CTA Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the CTA 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.
📋 CTA Exam Format at a Glance
📚 CTA Topics to Study (22)
✍️ Sample CTA Questions & Answers
1. What is a 'psychological-level contract' in TA treatment planning?
The psychological-level contract addresses the deeper, sometimes unconscious elements of the therapy agreement, including how the client's script may influence the therapeutic relationship.
2. Eric Berne identified how many ways people structure their time?
Berne identified six ways people structure time: withdrawal, rituals, pastimes, activities, games, and intimacy.
3. A person demonstrating full awareness in Berne's sense would most likely:
Berne's awareness refers to perceiving reality directly and freshly, like a young child, without the filters imposed by script and social conditioning.
4. The relationship between script and autonomy in TA is best described as:
In TA, scripts are unconscious life plans formed in childhood that constrain authentic living, making script release the necessary path to reclaiming autonomy.
5. What is the 'gimmick' in Berne's game formula?
The gimmick is the respondent's vulnerability — a need, weakness, or script belief — that makes them susceptible to the initiator's con.
6. How should a TA therapist handle a client whose stated contract conflicts with their script goals?
When a stated contract and script goals conflict, the TA therapist explores this discrepancy with the client, helping bring awareness to how the script may be sabotaging stated therapeutic goals.