MC Master of Counseling: Trauma and Crisis Response 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which population is at GREATEST risk for developing Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) following a traumatic event?
- Individuals with strong social support networks
- Individuals with a prior history of PTSD or anxiety disorders (Correct answer)
- Individuals who are older adults with established coping skills
- Individuals exposed to single-incident natural disasters only
Correct answer: Individuals with a prior history of PTSD or anxiety disorders
Prior history of PTSD or anxiety disorders is one of the strongest predictors of ASD following trauma exposure.
Question 2: A counselor using Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) with a refugee client would PRIMARILY focus on:
- Cognitive restructuring of distorted beliefs about safety
- Constructing a chronological life narrative integrating trauma and positive experiences (Correct answer)
- Desensitizing specific trauma triggers through imaginal exposure
- Identifying and processing implicit somatic trauma memories
Correct answer: Constructing a chronological life narrative integrating trauma and positive experiences
NET helps clients construct a coherent autobiographical narrative that contextualizes traumatic events within their full life story.
Question 3: Which of the following is a contraindication for beginning trauma-focused exposure therapy?
- Mild to moderate depression as a comorbidity
- Active psychosis or severe dissociation (Correct answer)
- Chronic pain related to the traumatic injury
- Reluctance to discuss the traumatic event initially
Correct answer: Active psychosis or severe dissociation
Active psychosis or severe dissociation prevents the grounded processing required for exposure-based trauma work and must be stabilized first.
Question 4: In the context of crisis counseling, 'mobile crisis teams' are BEST characterized as:
- Inpatient psychiatric units that travel to underserved areas
- Community-based teams that respond to crisis calls in the field to reduce ER visits (Correct answer)
- Law enforcement units specially trained in mental health intervention
- Telehealth platforms providing 24/7 crisis text lines
Correct answer: Community-based teams that respond to crisis calls in the field to reduce ER visits
Mobile crisis teams are community-based mental health responders who provide on-site crisis intervention as an alternative to emergency room or police response.
Question 5: A client reports feeling 'outside of my body' and watching events as if in a film during the traumatic event. This experience is BEST described as:
- Derealization
- Depersonalization (Correct answer)
- Emotional numbing
- Dissociative amnesia
Correct answer: Depersonalization
Depersonalization is the sense of being detached from or an outside observer of one's own body or mental processes.
Question 6: The 'Structural Dissociation of the Personality' model (Van der Hart et al.) distinguishes between which two primary personality parts?
- The wounded self and the adaptive self
- The Apparently Normal Part (ANP) and the Emotional Part (EP) (Correct answer)
- The observing ego and the experiencing ego
- The somatic self and the cognitive self
Correct answer: The Apparently Normal Part (ANP) and the Emotional Part (EP)
Structural Dissociation theory describes the ANP, which handles daily functioning, and the EP, which holds traumatic memories and defenses.
Question 7: When counseling a client from a collectivist cultural background after a community disaster, which modification is MOST culturally responsive?
- Maintaining strict individual-only sessions to protect confidentiality
- Incorporating family or community elders into the healing process as appropriate (Correct answer)
- Emphasizing personal autonomy and individual coping strategies
- Avoiding discussion of cultural or spiritual beliefs to remain neutral
Correct answer: Incorporating family or community elders into the healing process as appropriate
Collectivist cultures often locate healing within community and family systems, making inclusive approaches more effective and culturally valid.
MC Master of Counseling: Trauma and Crisis Response 4
Which population is at GREATEST risk for developing Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) following a traumatic event?