CAC Crisis Intervention and Relapse Prevention 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes the primary goal of crisis intervention in addiction counseling?
- Eliminate the client's drug use immediately
- Stabilize the client and restore functioning to pre-crisis level (Correct answer)
- Hospitalize the client for long-term treatment
- Conduct a comprehensive psychological evaluation
Correct answer: Stabilize the client and restore functioning to pre-crisis level
Crisis intervention aims to stabilize the individual and restore them to their pre-crisis level of functioning, not to resolve all underlying issues immediately.
Question 2: A client calls in a crisis stating they have relapsed after 6 months of sobriety. What is the counselor's FIRST priority?
- Schedule a follow-up appointment for next week
- Assess immediate safety and risk of harm (Correct answer)
- Contact the client's family members
- Review the client's treatment plan
Correct answer: Assess immediate safety and risk of harm
Assessing immediate safety — including risk of overdose, self-harm, or harm to others — is always the first priority in any crisis situation.
Question 3: Which model is most commonly used to guide crisis intervention in addiction counseling settings?
- The 12-Step Model
- The ABC-X Crisis Model
- The Six-Step Model of Crisis Intervention (Roberts) (Correct answer)
- The Biopsychosocial Model
Correct answer: The Six-Step Model of Crisis Intervention (Roberts)
Roberts' Seven-Stage (Six-Step) Crisis Intervention Model is widely used in addiction counseling as a structured framework for acute crisis response.
Question 4: A warning sign that a client is at elevated risk for relapse includes:
- Increased attendance at support group meetings
- Reconnecting with old using friends and environments (Correct answer)
- Reporting improved sleep and appetite
- Sharing concerns openly with the counselor
Correct answer: Reconnecting with old using friends and environments
Reconnecting with people, places, and things associated with past substance use is a high-risk behavioral warning sign for relapse.
Question 5: In Marlatt and Gordon's Relapse Prevention model, what is a 'high-risk situation'?
- Any situation that threatens a client's financial stability
- Any circumstance that increases the likelihood of substance use (Correct answer)
- A medical emergency requiring hospitalization
- A situation requiring mandatory reporting by the counselor
Correct answer: Any circumstance that increases the likelihood of substance use
In Marlatt and Gordon's model, a high-risk situation is any circumstance — emotional, social, or environmental — that threatens the individual's sense of control and increases relapse likelihood.
Question 6: The concept of 'apparently irrelevant decisions' (AIDs) in relapse prevention refers to:
- Decisions made under the influence of substances
- Small seemingly unrelated choices that covertly move a client toward relapse (Correct answer)
- Decisions clients make without consulting their counselor
- Medical decisions that appear unrelated to addiction treatment
Correct answer: Small seemingly unrelated choices that covertly move a client toward relapse
AIDs are subtle, seemingly harmless decisions that gradually move a person closer to a high-risk situation, often without conscious awareness.
Question 7: Which intervention is most appropriate when a client presents with a 'slip' (single use after a period of abstinence)?
- Discharge the client from treatment immediately
- Use motivational techniques to prevent a full relapse and reinforce coping skills (Correct answer)
- Ignore the event to avoid shaming the client
- Increase the frequency of urine drug screens only
Correct answer: Use motivational techniques to prevent a full relapse and reinforce coping skills
A slip should be addressed using motivational and cognitive-behavioral techniques to prevent escalation to full relapse while maintaining the therapeutic alliance.
CAC Crisis Intervention and Relapse Prevention 1
Which of the following best describes the primary goal of crisis intervention in addiction counseling?