MC Master of Counseling: Psychological Theories and Therapeutic Approaches 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), the concept of 'dialectics' primarily refers to:
- The use of opposing reinforcement schedules
- Balancing acceptance and change simultaneously (Correct answer)
- Identifying cognitive distortions through Socratic questioning
- Analyzing the function of maladaptive behaviors
Correct answer: Balancing acceptance and change simultaneously
DBT's dialectical philosophy holds that two opposites — full acceptance of the client and the need for change — can both be true at the same time.
Question 2: A client describes a recurring nightmare in which they are being chased. From a Jungian perspective, the pursuer most likely represents:
- The anima or animus
- The shadow (Correct answer)
- The collective unconscious itself
- The persona
Correct answer: The shadow
In Jungian analytic therapy, the shadow contains repressed or unacknowledged aspects of the self and often appears as threatening figures in dreams.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes the 'empty chair' technique as used in Gestalt therapy?
- A mindfulness exercise in which clients observe their thoughts as if sitting outside themselves
- A role-play intervention allowing dialogue with an absent person or part of oneself (Correct answer)
- A chair arrangement that signals a therapist's nondirective stance
- Removing a chair to increase emotional discomfort and awareness
Correct answer: A role-play intervention allowing dialogue with an absent person or part of oneself
The empty chair technique facilitates dialogue between the client and an imagined person, inner part, or unresolved feeling placed symbolically in an adjacent chair.
Question 4: In cognitive therapy, 'arbitrary inference' refers to:
- Drawing conclusions without supporting evidence or despite contrary evidence (Correct answer)
- Applying a specific negative event to all situations
- Exaggerating the significance of a negative event
- Attributing responsibility for all negative events to oneself
Correct answer: Drawing conclusions without supporting evidence or despite contrary evidence
Arbitrary inference is Beck's term for reaching a conclusion that has no logical basis, often a hallmark cognitive distortion in depression.
Question 5: Structural family therapy, developed by Salvador Minuchin, primarily focuses on:
- Reauthoring family narratives to reduce problem saturation
- Modifying dysfunctional family organization and boundary patterns (Correct answer)
- Exploring multigenerational transmission of attachment styles
- Applying operant conditioning to reinforce healthy family roles
Correct answer: Modifying dysfunctional family organization and boundary patterns
Structural family therapy examines and reorganizes family structures — subsystems, boundaries, and hierarchies — to alleviate dysfunction.
Question 6: Which of the following describes 'scaffolding' as it relates to Vygotsky's zone of proximal development and its application in counseling?
- Building a hierarchy of feared stimuli for systematic desensitization
- Providing structured support to help a client move toward independent functioning (Correct answer)
- Using psychoeducation to teach coping skills in a manualized sequence
- Reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior
Correct answer: Providing structured support to help a client move toward independent functioning
Scaffolding involves the counselor providing temporary, calibrated support that is gradually withdrawn as the client develops capacity to function independently.
Question 7: A core principle of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is 'cognitive defusion.' This process involves:
- Challenging the validity of irrational beliefs through logic
- Changing the client's relationship to thoughts so thoughts have less influence on behavior (Correct answer)
- Combining relaxation techniques with rational restructuring
- Fusing emotional awareness with behavioral activation
Correct answer: Changing the client's relationship to thoughts so thoughts have less influence on behavior
Cognitive defusion helps clients step back from thoughts and observe them as mental events rather than literal truths, reducing their behavioral impact.
MC Master of Counseling: Psychological Theories and Therapeutic Approaches 3
In Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), the concept of 'dialectics' primarily refers to: