Anxiety Disorders & CBT Protocols Flashcards

The 'fear hierarchy' (SUDS ladder) used in systematic desensitization and exposure therapy is primarily used to:

Answer: Rank feared situations from least to most anxiety-provoking for graduated exposure

A fear hierarchy orders feared stimuli by distress level (0–100 SUDS), guiding graduated exposure from least to most threatening.

Which CBT technique for GAD directly targets the 'intolerance of uncertainty' maintaining excessive worry?

Answer: Uncertainty exposure and behavioral experiments with ambiguous outcomes

Intolerance of uncertainty exposure involves deliberately engaging with ambiguous situations without seeking reassurance, directly targeting the core mechanism of GAD.

In CBT for Social Anxiety Disorder, 'safety behaviors' are targeted because they:

Answer: Prevent disconfirmation of feared social catastrophes and maintain anxiety

Safety behaviors (e.g., avoiding eye contact, rehearsing speech) prevent the client from learning that feared outcomes are unlikely, thereby maintaining social anxiety.

A client with Specific Phobia of blood-injection-injury (BII) type requires a modified exposure protocol because:

Answer: These clients typically have a diphasic response (initial rise then drop in blood pressure/heart rate) requiring applied tension

BII phobias involve a unique vasovagal fainting response, so applied tension technique is added to exposure to prevent syncope.

The 'worry postponement' technique used in GAD treatment involves:

Answer: Scheduling a specific daily period for worry and deferring worry thoughts to that time

Worry postponement (scheduled worry time) reduces pervasive worry by containing it to a designated 20–30 minute window, breaking the habitual worry pattern.

Which statement best describes the role of avoidance in the maintenance of anxiety disorders?

Answer: Avoidance provides short-term relief but prevents extinction learning, maintaining fear

Avoidance provides immediate anxiety relief but prevents the corrective learning experience that exposure would provide, keeping the fear intact.

The DSM-5 requires that anxiety in anxiety disorders be distinguished from normal fear primarily by its:

Answer: Proportionality relative to the actual threat and degree of impairment caused

DSM-5 criteria require anxiety to be out of proportion to the actual danger posed by the situation and to cause clinically significant distress or impairment.