MC Master of Counseling: Trauma and Crisis Response 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which neurotransmitter system is most directly implicated in the hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD?
- Serotonin
- Norepinephrine (Correct answer)
- Dopamine
- GABA
Correct answer: Norepinephrine
Norepinephrine dysregulation drives hyperarousal symptoms such as hypervigilance, exaggerated startle, and sleep disturbance in PTSD.
Question 2: A client discloses active suicidal ideation with a specific plan but no access to means. What is the counselor's FIRST priority?
- Consult a supervisor immediately
- Conduct a full lethality assessment (Correct answer)
- Contact the client's emergency contact
- Schedule a follow-up within 24 hours
Correct answer: Conduct a full lethality assessment
A thorough lethality assessment evaluating plan, means, intent, and protective factors must be completed before any other action.
Question 3: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study found that higher ACE scores are most strongly correlated with:
- Academic underachievement only
- Increased risk of chronic disease and early death (Correct answer)
- Antisocial personality disorder specifically
- Reduced cortisol reactivity in adulthood
Correct answer: Increased risk of chronic disease and early death
The ACE study demonstrated a dose-response relationship between ACE scores and risk of chronic physical illness, mental illness, and premature mortality.
Question 4: In Psychological First Aid (PFA), the 'Connect' action component refers to:
- Linking survivors to emergency services only
- Helping survivors connect with social supports and community resources (Correct answer)
- Establishing a therapeutic alliance for long-term treatment
- Connecting with media to broadcast safety information
Correct answer: Helping survivors connect with social supports and community resources
The Connect component of PFA involves helping survivors re-establish contact with primary support systems and available community resources.
Question 5: A school counselor is working with students after a peer's suicide. Which approach BEST reduces suicide contagion risk?
- Holding a large memorial assembly to grieve collectively
- Providing detailed information about the method used
- Following safe messaging guidelines and avoiding sensationalism (Correct answer)
- Dismissing school for several days to allow grief processing
Correct answer: Following safe messaging guidelines and avoiding sensationalism
Safe messaging guidelines restrict details about method and location and avoid glamorizing or sensationalizing the death to reduce contagion.
Question 6: Which of the following BEST describes 'secondary traumatic stress' in counselors?
- Burnout from excessive caseloads unrelated to trauma content
- Trauma symptoms arising from indirect exposure through clients' trauma narratives (Correct answer)
- Vicarious resilience developed from working with trauma survivors
- Compassion satisfaction gained from helping trauma clients
Correct answer: Trauma symptoms arising from indirect exposure through clients' trauma narratives
Secondary traumatic stress (STS) involves PTSD-like symptoms developed through indirect exposure to clients' traumatic experiences.
Question 7: The 'Window of Tolerance' concept in trauma treatment refers to:
- The amount of trauma content a counselor can hear per session
- The optimal zone of arousal in which therapeutic processing can occur (Correct answer)
- Legal boundaries for trauma disclosure in mandatory reporting
- The time limit for trauma-focused exposure sessions
Correct answer: The optimal zone of arousal in which therapeutic processing can occur
The Window of Tolerance describes the optimal arousal zone—between hyper- and hypoarousal—where clients can process trauma without being overwhelmed.
MC Master of Counseling: Trauma and Crisis Response 2
Which neurotransmitter system is most directly implicated in the hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD?