CDT Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the CDT exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 CDT Exam Format at a Glance
📚 CDT Topics to Study (22)
✍️ Sample CDT Questions & Answers
1. Which element of safety planning specifically addresses reducing access to means of self-harm?
Means restriction (lethal means counseling) involves reducing access to items that could be used for self-harm and is a key evidence-based component of suicide safety planning.
2. What role does cortisol play in the neurobiological response to trauma?
Chronic cortisol elevation from ongoing trauma impairs hippocampal function and disrupts healthy memory consolidation.
3. Why is it essential for advocates to engage with individuals with disabilities in decision-making?
It is essential for advocates to engage with individuals with disabilities in decision-making because it ensures that their unique needs, preferences, and goals are respected and prioritized. This collaborative approach fosters empowerment, validates their experiences, and ensures that services and supports are truly person-centered. Engaging individuals directly in decisions about their lives is fundamental to upholding their autonomy and dignity.
4. For a CDT practitioner, why is understanding polyvagal theory important when working with trauma survivors with disabilities?
Polyvagal theory explains the three autonomic states — safe, mobilized, and immobilized — helping practitioners understand behavioral responses in trauma survivors.
5. What is compassion fatigue and how does it relate to CDT practice?
Compassion fatigue describes the depletion of empathic energy from sustained caregiving, which can diminish the quality and safety of services provided to clients with disabilities.
6. What is the medical model of disability and why might CDT practitioners from the disability rights tradition critique it?
The medical model locates disability within the individual as a problem to be corrected, whereas disability rights advocates argue society's barriers are the real problem.