support for the treatment matched to the client's specific diagnosis and presentation
Evidence-based practice requires selecting interventions with established empirical support for the specific clinical presentation, prioritizing client welfare.
Question 6: A psychologist is writing measurable treatment goals. Which goal is written MOST appropriately?
- Client will feel better about himself
- Client will improve social functioning
- Client will initiate at least two social interactions per week, as measured by self-monitoring logs (Correct answer)
- Client will work on reducing social isolation
Correct answer: Client will initiate at least two social interactions per week, as measured by self-monitoring logs
Effective treatment goals must be specific, measurable, and include a method of tracking progress, as demonstrated by the behavioral frequency and monitoring component.
Question 7: Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) for depression focuses primarily on which domain?
- Unconscious defense mechanisms and transference
- Current interpersonal relationships and role disputes, transitions, or grief (Correct answer)
- The relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
- Acceptance of depressive symptoms as transient mental events
Correct answer: Current interpersonal relationships and role disputes, transitions, or grief
IPT addresses depression by targeting interpersonal problem areas — grief, role disputes, role transitions, and interpersonal deficits — in the client's current relationships.
ASPPB Intervention Strategies & Treatment Planning 3
Which of the following is an example of a 'third-wave' cognitive behavioral therapy?