Assessment & Case Formulation Flashcards
7 cards from real CBT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Assessment & Case Formulation flashcards as text
A client with OCD believes that thinking about harming someone is morally equivalent to actually doing it. Which cognitive distortion does this BEST represent?
Answer: Thought-action fusion
Thought-action fusion is the belief that having a thought about an action is morally equivalent to performing it, which is a core cognitive distortion in OCD.
In CBT assessment, which tool would be MOST appropriate for tracking a client's weekly mood and identifying patterns across sessions?
Answer: Daily Mood Log or Mood Diary
A Daily Mood Log or Mood Diary allows clients to self-monitor emotional states over time, helping identify situational triggers and cognitive patterns between sessions.
Which element of the CBT case formulation serves as the 'glue' that integrates predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors into a coherent narrative?
Answer: The working hypothesis
The working hypothesis is the integrative narrative that explains how the client's history, core beliefs, and current maintaining cycles fit together to produce their presenting problems.
A CBT therapist shares the case formulation with a client and invites their feedback. What is the PRIMARY rationale for this collaborative approach?
Answer: It increases the accuracy of the formulation and strengthens the therapeutic alliance
Sharing and refining the formulation collaboratively improves its accuracy by incorporating the client's perspective and strengthens alliance, which is a key predictor of treatment outcome.
During CBT assessment for depression, a therapist identifies that a client has stopped exercising, socializing, and cooking since becoming depressed. These behavioral changes BEST illustrate which concept?
Answer: Behavioral withdrawal and reduced positive reinforcement
Stopping pleasurable and meaningful activities reduces positive reinforcement, which is the core maintenance mechanism in the behavioral model of depression (Lewinsohn's model).
A therapist notes that a client's presenting problem worsens significantly every Sunday evening before the work week. In a CBT functional analysis, Sunday evening is best identified as the:
Answer: Antecedent/trigger
In a functional analysis (ABC model), the antecedent is the stimulus or situation that triggers the cognitive, emotional, or behavioral response.
Which of the following BEST describes the purpose of standardized assessment measures (e.g., BDI-II, GAD-7) when used repeatedly throughout CBT?
Answer: They provide objective, ongoing data to track symptom change and treatment response
Repeated administration of standardized measures provides objective data on symptom trajectories, allowing the therapist to evaluate treatment response and adjust the approach if progress stalls.