Patient Assessment & Evaluation Flashcards
7 cards from real ACT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Patient Assessment & Evaluation flashcards as text
A clinician uses the 'Tombstone' or 'Eulogy' exercise in early assessment. What ACT construct does this primarily elicit?
Answer: Values—what the client wants to stand for over the course of their life
Imagining one's tombstone inscription or eulogy is a values clarification technique that reveals what matters most to a client.
During ACT assessment, a therapist notices a client speaks extensively about symptoms but avoids discussing life goals or meaningful activities. This pattern most likely reflects which process?
Answer: Fusion with a conceptualized self as 'a sick person' limiting values contact
Over-focus on illness identity at the expense of values suggests fusion with a conceptualized self and limited self-as-context flexibility.
Which of the following is NOT a domain typically assessed in the Valued Living Questionnaire (VLQ)?
Answer: Cognitive distortion frequency
The VLQ assesses life domains like relationships, work, health, and leisure, not cognitive distortion frequency, which is a CBT construct.
When conducting an ACT behavioral assessment, the therapist maps 'barriers to valued action.' Which type of barrier is most central to ACT's model?
Answer: Internal psychological barriers such as unwanted thoughts and emotions the client avoids
ACT primarily targets internal experiential barriers—avoided thoughts, feelings, and sensations—that prevent values-consistent behavior.
A client reports, 'I know I'm supposed to meditate but my mind is just too busy.' In ACT assessment, this statement most likely reflects which barrier?
Answer: Fusion with a story that one must have a quiet mind to engage in mindfulness
The belief that meditation requires a quiet mind is a cognitive fusion that functions as a barrier to practicing mindfulness.
How does ACT assessment differ from traditional symptom-focused assessment?
Answer: ACT assessment evaluates psychological flexibility processes and their function rather than only measuring symptom severity
ACT assessment targets hexaflex processes (acceptance, defusion, values, etc.) and their function in context, not merely symptom counts.
A client being assessed in ACT says they feel 'stuck' and have tried everything to feel better. In ACT terms, this presentation most directly calls for which assessment focus?
Answer: Exploring the workability of their control strategies and identifying creative hopelessness
Feeling 'stuck' after multiple attempts at feeling better is the ideal entry point for creative hopelessness—assessing what the control agenda has cost the client.