CAC Counseling Skills and Therapeutic Techniques 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary goal of 'motivational enhancement' as used in addiction counseling?
- Increasing the client's intrinsic motivation to change (Correct answer)
- Providing external rewards for sobriety
- Teaching clients coping skills
- Helping clients understand their diagnosis
Correct answer: Increasing the client's intrinsic motivation to change
Motivational enhancement aims to build and strengthen the client's internal motivation and commitment to change.
Question 2: A counselor who avoids arguing with a client and rolls with resistance is using which evidence-based approach?
- Motivational Interviewing (Correct answer)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy
- 12-Step Facilitation
- Contingency Management
Correct answer: Motivational Interviewing
Rolling with resistance, rather than confronting it directly, is a core principle of Motivational Interviewing.
Question 3: In group therapy for substance use disorders, what is the PRIMARY therapeutic benefit unique to the group setting?
- Universality — realizing others share similar struggles (Correct answer)
- Individual attention from the therapist
- Privacy and confidentiality
- Medical monitoring
Correct answer: Universality — realizing others share similar struggles
Universality, the sense that one is not alone in their struggles, is a curative factor unique to group therapy that cannot be replicated in individual sessions.
Question 4: Which technique involves the counselor asking a client to rate their readiness to change on a scale of 1–10?
- Readiness ruler (Correct answer)
- Decisional balance
- Change talk elicitation
- Functional analysis
Correct answer: Readiness ruler
The readiness ruler is an MI technique that quantifies motivation and opens discussion about what would move the client's number higher.
Question 5: Contingency management in addiction treatment uses which behavioral principle?
- Positive reinforcement for abstinence (Correct answer)
- Negative punishment for relapse
- Classical conditioning of cravings
- Systematic desensitization
Correct answer: Positive reinforcement for abstinence
Contingency management provides tangible rewards (vouchers, prizes) as positive reinforcement for verified abstinence or treatment participation.
Question 6: What does 'empathic confrontation' mean in addiction counseling?
- Pointing out discrepancies between a client's stated values and behavior in a compassionate way (Correct answer)
- Aggressively challenging denial to break through resistance
- Forcing a client to acknowledge consequences of use
- Asking family members to confront the client
Correct answer: Pointing out discrepancies between a client's stated values and behavior in a compassionate way
Empathic confrontation gently highlights inconsistencies between what a client says they value and how they are acting, without aggression or judgment.
CAC Counseling Skills and Therapeutic Techniques 2
What is the primary goal of 'motivational enhancement' as used in addiction counseling?