ACWC - THEORIES

Which technique is most associated with Freud's psychoanalytic theory?

a. Empty chair
b. Free association
c. Miracle question
d. Scaling questions

b

Which concept is unique to Jungian therapy?

a. Cognitive distortions

b. Automatic thoughts

c. Archetypes such as the shadow and anima/animus

d. Self-efficacy

c

Neo-Freudian theorists differed from Freud by placing greater emphasis on:

a. S3xual drives
b. The unconscious alone
c. Behavioral conditioning

d. Social relationships and security

d

Object relations theory focuses primarily on:

a. Early attachment relationships and separation-individuation
b. Operant conditioning
c. Cognitive restructuring
d. Family hierarchies

a

According to Adler, birth order is important because it:

a. Determines intelligence.
b. Determines personality permanently
c. Predicts mental illness.
d. Influences a person’s lifestyle and social development

d

In Transactional Analysis, healthy communication occurs through:

a. Parent → Child transactions

b. Child → Parent transactions

c. Adult → Adult transactions

d. Parent → Parent transactions

c

An existential therapist is MOST likely to help clients explore:

a. The search for meaning and responsibility
b. Cognitive distortions
c. Reinforcement schedules
d. Behavioral rehearsal

a

Which of the following is NOT one of Rogers' core conditions?

a. Empathic understanding
b. Unconditional positive regard
c. Genuineness (congruence)
d. Interpretation of dreams

d

A Gestalt therapist is most likely to use which intervention?

a. Empty chair technique
b. Free association
c. Thought stopping
d. Miracle question

a

Albert Bandura is best known for emphasizing:

a. Classical conditioning
b. Modeling and observational learning
c. Birth order
d. Cognitive distortions

b

Aaron Beck believed emotional distress results primarily from:

a. Unresolved unconscious conflicts
b. Irrational family structures
c. Cognitive distortions and maladaptive thinking
d. Inadequate reinforcement

c

DBT was originally developed primarily to treat clients with:

a. Panic disorder
b. Autism spectrum disorder
c. Borderline personality disorder
d. Schizophrenia

c

In Ellis's ABC model, the "B" represents:

a. Behavior
b. Belief
c. Balance
d. Bias

b

Arnold Lazarus' BASIC ID model includes all EXCEPT:

a. Behaviors
b. Images
c. Dreams
d. Cognitions

c

Reality Therapy emphasizes:

a. Exploring childhood trauma
b. Unconscious motivation
c. Dream analysis
d. Personal choice and responsibility

d

A feminist therapist would MOST likely:

a. Interpret dreams.
b. Analyze unconscious drives.
c. Focus on reinforcement schedules.
d. Emphasize sociocultural influences and power

d

Which question is most characteristic of Solution-Focused Therapy?

a. "Tell me about your earliest childhood memory."
b. "If a miracle happened tonight, what would be different tomorrow?"
c. "What unconscious wish does this dream represent?"
d. "What defense mechanism are you using?"

b

Narrative therapy helps clients by:

a. Challenging irrational beliefs directly.
b. Exploring dream symbolism.
c. Using reinforcement schedules.
d. Externalizing problems and re-authoring their stories.

d

An integrative therapist typically:

a. Uses only one theory throughout treatment.
b. Combines techniques from multiple theories.
c. Rejects evidence-based interventions.
d. Focuses exclusively on the unconscious.

b

Bowen believed that involving a third person to reduce anxiety in a relationship is called:

a. Enmeshment
b. Parentification
c. Triangulation
d. Coalition

c

Which part of personality operates according to the pleasure principle?

a. Ego
b. Superego
c. Id
d. Conscious

c

The ego primarily operates according to the:

a. Pleasure principle
b. Collective unconscious
c. Moral principle
d. Reality principle

d

The "shadow" refers to:

a. The moral conscience
b. Automatic thoughts
c. Childhood memories
d. Hidden or rejected parts of the personality

d

Which concept is unique to Jung?

a. Collective unconscious
b. Birth order
c. Automatic thoughts
d. Self-efficacy

a

The anima and animus refer to:

a. Two opposing defense mechanisms
b. Masculine and feminine aspects of personality
c. Stages of development
d. Personality disorders

b

A client repeatedly becomes angry with her therapist for "not caring," despite the therapist consistently demonstrating warmth and empathy. A psychoanalytic therapist would MOST likely interpret this behavior as:

a. Transference

b. Countertransference

c. Projection

d. Resistance

a

An Adlerian counselor asks a client detailed questions about their earliest childhood memories and sibling relationships primarily to:

a. uncover unconscious conflicts.

b. identify the client's lifestyle and mistaken beliefs.

c. determine attachment style.

d. assess cognitive distortions.

b

A client says, "I wish I could tell my father how angry I am." A Gestalt therapist would MOST likely encourage the client to:

a. examine cognitive distortions.

b. write a behavioral contract.

c. speak directly to an empty chair representing the father.

d. identify irrational beliefs.

c

A counselor believes clients' emotional reactions are primarily caused by the beliefs they hold about events rather than the events themselves. Which theory BEST reflects this perspective?

a. CBT

b. Behavioral

c. Person-Centered

d. REBT

d

A client says, "I know eating the whole cake isn't a good idea, but I wanted it right then."

Which part of the personality is MOST responsible for this impulse?

a. Ego

b. Superego

c. Id

d. Conscious

c

A client feels guilty after lying to a friend despite benefiting from the lie. Which personality structure is MOST responsible for this guilt?

a. Superego

b. Ego

c. Id

d. Preconscious

a

A client wants to spend all of their paycheck on a vacation but realizes they need money to pay rent. Which part of the personality is helping the client make this decision?

a. Ego

b. Id

c. Superego

d. Collective unconscious

a

A psychoanalytic therapist's primary goal is to:

a. Challenge irrational beliefs.

b. Increase behavioral reinforcement.

c. Make unconscious conflicts conscious so they can be worked through.

d. Teach emotional regulation skills.

c

A client begins viewing the therapist as controlling and critical in the same way they viewed their father. This is BEST described as:

a. Countertransference

b. Projection

c. Transference

d. Resistance

c

Which statement BEST describes the preconscious?

a. Thoughts that are permanently inaccessible.

b. Memories that are not currently in awareness but can be recalled.

c. Instinctual drives.

d. Moral reasoning.

b

Which personality structure is found entirely within the unconscious?

a. Ego

b. Superego

c. Id

d. Conscious mind

c

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is based on the assumption that people:

a. Accurately report their personality traits.

b. Project unconscious thoughts onto ambiguous stimuli.

c. Learn behaviors through observation.

d. Possess irrational beliefs that can be challenged.

b

Carl Jung differed from Freud by proposing the existence of the:

a. Reality principle.

b. Life script.

c. Pleasure principle.

d. Collective unconscious.

d

Which client statement BEST reflects the concept of the collective unconscious?

a. "I remember my first birthday."

b. "People across cultures seem to recognize the same kinds of heroes and symbols."

c. "I can't stop thinking about my childhood."

d. "My parents taught me these values."

b

Jung believed archetypes are:

a. Defense mechanisms.

b. Universal patterns or symbols shared across humanity.

c. Automatic thoughts.

d. Learned behaviors.

b

A client behaves confidently at work but privately struggles with feelings they never reveal to others. Which Jungian concept BEST describes the public face the client presents?

a. Shadow

b. Animus

c. Self

d. Persona

d

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was developed from Jung's theory and assesses all of the following EXCEPT:

a. Introversion vs. Extraversion

b. Thinking vs. Feeling

c. Sensing vs. Intuition

d. Conscientiousness vs. Neuroticism

d

Which statement BEST distinguishes Neo-Freudian theory from Freud's original psychoanalytic theory?

a. Neo-Freudians rejected the unconscious.

b. Neo-Freudians placed greater emphasis on social and cultural influences than instinctual drives.

c. Neo-Freudians believed behavior is learned through conditioning.

d. Neo-Freudians focused primarily on cognitive distortions.

b

Karen Horney believed that basic anxiety primarily develops as a result of:

a. Harsh or indifferent parenting.

b. Repressed sexual conflicts.

c. Irrational beliefs.

d. Birth order.

a

According to Karen Horney, a child who experiences cold, inconsistent parenting is MOST likely to develop:

a. Inferiority feelings.

b. Basic anxiety.

c. A life script.

d. Learned helplessness.

b

Margaret Mahler's theory is MOST concerned with:

a. Birth order.

b. Early attachment and separation from the primary caregiver.

c. Cognitive development.

d. Reinforcement schedules.

b

Failure to establish a healthy attachment during the first few years of life places a child at greater risk for:

a. Panic disorder.

b. Reactive attachment disorder.

c. Bipolar disorder.

d. Obsessive-compulsive disorder

b

Which therapist would be LEAST likely to view themselves as the "expert" in the counseling relationship?

a. Rogers

b. Beck

c. Freud

d. Ellis

a

According to Rogers, therapeutic change occurs primarily because:

a. The therapist interprets unconscious conflicts.

b. The client experiences empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard.

c. The counselor challenges distorted thinking.

d. The client learns new behaviors.

b

Person-centered therapy focuses primarily on:

a. Solving the client's presenting problem.

b. Changing maladaptive behaviors.

c. Facilitating growth of the whole person.

d. Identifying unconscious conflicts.

c

A Gestalt therapist notices that a client clenches their fists whenever discussing their mother. The therapist is MOST likely to:

a. Interpret the unconscious meaning.

b. Ask the client to exaggerate the movement.

c. Explore childhood attachment.

d. Challenge irrational beliefs.

b

Gestalt therapy primarily emphasizes:

a. Childhood experiences.

b. Family dynamics.

c. Future goals.

d. The client’s present-moment awareness.

d

A Gestalt therapist believes that unresolved experiences from the past should be addressed because they:

a. Reveal unconscious drives.

b. Continue to affect functioning in the present.

c. Cause irrational beliefs.

d. Influence reinforcement schedules.

b

Who is responsible for interpreting dreams in Gestalt therapy?

a. The client.

b. The therapist.

c. The client's family.

d. The unconscious.

a

The primary goal of Gestalt therapy is to help clients:

a. Understand childhood conflicts.

b. Increase present awareness and personal responsibility.

c. Modify irrational beliefs.

d. Strengthen family boundaries.

b

A client responds to criticism by pouting and saying, "Nobody ever appreciates me."

According to Transactional Analysis, the client is MOST likely communicating from which ego state?

a. Parent

b. Adult

c. Child

d. Critical Parent

c

Which interaction represents a complementary transaction?

a. Adult → Adult

b. Adult → Child

c. Parent → Adult

d. Child → Parent

a

Which situation BEST illustrates a crossed transaction?

a. Two adults calmly solving a problem together.

b. A parent comforting a frightened child.

c. An employee asks a question professionally, and the supervisor responds with sarcasm and personal criticism.

d. Two friends discussing weekend plans.

c

In Transactional Analysis, a life script refers to:

a. A client's treatment plan.

b. A defense mechanism.

c. Automatic thoughts.

d. An unconscious life plan developed early in life.

d

The primary goal of Transactional Analysis is to:

a. Increase insight into unconscious conflicts.

b. Help clients recognize and change unhealthy communication patterns and life scripts.

c. Reinforce adaptive behaviors.

d. Promote self-actualization.

b

An Adlerian therapist is MOST interested in understanding a client's:

a. Automatic thoughts

b. Birth order and family constellation

c. Unconscious sexual conflicts

d. Reinforcement history

b

A client states, "I've always felt like I wasn't as capable as everyone else." According to Adler, the therapist would view these feelings as:

a. A defense mechanism.

b. Inferiority feelings that can motivate growth.

c. Evidence of psychopathology.

d. Cognitive distortions.

b

Which client would Adler MOST likely describe as discouraged rather than mentally ill?

a. A client experiencing hallucinations.

b. A client who believes they are incapable of overcoming life's challenges.

c. A client with obsessive compulsive disorder.

d. A client experiencing mania.

b

An Adlerian counselor asks about sibling relationships primarily to:

a. Diagnose personality disorders.

b. Understand the client's lifestyle and family constellation.

c. Interpret unconscious conflicts.

d. Assess attachment style.

b

Which intervention is designed to make a self-defeating behavior less appealing by exposing its purpose?

a. Empty chair

b. Miracle question

c. Spitting in the soup

d. Free association

c

A therapist tells a client, "Notice every time you begin criticizing yourself this week." Which Adlerian technique is being used?

a. Catching oneself

b. Life script analysis

c. Reciprocal inhibition

d. Thought stopping

a

Which statement BEST reflects Adler's philosophy?

a. People are driven primarily by unconscious instincts.

b. People are motivated by a desire for belonging and significance.

c. Behavior is shaped only through reinforcement.

d. Thoughts determine emotions

b

A client says, "I don't know why I'm here anymore." An existential therapist would MOST likely focus on:

a. Challenging irrational beliefs.

b. Helping the client discover meaning and purpose.

c. Changing maladaptive behaviors.

d. Exploring reinforcement history.

b

Victor Frankl developed which existential approach?

a. Choice Therapy

b. Gestalt therapy

c. REBT

d. Logotherapy

d

According to existential theory, anxiety is BEST viewed as:

a. A symptom that should always be eliminated.

b. A normal part of confronting life's realities.

c. A result of faulty learning.

d. An unconscious defense mechanism.

b

Which issue would be MOST appropriate for an existential therapist?

a. Learning a token economy.

b. Exploring what gives life meaning after retirement.

c. Treating a spider phobia through exposure.

d. Challenging automatic thoughts.

b

Which statement BEST reflects the behavioral perspective?

a. Thoughts create emotions.

b. People naturally strive toward growth.

c. Unconscious conflict drives behavior.

d. Behavior is learned and can be unlearned.

d

Behavior therapy differs from person-centered therapy because behavioral therapists primarily focus on:

a. The therapeutic relationship.

b. Observable behavior.

c. Childhood experiences.

d. Self-actualization.

b

A client gradually imagines standing farther and farther from a spider while practicing relaxation.

This intervention is:

a. Flooding.

b. Exposure with response prevention.

c. Implosive therapy.

d. Systematic desensitization.

d

Which is the CORRECT order of systematic desensitization?

a. Gradual exposure → hierarchy → relaxation

b. Relaxation → anxiety hierarchy → gradual exposure

c. Relaxation → flooding → hierarchy

d. Hierarchy → implosion → reinforcement

b

During exposure therapy, a counselor asks a client to rate their anxiety from 0-100.

This rating scale is called:

a. GAF

b. MMPI

c. PHQ-9

d. SUDS

d

A therapist asks a client with a fear of flying to vividly imagine the plane crashing. This technique is BEST described as:

a. Implosive therapy.

b. Systematic desensitization.

c. Counterconditioning.

d. Behavioral rehearsal.

a

A child learns to fear dogs after being bitten. This is an example of:

a. Operant conditioning.

b. Classical conditioning.

c. Modeling.

d. Negative reinforcement.

b

Which theorist is MOST associated with classical conditioning?

a. Skinner

b. Bandura

c. Pavlov

d. Adler

c

Which theorist is MOST associated with operant conditioning?

a. Watson

b. Pavlov

c. Skinner

d. Frankl

c

A child cleans their room because their parents stop nagging them afterward. This is:

a. Negative reinforcement.

b. Positve reinforcement.

c. Positive punishment.

d. Negative punishment.

a

A teenager loses their phone after breaking curfew. This is an example of:

a. Positive punishment.

b. Negative punishment.

c. Extinction.

d. Negative reinforcement.

b

A teacher gives stickers to students who complete their homework. The stickers function as:

a. Positive punishment.

b. Positive reinforcement.

c. Negative reinforcement.

d. Extinction.

b

A child watches an older sibling ride a bike successfully and becomes confident that they can learn too. This BEST demonstrates:

a. Self-actualization.

b. Vicarious experience increasing self-efficacy.

c. Negative reinforcement.

d. Reciprocal inhibition.

b

Which intervention would be LEAST likely to be used by a behavioral therapist?

a. Token economy

b. Contingency management

c. Empty chair technique

d. Systematic desensitization

c

A counselor is primarily interested in measurable behavior change, uses homework assignments, and evaluates treatment progress with observable outcomes. This counselor is MOST likely practicing:

a. Behavioral therapy

b. Person-centered therapy

c. Existential therapy

d. Psychoanalytic therapy

a

A client says, "I made one mistake during my presentation. I'm terrible at public speaking." A CBT therapist would MOST likely begin by:

a. Exploring unconscious conflicts.

b. Examining the evidence supporting the thought.

c. Teaching distress tolerance skills.

d. Asking about childhood attachment.

b

According to Beck, which sequence BEST represents the cognitive triangle?

a. Think → Behave → Feel

b. Feel → Think → Behave

c. Think → Feel → Behave

d. Behave → Feel → Think

c

A therapist asks, "What evidence do you have that this belief is true?" This intervention is called:

a. Miracle questioning

b. Socratic questioning

c. Empty chair

d. Free association

b

A client says, "I failed one exam, so I'll probably fail every exam from now on." Which cognitive distortion is demonstrated?

a. Catastrophizing

b. Overgeneralization

c. Personalization

d. Emotional reasoning

b

A client believes, "I feel anxious, therefore something terrible must happen." This BEST illustrates:

a. Emotional reasoning

b. Catastrophizing

c. Mental filtering

d. All-or-nothing thinking

a

A client receives nine compliments and one criticism but focuses only on the criticism for the rest of the day. This is:

a. Personalization

b. Mind reading

c. Catastrophizing

d. Mental filter

d

Which intervention would be LEAST consistent with Beck's CBT?

a. Socratic questioning

b. Challenging cognitive distortions

c. Reflection of feeling without directing the session

d. Examining evidence for beliefs

c

A therapist teaches a client how to tolerate emotional pain without making the situation worse. Which DBT module is being taught?

a. Mindfulness

b. Emotional regulation

c. Distress tolerance

d. Interpersonal effectiveness

c

A client wants to learn how to ask for what they need while maintaining healthy relationships. Which DBT skill would be MOST appropriate?

a. Distress tolerance

b. Interpersonal effectiveness

c. Emotional regulation

d. Mindfulness

b

A therapist helps a client identify triggers that lead to emotional outbursts and develop healthier responses. This intervention is MOST consistent with:

a. DBT

b. Person-centered therapy

c. Psychoanalysis

d. Gestalt therapy

a

Which statement BEST distinguishes DBT from traditional CBT?

a. DBT focuses on unconscious conflict.

b. DBT emphasizes balancing acceptance with change.

c. DBT avoids behavioral interventions.

d. DBT rejects mindfulness.

b

Which DBT module emphasizes remaining fully aware of the present moment?

a. Emotional regulation

b. Interpersonal effectiveness

c. Mindfulness

d. Distress tolerance

c

A client says, "If I don't get this job, I'm completely worthless." An REBT therapist would MOST likely focus on:

a. Childhood attachment.

b. Exposure exercises.

c. Challenging the irrational belief.

d. Dream interpretation.

c

Which statement BEST reflects Ellis' philosophy?

a. Events determine emotions.

b. Unconscious conflicts determine emotions.

c. Beliefs about events determine emotions.

d. Biology determines emotions.

c