CAADC Group Counseling Techniques 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A group member with 18 months of sobriety begins minimizing a newcomer's relapse, saying 'you just need more willpower.' What is the counselor's BEST response?
- Ask the veteran member to share their own early relapse experiences to build empathy (Correct answer)
- Immediately redirect the newcomer to avoid further shame
- End the session early to protect the newcomer
- Praise the veteran member for holding the newcomer accountable
Correct answer: Ask the veteran member to share their own early relapse experiences to build empathy
Redirecting to personal experience promotes empathy and models the disease concept without shaming either member.
Question 2: Which technique is MOST appropriate when a group becomes stuck in repetitive storytelling without therapeutic movement?
- Process commentary — naming the pattern aloud to the group (Correct answer)
- Abruptly changing the topic to break the cycle
- Terminating the group session
- Assigning the most talkative member as group leader
Correct answer: Process commentary — naming the pattern aloud to the group
Process commentary makes the group's own pattern visible and invites members to examine it therapeutically.
Question 3: In Yalom's group therapy model, 'universality' refers to:
- Members discovering their struggles are shared by others, reducing isolation (Correct answer)
- Applying universal moral standards to all group members
- The counselor's ability to relate to every client
- Equal participation requirements for all group members
Correct answer: Members discovering their struggles are shared by others, reducing isolation
Universality is a therapeutic factor in which clients realize they are not alone in their pain or addiction.
Question 4: A closed addiction group is in its termination phase. A member requests that the group continue meeting informally without the counselor. The counselor should:
- Explore the meaning of this request and process feelings about ending (Correct answer)
- Approve the arrangement as it promotes peer support
- Prohibit any post-group contact as a boundary violation
- Transfer the group to a peer support specialist immediately
Correct answer: Explore the meaning of this request and process feelings about ending
Exploring the request therapeutically addresses unresolved termination feelings rather than simply approving or prohibiting it.
Question 5: When using motivational interviewing in a group setting, the counselor PRIMARILY avoids:
- Confronting ambivalence directly or labeling members as 'in denial' (Correct answer)
- Reflecting members' statements back to the group
- Eliciting change talk from quieter members
- Summarizing the group's discussion periodically
Correct answer: Confronting ambivalence directly or labeling members as 'in denial'
MI's spirit is collaborative; direct confrontation and labeling undermine autonomy and evoke resistance.
Question 6: A member discloses in group that they are currently using substances but asks the group to keep it secret from their probation officer. The counselor's FIRST action is to:
- Review the limits of confidentiality that were established at group intake (Correct answer)
- Promise confidentiality to preserve the therapeutic alliance
- Report immediately to the probation officer without further discussion
- Ask the group to vote on whether to report
Correct answer: Review the limits of confidentiality that were established at group intake
Revisiting pre-established confidentiality limits grounds the response in informed consent and duty-to-report obligations.
Question 7: Which of the following BEST describes the role of 'linking' as a group leadership technique?
- Connecting one member's statement to a similar theme expressed by another member (Correct answer)
- Linking the group session to outside homework assignments
- Creating alliances between members who share the same substance of choice
- Summarizing the counselor's theoretical orientation for the group
Correct answer: Connecting one member's statement to a similar theme expressed by another member
Linking highlights shared themes among members, deepening cohesion and showing members they are heard in relation to each other.
CAADC Group Counseling Techniques 4
A group member with 18 months of sobriety begins minimizing a newcomer's relapse, saying 'you just need more willpower.' What is the counselor's BEST response?