CRC Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield CRC facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. A CRC client describes feeling responsible for managing their partner's emotions at all times. This pattern is best described as: → Emotional caretaking and over-responsibility
2. Which attachment behavior is most commonly observed in anxiously attached adults during conflict? → Hyperactivating strategies such as heightening distress and protest
3. John Gottman's concept of 'turning toward' a partner's bid for connection refers to: → Responding positively to small bids for attention, affection, or emotional connection
4. Why is client readiness important in goal setting? → It reflects client commitment and motivation
5. When a partner crosses a stated boundary and the other partner takes no action, this is called: → Boundary collapse or failure to enforce
6. Which of the following best reflects a boundary violation in coaching? → Inviting a client to a personal dinner
7. A CRC applying Positive Psychology coaching would most likely encourage clients to: → Cultivate gratitude, strengths, and positive emotions
8. Which approach involves coaches helping clients identify strengths and past successes to apply to current relationship challenges? → Solution-Focused Brief Coaching
9. A client who constantly apologizes before stating a limit is demonstrating: → Difficulty owning their right to have limits — often rooted in guilt or fear
10. Which model describes how people move through stages of change, from not considering change to maintaining new behaviors? → Transtheoretical model
11. Alexithymia in a coaching client is characterized by: → Difficulty identifying and describing one's own emotions
12. What does 'motivational interviewing' contribute to relationship coaching practice? → Techniques to evoke intrinsic motivation and explore ambivalence about change
13. The self-awareness exercise of writing down one's emotional reactions after each significant conversation is an example of: → Journaling for emotional processing
14. A CRC client who says 'I don't need anyone — I'm better off alone' and dismisses their partner's need for closeness is likely displaying: → Dismissive-avoidant attachment defense strategies
15. The concept of 'intersectionality' is important in relationship coaching because it recognizes that: → Multiple overlapping identities shape a client's relationship experiences simultaneously
16. Why is confidentiality crucial in relationship coaching? → To respect client privacy and foster trust
17. Interoception, increasingly discussed in relationship coaching, refers to: → Sensing internal body states as a source of emotional information
18. Intergenerational transmission of attachment refers to: → The tendency for parents' attachment patterns to shape their children's attachment styles
19. Why is contracting important in relationship coaching? → It establishes mutual expectations, boundaries, and goals for the coaching relationship
20. Which coaching model emphasizes the client's agenda by following their lead rather than directing the session? → Co-active coaching
21. A CRC helping a couple who feel emotionally disconnected would most likely first explore: → What meaningful connection looked like when they first fell in love
22. A coach uses 'role reversal' in a session. What does this involve? → The client practices seeing a situation from their partner's perspective
23. In relationship coaching, 'reframing' is best described as: → Offering a new perspective that shifts how a client interprets a situation
24. Sue Johnson's Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), often used in couples coaching, is rooted in which theory? → Attachment theory
25. A coach notices they feel uncomfortable when working with a same-sex couple. The most ethical and culturally competent action is to: → Engage in supervision or personal development to address the discomfort
26. The 'double-loop learning' concept in coaching refers to: → Questioning and revising underlying assumptions, not just behaviors
27. Why might a CRC coach use scaling questions during a session? → To quantify client progress and explore what would move them one step higher
28. A CRC who uses 'clean language' techniques is primarily trying to: → Use the client's exact words to explore their metaphors without contamination
29. The concept of a 'secure base' in adult relationships refers to: → A partner who provides a safe haven that enables exploration and risk-taking
30. Physical non-sexual touch in relationships (hand-holding, hugging) promotes connection primarily through the release of: → Oxytocin