What the exam asks
- Scenario matching: Given a transcript or clinical vignette, identify the specific therapy or technique being used (e.g., distinguishing cognitive restructuring from unconditional positive regard).
- Mechanism identification: Explain how a behavioral technique (like systematic desensitization or aversion therapy) uses classical or operant conditioning principles to change behavior.
- Evaluating evidence: Distinguish empirically supported uses of hypnosis (pain and anxiety reduction) from unsupported myths (memory recovery and age regression), or apply therapeutic concepts to explain research findings in an EBQ.
Core ideas
Psychodynamic therapies
Psychodynamic therapy seeks to help clients gain insight into unconscious conflicts and defense mechanisms originating in past relationships.
- Free association: The client says whatever comes to mind without censorship. The therapist listens for pauses, topic changes, or resistance that reveal unconscious anxiety.
- Dream interpretation: The therapist analyzes the client’s dreams to uncover unconscious desires and conflicts disguised behind the surface storyline.
Humanistic therapies
Humanistic therapy focuses on conscious, present experiences and human potential rather than the unconscious past.
- Person-centered therapy: Developed by Carl Rogers, this non-directive approach encourages self-actualization and personal growth in a supportive environment.
- Active listening: The therapist echoes, restates, and seeks clarification of what the client expresses (verbally and nonverbally) without judging or steering the conversation.
- Unconditional positive regard: An attitude of total acceptance and warmth toward the client regardless of what the client says or does, helping the client develop self-acceptance.
Behavioral therapies (Applied Behavior Analysis)
Behavioral therapies apply learning principles (classical and operant conditioning) to eliminate unwanted behaviors and build adaptive ones, rather than seeking insight into underlying thoughts.
| Technique | Conditioning Basis | How It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure therapy | Classical (Extinction) | Exposing clients (in imagination or reality, including virtual reality) to situations they fear and avoid so anxiety extinguishes. |
| Systematic desensitization | Classical (Counterconditioning) | Pairing progressive relaxation with a gradually ascending fear hierarchy of anxiety-triggering stimuli until relaxation replaces fear. |
| Aversion therapy | Classical (Counterconditioning) | Pairing an unwanted behavior (e.g., nail-biting) with an unpleasant stimulus (e.g., a bitter taste) so the behavior becomes aversive. |
| Token economy | Operant (Positive reinforcement) | Rewarding desired behaviors with tokens (secondary reinforcers) that can be exchanged for treats (primary reinforcers) or privileges. |
| Biofeedback | Operant / Physiological | Using electronic sensors to give clients real-time visual or auditory feedback on involuntary bodily functions (e.g., heart rate, muscle tension) so they learn to voluntarily regulate them. |