NCE Counseling Theories and Techniques 1 — Questions and Answers

Question 1: In Albert Ellis's Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), the 'B' in the A-B-C model represents:

Behavior
Beliefs (Correct answer)
Biological factors
Background history

Correct answer: Beliefs

In the A-B-C model, A = Activating event, B = Beliefs (rational or irrational) about the event, and C = Consequences (emotional/behavioral). Ellis emphasized that it is not A that causes C, but B.

REBT's A-B-C-D-E model: A (Activating event), B (Beliefs -- rational vs. irrational), C (Consequences -- emotional/behavioral), D (Disputing irrational beliefs), E (Effective new philosophy). Irrational beliefs in REBT typically involve: demandingness ('I must', 'you must', 'the world must'), awfulizing ('it's terrible/awful'), low frustration tolerance ('I can't stand it'), and global rating/damnation ('I am worthless').

Question 2: Carl Rogers identified three core conditions necessary and sufficient for therapeutic change. Which of the following correctly identifies all three?

Empathy, positive reinforcement, and confrontation
Unconditional positive regard, accurate empathy, and congruence (Correct answer)
Active listening, reflection, and reframing
Genuineness, interpretation, and emotional catharsis

Correct answer: Unconditional positive regard, accurate empathy, and congruence

Rogers' three necessary and sufficient core conditions are: Unconditional Positive Regard (non-judgmental acceptance), Accurate Empathic Understanding, and Congruence/Genuineness of the therapist.

Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR): prizing the client as a person regardless of behavior; Accurate Empathy: understanding the client's internal frame of reference and communicating that understanding; Congruence: the therapist's genuine self-awareness and authenticity within the relationship. Rogers (1957) argued that these conditions are not just facilitative but are 'necessary and sufficient.' Research consistently shows that the therapeutic alliance (reflecting these conditions) is one of the strongest predictors of outcome.

Question 3: Which technique is associated with Adlerian Individual Psychology when a counselor suggests a client intentionally engage in a feared or problematic behavior?

Systematic desensitization
Paradoxical intention (Correct answer)
Cognitive restructuring
Empty chair technique

Correct answer: Paradoxical intention

Paradoxical intention (originally from Frankl, adopted by Adlerians) involves prescribing the symptom -- instructing the client to intentionally do or wish for the feared behavior, which interrupts the anxiety-symptom cycle.

In Adlerian counseling, paradoxical intention is used to help clients gain insight into the purpose of their symptoms and to interrupt maladaptive patterns. For example, an insomniac is told to stay awake as long as possible. A person who fears blushing is instructed to try to blush. The technique works by eliminating the anticipatory anxiety that maintains the symptom. Viktor Frankl also used paradoxical intention in logotherapy.

Question 4: Feminist therapy emphasizes which of the following as a central principle?

The unconscious determinants of behavior are the primary focus
The personal is political -- social and political factors contribute to psychological distress (Correct answer)
Therapist authority and expertise are essential for client change
Neutrality and non-directiveness are core therapeutic values

Correct answer: The personal is political -- social and political factors contribute to psychological distress

The foundational feminist therapy principle is 'the personal is political' -- individual psychological problems are understood within their sociocultural and political context, recognizing how oppression, sexism, and power structures contribute to distress.

Core feminist therapy principles (Enns, 2004): (1) The personal is political; (2) Egalitarian therapeutic relationship (shared power); (3) Feminist analysis of gender roles and socialization; (4) Valuing women's experiences; (5) Social change as a goal. Feminist therapists actively challenge traditional patriarchal assumptions in psychological theory and practice. Intersectionality (Crenshaw) extends feminist therapy to examine overlapping systems of oppression (race, class, gender, sexual orientation, disability).

Question 5: A counselor helps a client identify and modify 'automatic thoughts' and 'cognitive distortions.' This approach is MOST associated with which theorist?

Albert Ellis
Aaron Beck (Correct answer)
Sigmund Freud
William Glasser

Correct answer: Aaron Beck

Aaron Beck developed Cognitive Therapy (now Cognitive Behavioral Therapy -- CBT), which focuses on identifying and challenging automatic thoughts and cognitive distortions that contribute to emotional distress.

Beck's Cognitive Triad: negative views of self, the world, and the future -- characteristic of depression. Common cognitive distortions: All-or-nothing thinking, Overgeneralization, Mental filter, Disqualifying the positive, Mind reading, Fortune telling, Magnification/Minimization, Emotional reasoning, Should statements, Labeling, Personalization. Cognitive therapy interventions: Socratic questioning, thought records, behavioral experiments, activity scheduling. CBT has the most robust evidence base of any psychotherapy for depression and anxiety disorders.

Question 6: In Reality Therapy (Choice Theory), William Glasser proposed that all human behavior is purposeful and aimed at satisfying which of the following?

The unconscious death drive and life drive
Five basic psychological needs: survival, love/belonging, power, freedom, and fun (Correct answer)
The drive to reduce physiological tension
A single master motive of self-actualization

Correct answer: Five basic psychological needs: survival, love/belonging, power, freedom, and fun

Glasser's Choice Theory identifies five basic needs that drive all behavior: Survival, Love and Belonging, Power (achievement/competence), Freedom, and Fun (learning). Behavior is always a person's best attempt to satisfy these needs.

Reality Therapy's WDEP system: W (Wants -- explore what the client wants), D (Doing and Direction -- what the client is doing and where it's taking them), E (Evaluation -- self-evaluation of whether current behavior is meeting needs), P (Planning -- develop specific, realistic, achievable plans for change). Reality Therapy is non-pathologizing -- it avoids DSM diagnoses and focuses on present behavior and personal responsibility. It is widely used in schools, corrections, and addiction settings.

NCE Counseling Theories and Techniques 1

In Albert Ellis's Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), the 'B' in the A-B-C model represents: