EPPP Test Treatment and Intervention Questions and Answers

Question 1

A client diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder reports spending most of their free time in bed, avoiding social contact, and no longer engaging in hobbies they once enjoyed. A therapist using a behavioral activation (BA) approach would most likely focus on which of the following interventions?

Accepted Answer

Systematically scheduling and encouraging engagement in meaningful and mastery-oriented activities.

Answer

Behavioral Activation (BA) for depression is based on the principle that depression is maintained by a lack of positive reinforcement from the environment. The core intervention involves systematically increasing a client's engagement in activities that provide a sense of pleasure, mastery, or are aligned with their personal values, thereby counteracting the cycle of withdrawal and avoidance.

Question 2

In the context of psychodynamic psychotherapy, which of the following best defines countertransference?

Accepted Answer

The therapist's unconscious emotional and psychological reactions to the client, influenced by the therapist's own life experiences.

Answer

Countertransference refers to the therapist's emotional reactions to a client, which are often rooted in the therapist's own unconscious or unresolved personal issues and past relationships. While initially seen by Freud as an obstacle, contemporary views often see it as a valuable source of information about the client's inner world when properly managed.

Question 3

A couple enters family therapy due to escalating conflict. They report that their arguments frequently de-escalate only when they shift their focus to their teenage son's recent academic struggles. A structural family therapist, such as Minuchin, would most likely conceptualize this pattern as:

Accepted Answer

Triangulation

Answer

Triangulation is a concept from family systems theory where a third person is drawn into a two-person conflict to diffuse tension. In this scenario, the son's academic problems serve as the diversion, allowing the parents to avoid dealing directly with their marital conflict, thereby stabilizing their relationship in a dysfunctional way.

Question 4

According to Irvin Yalom's model of group therapy, the curative factor that involves members realizing they are not alone in their problems and that others share similar feelings and experiences is known as:

Accepted Answer

Universality

Answer

Yalom identified universality as a key therapeutic factor in group therapy. It is the profound sense of relief and connection that members experience when they learn that their problems, thoughts, and feelings are not unique but are shared by others in the group, which helps to decrease feelings of isolation.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT one of the three core conditions that Carl Rogers posited as necessary for therapeutic change in Person-Centered Therapy?

Accepted Answer

Interpretation of transference

Answer

Carl Rogers' Person-Centered Therapy is founded on three core conditions the therapist must provide: Congruence (genuineness), Unconditional Positive Regard (acceptance), and Empathic Understanding. Interpretation of transference is a technique central to psychodynamic therapies, not Person-Centered Therapy.

EPPP - Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology Practice Test

EPPP - Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology Practice Test

EPPP Test Treatment and Intervention Questions and Answers