AT Art Therapist Psychology & Counseling Principles 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client with borderline personality disorder frequently shifts between idealizing and devaluing the therapist during sessions. Which defense mechanism best describes this pattern?
- Projection
- Splitting (Correct answer)
- Reaction formation
- Rationalization
Correct answer: Splitting
Splitting is a hallmark defense mechanism in borderline personality disorder where the person views others as entirely good or entirely bad.
Question 2: When applying a trauma-informed care approach in art therapy, which principle is MOST essential?
- Encouraging clients to recreate traumatic scenes in artwork
- Ensuring physical and emotional safety throughout the therapeutic process (Correct answer)
- Maintaining a strict directive approach to structure sessions
- Focusing exclusively on verbal processing of traumatic memories
Correct answer: Ensuring physical and emotional safety throughout the therapeutic process
Safety—both physical and emotional—is the foundational principle of trauma-informed care, creating conditions necessary for healing.
Question 3: An art therapist notices a client's artwork consistently features isolated figures with no background. Using object relations theory, this imagery most likely reflects:
- Oedipal conflict unresolved in childhood
- Difficulties with attachment and relational connection (Correct answer)
- Repressed sexual symbolism
- Grandiose self-perception
Correct answer: Difficulties with attachment and relational connection
Object relations theory interprets isolated figures as reflecting internal working models of relationships characterized by disconnection or insecure attachment.
Question 4: Which counseling microskill involves restating the client's message in the therapist's own words to check understanding?
- Reflection of feeling
- Paraphrasing (Correct answer)
- Summarizing
- Interpretation
Correct answer: Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing restates the content of what the client said in the therapist's words to confirm accurate understanding.
Question 5: A client presents with hypervigilance, intrusive memories, and emotional numbing following a car accident. The art therapist should first consider which diagnosis?
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Correct answer)
- Acute Stress Disorder
Correct answer: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD is characterized by hypervigilance, intrusive memories, and emotional numbing persisting more than one month after a traumatic event.
Question 6: In motivational interviewing integrated with art therapy, which therapist behavior is most aligned with the 'rolling with resistance' principle?
- Confronting the client directly about their denial
- Reframing resistance as ambivalence and exploring it non-judgmentally (Correct answer)
- Assigning directive tasks to overcome resistance
- Documenting resistance for treatment plan modification
Correct answer: Reframing resistance as ambivalence and exploring it non-judgmentally
Rolling with resistance means avoiding direct confrontation and instead exploring ambivalence collaboratively and non-judgmentally.
Question 7: Which developmental stage, according to Erikson, is most associated with an adult client's artwork depicting themes of generativity and legacy?
- Identity vs. Role Confusion
- Intimacy vs. Isolation
- Generativity vs. Stagnation (Correct answer)
- Ego Integrity vs. Despair
Correct answer: Generativity vs. Stagnation
Generativity vs. Stagnation is Erikson's stage for middle adulthood, centered on contributing to future generations and leaving a meaningful legacy.
AT Art Therapist Psychology & Counseling Principles 2
A client with borderline personality disorder frequently shifts between idealizing and devaluing the therapist during sessions.
Which defense mechanism best describes this pattern?