TCC Texas Counselor Counseling Theories & Techniques 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Texas counselor uses 'systematic desensitization' with a client who has a phobia. Which theoretical orientation does this technique come from?
- Psychoanalytic
- Humanistic
- Behavioral (Correct answer)
- Existential
Correct answer: Behavioral
Systematic desensitization, developed by Joseph Wolpe, is a behavioral technique that pairs relaxation with graduated exposure to feared stimuli.
Question 2: In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), 'automatic thoughts' are best described as:
- Unconscious drives that motivate behavior
- Spontaneous, often distorted thoughts that arise in response to situations (Correct answer)
- Behavioral habits formed through repetition
- Goals set automatically by the therapist
Correct answer: Spontaneous, often distorted thoughts that arise in response to situations
Automatic thoughts are rapid, involuntary cognitions that often reflect cognitive distortions and influence emotions and behaviors.
Question 3: Which stage of the Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change) is characterized by a client who says, 'I've been thinking about quitting smoking for the past month'?
- Precontemplation
- Contemplation (Correct answer)
- Preparation
- Action
Correct answer: Contemplation
Contemplation involves awareness of the problem and serious consideration of change within the next six months, but no commitment yet.
Question 4: Narrative therapy's concept of 'externalizing the problem' is designed to:
- Blame external circumstances for client issues
- Separate the person's identity from the problem to reduce shame and open possibilities (Correct answer)
- Assign responsibility to family members
- Refer the client to external resources
Correct answer: Separate the person's identity from the problem to reduce shame and open possibilities
Externalizing positions the problem as separate from the person, reducing self-blame and creating space to explore the problem's influence.
Question 5: A counselor helping a client identify 'exceptions'—times when the problem was less severe—is using which therapeutic approach?
- Psychoanalysis
- Adlerian therapy
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (Correct answer)
- Reality therapy
Correct answer: Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
SFBT uses exception questions to help clients recognize times when the problem did not dominate, building on existing strengths.
Question 6: In William Glasser's Choice Theory, all behavior is made up of four components. Which of the following is NOT one of them?
- Acting
- Thinking
- Feeling
- Perceiving (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Perceiving
Choice Theory's total behavior consists of acting, thinking, feeling, and physiology—not perceiving as a separate component.
Question 7: A counselor working with a client on 'behavioral activation' is most likely treating which condition?
- Schizophrenia
- Depression (Correct answer)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Borderline personality disorder
Correct answer: Depression
Behavioral activation is an evidence-based CBT technique for depression that increases engagement in rewarding activities to improve mood.
TCC Texas Counselor Counseling Theories & Techniques 3
A Texas counselor uses 'systematic desensitization' with a client who has a phobia.
Which theoretical orientation does this technique come from?