MC Master of Counseling: Family and Couples Counseling 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples, what is the primary goal of Stage 2 (Restructuring)?
- Identifying negative interaction cycles
- Creating new bonding events and emotional accessibility (Correct answer)
- Consolidating gains and developing a new narrative
- Assessing attachment styles of each partner
Correct answer: Creating new bonding events and emotional accessibility
Stage 2 of EFT focuses on restructuring interactions by creating new positive bonding events and fostering emotional accessibility and responsiveness between partners.
Question 2: A family therapist notices the identified patient (IP) in a family always acts out after the parents argue. This is best described as what systemic concept?
- Triangulation (Correct answer)
- Differentiation of self
- Multigenerational transmission
- Emotional cutoff
Correct answer: Triangulation
Triangulation occurs when a third party (the child/IP) is drawn into parental conflict to deflect tension, stabilizing the dyadic relationship at the child's expense.
Question 3: Which ethical principle is MOST relevant when a couples therapist is asked by one partner to keep a secret affair from the other partner?
- Beneficence
- Non-maleficence
- Confidentiality versus conjoint client transparency (Correct answer)
- Autonomy
Correct answer: Confidentiality versus conjoint client transparency
Couples therapy creates a unique ethical tension between individual confidentiality and the therapist's obligation to the conjoint client relationship; most ethical guidelines recommend establishing a no-secrets policy upfront.
Question 4: In Structural Family Therapy, an enmeshed subsystem is characterized by:
- Overly rigid boundaries with little emotional connection
- Diffuse boundaries with excessive togetherness and loss of individual autonomy (Correct answer)
- Clear boundaries with flexible roles
- Disengaged members who operate autonomously
Correct answer: Diffuse boundaries with excessive togetherness and loss of individual autonomy
Enmeshment refers to diffuse boundaries where family members are overly involved in each other's lives, limiting individual autonomy and differentiation.
Question 5: The Gottman Method's 'Four Horsemen' that predict relationship dissolution include all of the following EXCEPT:
- Contempt
- Stonewalling
- Passive aggression (Correct answer)
- Defensiveness
Correct answer: Passive aggression
The Four Horsemen are criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling; passive aggression is not one of Gottman's four predictors of relationship failure.
Question 6: A counselor working with a blended family helps the stepparent understand their role by recommending they first act as a 'supportive friend' rather than a disciplinarian. This is consistent with which model?
- Structural Family Therapy
- Papernow's Stepfamily Cycle (Correct answer)
- Bowenian Family Therapy
- Strategic Family Therapy
Correct answer: Papernow's Stepfamily Cycle
Papernow's Stepfamily Cycle recommends that stepparents initially build rapport as a supportive adult before taking on disciplinary roles, allowing trust to develop gradually.
Question 7: In Narrative Therapy with couples, 'externalizing the problem' primarily involves:
- Blaming one partner for the relationship difficulties
- Separating the problem from the identities of the people involved (Correct answer)
- Exploring how family-of-origin issues cause current conflicts
- Identifying cognitive distortions in each partner's thinking
Correct answer: Separating the problem from the identities of the people involved
Externalizing the problem positions the problem as separate from the person, allowing couples to unite against the problem rather than seeing each other as the problem.
MC Master of Counseling: Family and Couples Counseling 2
In Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples, what is the primary goal of Stage 2 (Restructuring)?