WILKES UNIVERSITY
Graduate Nursing Program
NSG 527 Psychopathology, Theories & Advanced Clinical Modalities
Academic Year: 2025/2026 Midterm Exam Q-Bank
Wilkes University · College of Health & Sciences
Question 1
How is existential psychotherapy defined?
A. A behavioral approach focused on symptom reduction
B. A phenomenological-personal psychotherapy enabling a person to experience life freely,
arrive at authentic decisions, and deal responsibly with self and the world
C. A cognitive therapy aimed at restructuring irrational beliefs
D. A psychoanalytic approach focusing on unconscious conflicts
CORRECT ANSWER:
B. A phenomenological-personal psychotherapy enabling a person to experience life
freely, arrive at authentic decisions, and deal responsibly with self and the world
RATIONALE:
Existential psychotherapy is defined as a phenomenological-personal approach that helps
individuals experience life freely, make authentic decisions, and take responsibility for
themselves and their world. It is not behavioral, cognitive, or psychoanalytic in its primary
focus.
,Question 2
Which of the following is a key theme of existential therapy?
A. Conditioned responses
B. Choice, freedom, responsibility, awareness, aloneness, meaning, anxiety, and death
C. Cognitive distortions
D. Unconscious drives
CORRECT ANSWER:
B. Choice, freedom, responsibility, awareness, aloneness, meaning, anxiety, and death
RATIONALE:
Existential therapy's key themes include choice, freedom, responsibility, awareness, aloneness,
meaning, anxiety, and death. These are the core concerns of human existence that the therapy
addresses.
Question 3
In existential therapy, the theme of "choice" means:
A. People are free to choose their life direction
B. People have no control over their lives
C. Choice is an illusion
D. Only the therapist makes choices for the client
CORRECT ANSWER: A. People are free to choose their life direction
RATIONALE:
Existential therapy emphasizes that individuals are free to choose their life direction and are
responsible for their choices. This is a foundational theme of the approach.
,Question 4
In existential therapy, "freedom" refers to:
A. Freedom from all constraints
B. Freedom to shape one's own destiny
C. Freedom from responsibility
D. Freedom to avoid difficult decisions
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Freedom to shape one's own destiny
RATIONALE:
In existential therapy, freedom is the capacity to shape one's own destiny through choices. It is
not freedom from responsibility but rather freedom with responsibility.
Question 5
In existential therapy, "responsibility" means:
A. Being responsible for one's own actions or inactions
B. Blaming others for one's problems
C. Avoiding accountability
D. Relying solely on the therapist
CORRECT ANSWER: A. Being responsible for one's own actions or inactions
RATIONALE:
Existential therapy emphasizes that individuals are responsible for their own actions and
inactions. This is a core component of living authentically.
, Question 6
In existential therapy, "awareness" enables people to:
A. Choose their actions and create their own destiny
B. Avoid responsibility
C. Rely on others for direction
D. Ignore life's challenges
CORRECT ANSWER: A. Choose their actions and create their own destiny
RATIONALE:
Self-awareness in existential therapy allows individuals to make conscious choices and take
ownership of their lives, thereby creating their own destiny.
Question 7
In existential therapy, "aloneness" is described as:
A. A pathological condition to be cured
B. Part of the human condition; people enter and depart the world alone
C. A sign of social failure
D. An avoidable experience
CORRECT ANSWER:
B. Part of the human condition; people enter and depart the world alone
RATIONALE:
Existential therapy acknowledges aloneness as a fundamental part of the human condition—
each person is born alone and dies alone. It is not a pathology but an existential given.
Graduate Nursing Program
NSG 527 Psychopathology, Theories & Advanced Clinical Modalities
Academic Year: 2025/2026 Midterm Exam Q-Bank
Wilkes University · College of Health & Sciences
Question 1
How is existential psychotherapy defined?
A. A behavioral approach focused on symptom reduction
B. A phenomenological-personal psychotherapy enabling a person to experience life freely,
arrive at authentic decisions, and deal responsibly with self and the world
C. A cognitive therapy aimed at restructuring irrational beliefs
D. A psychoanalytic approach focusing on unconscious conflicts
CORRECT ANSWER:
B. A phenomenological-personal psychotherapy enabling a person to experience life
freely, arrive at authentic decisions, and deal responsibly with self and the world
RATIONALE:
Existential psychotherapy is defined as a phenomenological-personal approach that helps
individuals experience life freely, make authentic decisions, and take responsibility for
themselves and their world. It is not behavioral, cognitive, or psychoanalytic in its primary
focus.
,Question 2
Which of the following is a key theme of existential therapy?
A. Conditioned responses
B. Choice, freedom, responsibility, awareness, aloneness, meaning, anxiety, and death
C. Cognitive distortions
D. Unconscious drives
CORRECT ANSWER:
B. Choice, freedom, responsibility, awareness, aloneness, meaning, anxiety, and death
RATIONALE:
Existential therapy's key themes include choice, freedom, responsibility, awareness, aloneness,
meaning, anxiety, and death. These are the core concerns of human existence that the therapy
addresses.
Question 3
In existential therapy, the theme of "choice" means:
A. People are free to choose their life direction
B. People have no control over their lives
C. Choice is an illusion
D. Only the therapist makes choices for the client
CORRECT ANSWER: A. People are free to choose their life direction
RATIONALE:
Existential therapy emphasizes that individuals are free to choose their life direction and are
responsible for their choices. This is a foundational theme of the approach.
,Question 4
In existential therapy, "freedom" refers to:
A. Freedom from all constraints
B. Freedom to shape one's own destiny
C. Freedom from responsibility
D. Freedom to avoid difficult decisions
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Freedom to shape one's own destiny
RATIONALE:
In existential therapy, freedom is the capacity to shape one's own destiny through choices. It is
not freedom from responsibility but rather freedom with responsibility.
Question 5
In existential therapy, "responsibility" means:
A. Being responsible for one's own actions or inactions
B. Blaming others for one's problems
C. Avoiding accountability
D. Relying solely on the therapist
CORRECT ANSWER: A. Being responsible for one's own actions or inactions
RATIONALE:
Existential therapy emphasizes that individuals are responsible for their own actions and
inactions. This is a core component of living authentically.
, Question 6
In existential therapy, "awareness" enables people to:
A. Choose their actions and create their own destiny
B. Avoid responsibility
C. Rely on others for direction
D. Ignore life's challenges
CORRECT ANSWER: A. Choose their actions and create their own destiny
RATIONALE:
Self-awareness in existential therapy allows individuals to make conscious choices and take
ownership of their lives, thereby creating their own destiny.
Question 7
In existential therapy, "aloneness" is described as:
A. A pathological condition to be cured
B. Part of the human condition; people enter and depart the world alone
C. A sign of social failure
D. An avoidable experience
CORRECT ANSWER:
B. Part of the human condition; people enter and depart the world alone
RATIONALE:
Existential therapy acknowledges aloneness as a fundamental part of the human condition—
each person is born alone and dies alone. It is not a pathology but an existential given.
