CART Emotional Regulation & DBT Skills 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In DBT, the PLEASE skill is used to reduce emotional vulnerability. What does the 'A' in PLEASE stand for?
- Avoid mood-altering substances (Correct answer)
- Assert your needs clearly
- Acknowledge painful emotions
- Activate the parasympathetic system
Correct answer: Avoid mood-altering substances
The 'A' in PLEASE stands for Avoid mood-altering substances, as drugs and alcohol destabilize emotional regulation.
Question 2: A client with chronic anger frequently engages in 'emotion mind' decision-making. What is the DBT goal for this client?
- Eliminate all emotional responses
- Achieve wise mind by integrating emotion and reason (Correct answer)
- Strengthen rational mind dominance
- Practice thought suppression techniques
Correct answer: Achieve wise mind by integrating emotion and reason
DBT's 'wise mind' integrates emotional mind and reasonable mind to produce balanced, effective decisions.
Question 3: Which emotional regulation strategy involves identifying and labeling emotions without judgment to reduce their intensity?
- Opposite action
- Emotion naming (affect labeling) (Correct answer)
- Cognitive restructuring
- Behavioral activation
Correct answer: Emotion naming (affect labeling)
Affect labeling—naming emotions—activates prefrontal processing and reduces amygdala reactivity, lowering emotional intensity.
Question 4: A CART therapist teaches a client to act opposite to the urge triggered by anger. According to DBT, what would 'opposite action' to anger typically involve?
- Expressing anger loudly to release tension
- Avoiding the triggering person entirely
- Gently engaging with kindness toward the person (Correct answer)
- Writing an angry letter and not sending it
Correct answer: Gently engaging with kindness toward the person
DBT's opposite action to anger involves gently engaging rather than attacking or avoiding, which changes the underlying emotion over time.
Question 5: In the DBT emotional regulation module, 'checking the facts' is used to address which core problem?
- Physiological arousal that is too high to think clearly
- Emotions that are unjustified by the actual situation (Correct answer)
- Impulsive behaviors driven by emotional mind
- Skill deficits in interpersonal effectiveness
Correct answer: Emotions that are unjustified by the actual situation
Checking the facts targets emotions whose intensity does not match the objective situation, reducing unjustified emotional responses.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes 'accumulating positives' in the DBT emotional regulation module?
- Keeping a gratitude journal to reframe negative thoughts
- Building a life worth living through short- and long-term positive events (Correct answer)
- Using imagery to create positive mental states during distress
- Practicing mindfulness to savor pleasant sensory experiences
Correct answer: Building a life worth living through short- and long-term positive events
Accumulating positives involves both engaging in short-term pleasant activities and long-term goals aligned with personal values to build emotional resilience.
Question 7: A client reports feeling overwhelmed by anger before it becomes conscious. Which neurobiological concept does this illustrate?
- Cortical override failure
- Amygdala hijack (Correct answer)
- Prefrontal hyperactivation
- Hippocampal encoding error
Correct answer: Amygdala hijack
Amygdala hijack describes the rapid triggering of the fight-or-flight response that bypasses rational prefrontal processing.
CART Emotional Regulation & DBT Skills 2
In DBT, the PLEASE skill is used to reduce emotional vulnerability.
What does the 'A' in PLEASE stand for?