MC Master of Counseling: Trauma and Crisis Response 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During a crisis intervention, a client becomes increasingly agitated and begins pacing. The counselor's BEST immediate response is to:
- Instruct the client to sit down firmly
- Lower their own voice and use slow, calm speech (Correct answer)
- Terminate the session and call 911
- Increase the pace of questioning to gather information quickly
Correct answer: Lower their own voice and use slow, calm speech
De-escalation requires the counselor to model calm through lowered vocal tone, slower pace, and non-threatening body language.
Question 2: Which trauma-focused intervention is specifically designed as a short-term treatment for PTSD following recent trauma (within 3 months)?
- EMDR
- Prolonged Exposure (PE) (Correct answer)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT)
Correct answer: Prolonged Exposure (PE)
Prolonged Exposure can be used for recent trauma and is one of the most empirically supported treatments for PTSD regardless of trauma recency.
Question 3: A client with complex trauma presents with persistent identity disturbance and chronic emptiness. These symptoms are MOST associated with which comorbid diagnosis?
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Borderline Personality Disorder (Correct answer)
- Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder
- Cyclothymic Disorder
Correct answer: Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder frequently co-occurs with complex trauma and shares features of identity disturbance, emotional dysregulation, and chronic emptiness.
Question 4: According to the Roberts Seven-Stage Crisis Intervention Model, which stage comes IMMEDIATELY after establishing rapport?
- Identifying the major problem
- Exploring feelings and emotions (Correct answer)
- Assessing lethality
- Developing an action plan
Correct answer: Exploring feelings and emotions
In Roberts' model, after establishing rapport (Stage 3), the counselor explores the client's feelings and emotions (Stage 4).
Question 5: A counselor working with a veteran with PTSD notices the client avoids all driving after a roadside bomb incident. This avoidance is BEST conceptualized as:
- Negative alteration in cognition
- Negative alteration in mood
- Trauma-related avoidance symptom (Criterion C) (Correct answer)
- Hyperarousal symptom (Criterion E)
Correct answer: Trauma-related avoidance symptom (Criterion C)
DSM-5 Criterion C covers persistent avoidance of trauma-related external reminders, such as situations that trigger traumatic memories.
Question 6: Which ethical principle is MOST at stake when a counselor discloses a client's trauma history without consent to a family member 'for the client's protection'?
- Justice
- Fidelity
- Confidentiality (nonmaleficence) (Correct answer)
- Beneficence
Correct answer: Confidentiality (nonmaleficence)
Unauthorized disclosure violates confidentiality, a core nonmaleficence obligation, unless a recognized exception such as imminent danger applies.
Question 7: The concept of 'titration' in somatic trauma therapies refers to:
- Adjusting medication dosage in collaboration with a psychiatrist
- Introducing trauma material in small, manageable doses to prevent overwhelm (Correct answer)
- Measuring cortisol levels before and after sessions
- Gradually reducing session frequency as the client stabilizes
Correct answer: Introducing trauma material in small, manageable doses to prevent overwhelm
Titration involves careful, incremental exposure to traumatic material so the client's nervous system can process it without becoming overwhelmed.
MC Master of Counseling: Trauma and Crisis Response 3
During a crisis intervention, a client becomes increasingly agitated and begins pacing.
The counselor's BEST immediate response is to: