Question 1

Which is an example of an open-ended question a brief solution-focused therapist might ask their client?

Accepted Answer

Brief solution-focused therapy is present or future focused. Open-ended questions allow clients to respond in a more broad, detailed way, rather than simply using a "yes," or "no" response.

Question 2

Activity scheduling is an intervention used by therapists, in order to provoke new cognitions in clients through providing the opportunity to experience new behaviors, and thought patterns. Activity scheduling is typically used in clients who suffer from __________ .

Accepted Answer

A client who suffers from depression often removes him or herself from everyday life, and tends to be isolated. Activity scheduling is a way to reintegrate these individuals into "real life," and rate their depressive symptoms while participating in these activities.

Question 3

Jane consistently tells herself "I am fat." You, as her clinician, could help Jane change that self-talk message from something that reinforces her negative self-worth into a phrase that helps increase her self-esteem. An example of this is:

Accepted Answer

Positive self-talk is an approach to healthy coping used in cognitive therapy to help increase self-esteem, and self-worth. Cognitive therapy focuses on catching, challenging, and changing negative thought processes, and emphasizes the power of affirmative words, or phrases.

Question 4

Stress Inoculation Training (SIT), a part of cognitive behavioral training, assists the client in dealing with increasing amounts of stress in a more healthy way. The first stage of this training is the conceptualization stage, which is centered on __________ for client.

Accepted Answer

Education; the first stage of SIT is conceptualization, which is focused on education about stress, including common cognitive distortions, and maladaptive coping mechanisms.

Question 5

Anchoring is used when a therapist is trying to elicit a planned response to a particular situation. The anchor is the connection between an emotional reaction, and a stimulus. Anchors can be __________ .

Accepted Answer

Anchors can come in many forms, and evoke either positive or negative emotions. Anchors can be smells, tastes, textures, etc.

Question 6

Cognitive therapists challenge clients' distorted ways of thinking, to allow for new, more rational thoughts. One type of cognitive distortion is all-or -nothing thinking. An example of all-or-nothing thinking is:

Accepted Answer

"If I do not get an A+, I will never go to college" is an example of all-or-nothing thinking. All-or-nothing thinking is thinking in terms of absolutes such as "always," and "never."

Question 7

Research indicates that there are certain characteristics of successful clients such as maturity, ability to form relationships, and honesty. Why do some clients struggle with being honest?

Accepted Answer

Lack of rapport between client and therapist can lead to lack of trust, and therefore, the client is left feeling uncomfortable being fully honest; Clients' experiencing shame often fail to report fully in therapy due to embarrassment; some client's suffer with the need for more attention (or more significantly, fictitious disorder), and therefore, tend to make things up.

Question 8

Therapists must have strong communication skills, in order to be effective clinicians. A part of having strong communication skills is being an active listener, which means:

Accepted Answer

Active listening is an essential communication skill for clinicians. Active listening involves re-stating, or paraphrasing what the client has said in his or her own words. It is a way for the clinician to verify that what they heard the client say is accurate, and to let the client know he or she is being understood.

Question 9

Sometimes clinicians must terminate counseling with a client despite the client's desire to continue therapy. What can a clinician do to minimize the possibility of client retribution?

Accepted Answer

When terminating a client (perhaps due to needing to refer them to more appropriate services), there are many things a clinician can do to minimize client retribution. Seeking consultation prior to the termination, throughout the process of termination, and following the termination is important, as it allows the clinician to incorporate opinions from more experienced counselors, and seek advice on how to terminate in the most ethical way possible. Some other important parts of terminating a client are creating an aftercare plan, establishing a termination date, and personally telling the client about the termination, as soon as possible.

Question 10

Why might a client and counselor mutually agree to terminate treatment?

Accepted Answer

Mutually agreed upon termination in counseling can occur due to treatment goals being met, or if needed, because a referral for a different kind of treatment has been made, which will better meet the needs of the client. Also, at the onset of therapy, contracts are sometimes signed, stipulating a limit on the amount of visits.

Question 11

By setting a norm in group therapy, what undesirable behavior(s) is/ are hopefully eradicated?

Accepted Answer

Setting norms allows a group to function effectively for all participants; norms are similar to a set of rules that govern the group. Arriving late could disrupt a group, and therefore, might be a common norm set forth for groups.

Question 12

Group cohesiveness is a necessary element to have an effective group. Yet group cohesiveness may become undesirable if it __________ .

Accepted Answer

Group cohesiveness is important as it encourages a sense of togetherness amongst group members. Cohesiveness between group members can be strong, and this sometimes results in conformity, and lack of creativity among members.

Question 13

An example of Informational Social Influence in a group is….

Accepted Answer

Informational social influence is one way group participants are influenced. Informational social influence stems from the need for direction, and the idea that the group holds more knowledge than the participant alone.

Question 14

Obedience is the act of complying with the demands of an influential figure. There are both constructive, and destructive forms of obedience. The __________ Experiment, which used electric shockwaves, tested individuals' obedience to an authority figure through examining willingness to act in conflict with personal values, and morals.

Accepted Answer

Psychologist Stanley Milgram initiated his study in 1961 at Yale University. Milgram's study was to investigate the lengths individuals would go to obey an authority figure.

Question 15

Encounter groups (also called t-groups) are a form of group training where participants learn about themselves, through interacting with other group members. Encounter groups do not have __________ or __________ .

Accepted Answer

Encounter groups do not function from specific agendas or goals, and therefore, lack a certain structure. Facilitators guide these groups, and encourage mutual sharing, on the part of participants.

Question 16

Family systems therapy is an approach that views a family as an interrelated system, where each family member has a specific role. The __________ is the member of the family with the symptom; this symptom is often what brings families to therapy initially.

Accepted Answer

An identified patient is a member of the family with significant symptomology. This symptomology often adds to distress in the family, and, therefore, become the initial impetus for seeking therapy. The identified patient is given this label to help keep the family from scapegoating the individual, and avoiding the rest of the family members' problems.

Question 17

The purpose of family therapy is to restore the relationships within that family. The family therapist assists in this restoration through __________ .

Accepted Answer

In order to bring a family back to normal functioning, and restore familial relationships, therapists help families recognize behaviors of normally functioning families; the therapist also helps the family explore conflicts, and provides psychoeducation, around conflict resolution.

Question 18

James has depression. He is on an SSRI, and sees a therapist weekly. What is one other way James can seek official help?

Accepted Answer

A support group; support groups are appropriate for individuals dealing with a variety of diagnoses, addictions, and life struggles; Alcoholics Anonymous is a type of support group; James could of course reach out to his spouse, but this is not an official form of support.

Question 19

Encounter groups are __________, and not intended for individuals with serious __________ .

Accepted Answer

Encounter groups are nonclinical, and not ideal for individuals with severe emotional struggle. There is typically a facilitator leading the group.

Question 20

Group therapy, while often advantageous to its' members, can have potential anti-therapeutic effects. An example of an anti-therapeutic effect commonly seen in group therapy is:

Accepted Answer

Feedback from others is one of the most beneficial parts of group therapy, yet can be detrimental if the feedback is delivered is exceedingly confrontational, and/ or the amount of feedback one individual is receiving is overwhelming, and therefore, difficult to process.

Quiz 3: Counseling and Psychotherapy