MRCPsych Psychological Treatments and Psychotherapy 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which component is central to the cognitive model underpinning Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?
- Unconscious conflict resolution
- The role of automatic thoughts and cognitive distortions in maintaining distress (Correct answer)
- Exploration of early attachment relationships
- Acceptance of symptoms without change
Correct answer: The role of automatic thoughts and cognitive distortions in maintaining distress
CBT is based on the model that automatic thoughts and cognitive distortions (negative appraisals of self, world, and future) maintain psychological distress, and therapy targets these cognitions.
Question 2: Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) was originally developed for which patient population?
- Patients with schizophrenia
- Patients with borderline personality disorder (Correct answer)
- Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Patients with treatment-resistant depression
Correct answer: Patients with borderline personality disorder
DBT was developed by Marsha Linehan specifically for individuals with borderline personality disorder, particularly those with chronic suicidality and self-harm.
Question 3: In Motivational Interviewing (MI), what does the acronym OARS stand for?
- Open questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening, Summarising (Correct answer)
- Observation, Assessment, Reflection, Strategy
- Outcomes, Ambivalence, Resistance, Stages
- Objectives, Actions, Review, Support
Correct answer: Open questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening, Summarising
OARS represents the core communication skills in MI: Open questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening, and Summarising, used to elicit change talk.
Question 4: Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) has the strongest evidence base for treating which condition?
- Schizophrenia
- Bipolar disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Correct answer)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Correct answer: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
EMDR has strong evidence from multiple RCTs for PTSD and is recommended by NICE as a first-line treatment alongside trauma-focused CBT.
Question 5: Which of Yalom's therapeutic factors in group therapy refers to the sense of hope gained by observing others' recovery?
- Universality
- Altruism
- Instillation of hope (Correct answer)
- Cohesiveness
Correct answer: Instillation of hope
Instillation of hope is one of Yalom's 11 therapeutic factors and involves group members gaining hope by witnessing the progress and recovery of others in the group.
Question 6: Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) for depression focuses primarily on which of the following?
- Challenging cognitive distortions about worthlessness
- Resolving unconscious conflicts from childhood
- Improving interpersonal functioning and addressing grief, role disputes, transitions, and deficits (Correct answer)
- Building distress tolerance and emotional regulation skills
Correct answer: Improving interpersonal functioning and addressing grief, role disputes, transitions, and deficits
IPT specifically targets four interpersonal problem areas—grief, role disputes, role transitions, and interpersonal deficits—that are linked to onset or maintenance of depression.
Question 7: In systemic family therapy, the technique of 'circular questioning' is used to:
- Repeat the same question until the patient answers correctly
- Explore how family members perceive each other's relationships and behaviours (Correct answer)
- Confront defensive responses in a circular pattern
- Ask questions in a predetermined order around the room
Correct answer: Explore how family members perceive each other's relationships and behaviours
Circular questioning is a systemic technique that asks each family member how they think others in the family perceive relationships and behaviours, revealing relational patterns.
MRCPsych Psychological Treatments and Psychotherapy 1
Which component is central to the cognitive model underpinning Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?