Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Core Counseling Theories Questions and Answers

Question 1

A client states, "I failed my exam, so I'm a complete failure and will never succeed at anything." A counselor using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) would identify this statement as an example of which cognitive distortion?

Accepted Answer

Overgeneralization

Answer

Transference

Answer

The 'miracle question'

Answer

Unconditional positive regard

Question 2

According to Freudian psychoanalytic theory, which component of the personality operates on the "reality principle," mediating between the impulsive demands of the id and the moralistic standards of the superego?

Accepted Answer

The Ego

Answer

The Superego

Answer

The Id

Answer

The Libido

Question 3

Which of the following is a primary goal of a counselor using William Glasser's Reality Therapy?

Accepted Answer

To help the client identify their basic needs and evaluate if their current behaviors are effectively meeting those needs.

Answer

To explore the client's past childhood experiences and unresolved conflicts.

Answer

To uncover and interpret the symbolic meaning of the client's dreams.

Answer

To provide the client with unconditional positive regard and empathy to foster self-actualization.

Question 4

A counselor asks a client, "Suppose that one night, while you were asleep, a miracle happened and the problem that brought you here was solved. What would be the first things you would notice that would tell you things were different?" This intervention is a hallmark of which therapeutic approach?

Accepted Answer

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)

Answer

Gestalt Therapy

Answer

Adlerian Therapy

Answer

Existential Therapy

Question 5

A central tenet of Existential Therapy is the idea that anxiety is a fundamental part of the human condition. According to existentialists like Rollo May, this "normal anxiety" should be:

Accepted Answer

Confronted and used as a motivator for change and growth.

Answer

Eliminated through systematic desensitization.

Answer

Interpreted as a symptom of repressed unconscious conflicts.

Answer

Re-framed as an irrational belief that must be disputed.

Question 6

A counselor is working with a client who has an intense fear of spiders. The counselor teaches the client relaxation techniques and then gradually exposes the client to pictures of spiders, then a spider in a sealed jar across the room, and finally encourages the client to be in the same room with the jarred spider. This technique is known as:

Accepted Answer

Systematic Desensitization

Answer

Free Association

Answer

Paradoxical Intention

Answer

Empty-Chair Technique