TTC Treatment Planning and Therapeutic Approaches 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is primarily designed for:
- Combat veterans with chronic PTSD
- Children and adolescents who have experienced trauma, along with their caregivers (Correct answer)
- Adults with dissociative identity disorder
- First responders following critical incidents
Correct answer: Children and adolescents who have experienced trauma, along with their caregivers
TF-CBT is an evidence-based model developed specifically for traumatized youth and includes a caregiver component.
Question 2: A client avoids driving after a car accident and refuses to discuss the event. This presentation most likely reflects which PTSD cluster?
- Intrusion symptoms
- Negative alterations in cognition and mood
- Alterations in arousal and reactivity
- Avoidance symptoms (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Avoidance symptoms
Avoidance of trauma-related stimuli — including reminders, thoughts, and feelings — is a hallmark PTSD avoidance symptom.
Question 3: In Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for trauma, the 'dialectic' refers to balancing:
- Medication and psychotherapy
- Acceptance of current experience and commitment to change (Correct answer)
- Individual therapy and group skills training
- Past trauma exploration and future goal setting
Correct answer: Acceptance of current experience and commitment to change
The core dialectic in DBT is the synthesis of radical acceptance with the drive for change, helping clients tolerate distress while working toward growth.
Question 4: Which intervention is most appropriate during the stabilization phase of trauma treatment?
- Processing the traumatic narrative in detail
- Teaching grounding and distress tolerance skills (Correct answer)
- Conducting trauma-focused exposure
- Writing a trauma account for cognitive restructuring
Correct answer: Teaching grounding and distress tolerance skills
Stabilization focuses on building coping skills such as grounding techniques before any trauma processing begins.
Question 5: The term 'window of tolerance' was introduced by Dan Siegel to describe:
- The maximum number of trauma sessions insurance will cover
- The optimal zone of arousal in which trauma processing is most effective (Correct answer)
- A client's willingness to discuss traumatic material
- The time between trauma exposure and symptom onset
Correct answer: The optimal zone of arousal in which trauma processing is most effective
The window of tolerance is the zone of arousal where a person can process information without becoming hyper- or hypo-aroused.
Question 6: Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) is particularly developed for use with:
- Single-incident adult trauma survivors in high-income countries
- Refugees and survivors of multiple or prolonged traumatic events (Correct answer)
- Children under age 6 who experienced domestic violence
- Veterans with traumatic brain injury
Correct answer: Refugees and survivors of multiple or prolonged traumatic events
NET was designed for survivors of multiple and complex traumas, especially refugees and victims of organized violence.
Question 7: A trauma-informed approach to goal setting in treatment planning emphasizes:
- Setting goals based solely on clinician expertise
- Collaborative goal setting that centers the client's voice and priorities (Correct answer)
- Focusing exclusively on symptom reduction as the primary goal
- Deferring all goals until trauma processing is complete
Correct answer: Collaborative goal setting that centers the client's voice and priorities
Trauma-informed care prioritizes collaboration and client empowerment, including in the goal-setting process.
TTC Treatment Planning and Therapeutic Approaches 3
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is primarily designed for: