Evidence-Based Counseling Models Flashcards

The 'empty chair' technique used in Gestalt therapy for addiction counseling is BEST suited for:

Answer: Facilitating unfinished emotional business with significant others or aspects of self

The empty chair technique allows clients to externalize and dialogue with unresolved feelings or internal conflicts that often underlie addictive behavior.

In Seeking Safety, a trauma-informed model for co-occurring PTSD and substance use, the primary treatment focus is on:

Answer: Establishing safety as the first and overriding goal of treatment

Seeking Safety explicitly prioritizes safety — safe coping in both trauma and substance use domains — before any trauma processing work begins.

A counselor employing Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) with an addicted client would MOST characteristically ask:

Answer: 'What would your life look like if you woke up tomorrow and the problem was solved?'

The 'miracle question' is a signature SFBT technique that orients clients toward a preferred future rather than the history of the problem.

Which statement BEST describes the role of 'values clarification' in Motivational Interviewing?

Answer: It helps clients explore discrepancies between their values and current substance use behavior to elicit change talk

Values clarification in MI surfaces the gap between what clients care about most and how their substance use affects those things, naturally generating intrinsic motivation to change.

Integrated Cognitive Affective Therapy (ICAT) for bulimia with co-occurring substance use differs from standard CBT primarily by emphasizing:

Answer: The interplay of emotions, cognitions, and urges across both conditions simultaneously

ICAT targets the cognitive-affective processes that simultaneously drive binge-purge cycles and substance use, treating them as functionally linked.

In the Matrix Model for stimulant use disorders, the therapeutic relationship is described as being like:

Answer: A coach who is knowledgeable, supportive, and keeps the client on task

The Matrix Model explicitly frames the therapist as a knowledgeable coach — non-judgmental, supportive, and focused on skill-building and accountability.

When using Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT) for alcohol use disorder, the 'sobriety contract' component requires:

Answer: Daily verbal affirmations of intent to stay sober, witnessed by the partner, often with medication compliance

BCT's sobriety contract is a daily ritual where the client states their intent to remain sober and the partner expresses support, building trust and accountability within the relationship.