NURS 6645 Week 11 Final Exam Actual Exam 2026/2027 –
Comprehensive Psychotherapy & Psychiatric Assessment
with Detailed Rationales | 100% Verified | Pass Guaranteed –
A+ Graded
Section 1: Psychotherapy Theories & Therapeutic Modalities
Q1: A patient reports feeling "stuck" in life and unable to move forward after a divorce.
The therapist asks the patient to engage in an empty-chair dialogue, speaking to their
former spouse as if they were present. Which therapeutic modality is being used?
A. Person-centered therapy
B. Existential psychotherapy
C. Gestalt therapy [CORRECT]
D. Interpersonal psychotherapy
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The empty-chair dialogue is a hallmark technique of Gestalt therapy,
developed by Fritz Perls, used to help patients resolve unfinished business and integrate
conflicting aspects of self through experiential dialogue.
Q2: A therapist consistently demonstrates warmth, acceptance, and nonjudgmental
regard toward a patient who has made poor life choices. According to Carl Rogers,
which core condition is the therapist demonstrating?
A. Congruence
B. Empathic understanding
C. Unconditional positive regard [CORRECT]
D. Actualizing tendency
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Unconditional positive regard is Rogers's core condition involving acceptance
and valuing of the patient without judgment, creating a safe therapeutic environment
that fosters self-actualization and growth.
,Q3: A patient with chronic anxiety is taught to observe their thoughts without judgment,
focus on the present moment, and accept distressing emotions rather than avoiding
them. These skills are core components of which DBT module?
A. Distress tolerance
B. Emotional regulation
C. Mindfulness [CORRECT]
D. Interpersonal effectiveness
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Mindfulness is the foundational DBT skill module that teaches patients to
observe, describe, and participate in the present moment nonjudgmentally, serving as
the basis for all other DBT skills.
Q4: A therapist working with a patient who has borderline personality disorder uses
validation strategies while also challenging maladaptive behaviors. The therapist
emphasizes the balance between acceptance and change. Which therapeutic approach
best describes this stance?
A. Pure cognitive therapy
B. Pure behavioral therapy
C. Dialectical behavior therapy [CORRECT]
D. Humanistic therapy
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: DBT, developed by Marsha Linehan, is specifically designed for borderline
personality disorder and integrates dialectical strategies that balance acceptance
(validation) with change (behavioral analysis and skills training).
Q5: A patient states, "I always fail at everything I try." The therapist asks the patient to
examine the evidence for and against this belief and consider alternative explanations.
This technique is characteristic of which therapeutic approach?
A. Gestalt therapy
B. Cognitive behavioral therapy [CORRECT]
C. Existential psychotherapy
D. Interpersonal psychotherapy
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: CBT employs cognitive restructuring techniques that challenge distorted
automatic thoughts by examining evidence, testing beliefs, and developing more
balanced thinking patterns, which this therapist is demonstrating.
,Q6: A therapist focuses on helping a patient explore universal themes of freedom,
responsibility, meaning, and authenticity in the face of life's inherent uncertainties.
Which theoretical orientation guides this therapeutic work?
A. Gestalt therapy
B. Interpersonal psychotherapy
C. Existential psychotherapy [CORRECT]
D. Rational emotive therapy
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Existential psychotherapy centers on universal human concerns including
freedom, choice, responsibility, meaning, death, and authenticity, helping patients
confront existential givens and create purpose in their lives.
Q7: A patient with substance use disorder is ambivalent about change. The therapist
uses open-ended questions, affirms the patient's strengths, reflects what they hear, and
summarizes the patient's mixed feelings. Which approach is being used?
A. Cognitive therapy
B. Dialectical behavior therapy
C. Motivational interviewing [CORRECT]
D. Psychodynamic therapy
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Motivational interviewing uses the OARS skills—Open-ended questions,
Affirmations, Reflective listening, and Summarizing—to elicit and strengthen the
patient's own motivation for change while respecting ambivalence.
Q8: A patient is asked to focus on bodily sensations associated with anxiety and
become aware of how tension manifests physically. This technique is most consistent
with which therapeutic modality?
A. Cognitive behavioral therapy
B. Gestalt therapy [CORRECT]
C. Rational emotive therapy
D. Interpersonal psychotherapy
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Gestalt therapy emphasizes body awareness and focusing on
present-moment sensations to increase awareness of how emotional experiences are
held in the body, facilitating integration of mind and body.
, Q9: A therapist working with a depressed patient focuses on improving current
interpersonal relationships, role transitions, and grief processing over a time-limited
course of treatment. Which structured therapy is being provided?
A. Cognitive behavioral therapy
B. Interpersonal psychotherapy [CORRECT]
C. Dialectical behavior therapy
D. Existential psychotherapy
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is a time-limited, structured treatment that
targets interpersonal problem areas including grief, role disputes, role transitions, and
interpersonal deficits to alleviate mood symptoms.
Q10: A patient with a history of trauma is guided through bilateral eye movements while
recalling a distressing memory. The goal is to reduce subjective distress and strengthen
adaptive beliefs. Which evidence-based treatment is being used?
A. Prolonged exposure therapy
B. Cognitive processing therapy
C. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing [CORRECT]
D. Trauma-focused CBT
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (eye movements, taps, or tones) during
trauma recall to facilitate memory processing, reduce subjective distress, and
strengthen adaptive cognitions about the traumatic event.
Q11: A therapist reflects the patient's feelings, restates content for clarity, and explores
the patient's subjective experience without directing or interpreting. Which therapeutic
approach best describes this nondirective stance?
A. Gestalt therapy
B. Person-centered psychotherapy [CORRECT]
C. Rational emotive therapy
D. Interpersonal psychotherapy
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Person-centered psychotherapy, developed by Carl Rogers, is characterized
by nondirective techniques including reflection, exploration, and clarification, with the
therapist serving as a facilitator of the patient's self-actualizing tendency.
Comprehensive Psychotherapy & Psychiatric Assessment
with Detailed Rationales | 100% Verified | Pass Guaranteed –
A+ Graded
Section 1: Psychotherapy Theories & Therapeutic Modalities
Q1: A patient reports feeling "stuck" in life and unable to move forward after a divorce.
The therapist asks the patient to engage in an empty-chair dialogue, speaking to their
former spouse as if they were present. Which therapeutic modality is being used?
A. Person-centered therapy
B. Existential psychotherapy
C. Gestalt therapy [CORRECT]
D. Interpersonal psychotherapy
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The empty-chair dialogue is a hallmark technique of Gestalt therapy,
developed by Fritz Perls, used to help patients resolve unfinished business and integrate
conflicting aspects of self through experiential dialogue.
Q2: A therapist consistently demonstrates warmth, acceptance, and nonjudgmental
regard toward a patient who has made poor life choices. According to Carl Rogers,
which core condition is the therapist demonstrating?
A. Congruence
B. Empathic understanding
C. Unconditional positive regard [CORRECT]
D. Actualizing tendency
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Unconditional positive regard is Rogers's core condition involving acceptance
and valuing of the patient without judgment, creating a safe therapeutic environment
that fosters self-actualization and growth.
,Q3: A patient with chronic anxiety is taught to observe their thoughts without judgment,
focus on the present moment, and accept distressing emotions rather than avoiding
them. These skills are core components of which DBT module?
A. Distress tolerance
B. Emotional regulation
C. Mindfulness [CORRECT]
D. Interpersonal effectiveness
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Mindfulness is the foundational DBT skill module that teaches patients to
observe, describe, and participate in the present moment nonjudgmentally, serving as
the basis for all other DBT skills.
Q4: A therapist working with a patient who has borderline personality disorder uses
validation strategies while also challenging maladaptive behaviors. The therapist
emphasizes the balance between acceptance and change. Which therapeutic approach
best describes this stance?
A. Pure cognitive therapy
B. Pure behavioral therapy
C. Dialectical behavior therapy [CORRECT]
D. Humanistic therapy
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: DBT, developed by Marsha Linehan, is specifically designed for borderline
personality disorder and integrates dialectical strategies that balance acceptance
(validation) with change (behavioral analysis and skills training).
Q5: A patient states, "I always fail at everything I try." The therapist asks the patient to
examine the evidence for and against this belief and consider alternative explanations.
This technique is characteristic of which therapeutic approach?
A. Gestalt therapy
B. Cognitive behavioral therapy [CORRECT]
C. Existential psychotherapy
D. Interpersonal psychotherapy
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: CBT employs cognitive restructuring techniques that challenge distorted
automatic thoughts by examining evidence, testing beliefs, and developing more
balanced thinking patterns, which this therapist is demonstrating.
,Q6: A therapist focuses on helping a patient explore universal themes of freedom,
responsibility, meaning, and authenticity in the face of life's inherent uncertainties.
Which theoretical orientation guides this therapeutic work?
A. Gestalt therapy
B. Interpersonal psychotherapy
C. Existential psychotherapy [CORRECT]
D. Rational emotive therapy
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Existential psychotherapy centers on universal human concerns including
freedom, choice, responsibility, meaning, death, and authenticity, helping patients
confront existential givens and create purpose in their lives.
Q7: A patient with substance use disorder is ambivalent about change. The therapist
uses open-ended questions, affirms the patient's strengths, reflects what they hear, and
summarizes the patient's mixed feelings. Which approach is being used?
A. Cognitive therapy
B. Dialectical behavior therapy
C. Motivational interviewing [CORRECT]
D. Psychodynamic therapy
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Motivational interviewing uses the OARS skills—Open-ended questions,
Affirmations, Reflective listening, and Summarizing—to elicit and strengthen the
patient's own motivation for change while respecting ambivalence.
Q8: A patient is asked to focus on bodily sensations associated with anxiety and
become aware of how tension manifests physically. This technique is most consistent
with which therapeutic modality?
A. Cognitive behavioral therapy
B. Gestalt therapy [CORRECT]
C. Rational emotive therapy
D. Interpersonal psychotherapy
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Gestalt therapy emphasizes body awareness and focusing on
present-moment sensations to increase awareness of how emotional experiences are
held in the body, facilitating integration of mind and body.
, Q9: A therapist working with a depressed patient focuses on improving current
interpersonal relationships, role transitions, and grief processing over a time-limited
course of treatment. Which structured therapy is being provided?
A. Cognitive behavioral therapy
B. Interpersonal psychotherapy [CORRECT]
C. Dialectical behavior therapy
D. Existential psychotherapy
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is a time-limited, structured treatment that
targets interpersonal problem areas including grief, role disputes, role transitions, and
interpersonal deficits to alleviate mood symptoms.
Q10: A patient with a history of trauma is guided through bilateral eye movements while
recalling a distressing memory. The goal is to reduce subjective distress and strengthen
adaptive beliefs. Which evidence-based treatment is being used?
A. Prolonged exposure therapy
B. Cognitive processing therapy
C. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing [CORRECT]
D. Trauma-focused CBT
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (eye movements, taps, or tones) during
trauma recall to facilitate memory processing, reduce subjective distress, and
strengthen adaptive cognitions about the traumatic event.
Q11: A therapist reflects the patient's feelings, restates content for clarity, and explores
the patient's subjective experience without directing or interpreting. Which therapeutic
approach best describes this nondirective stance?
A. Gestalt therapy
B. Person-centered psychotherapy [CORRECT]
C. Rational emotive therapy
D. Interpersonal psychotherapy
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Person-centered psychotherapy, developed by Carl Rogers, is characterized
by nondirective techniques including reflection, exploration, and clarification, with the
therapist serving as a facilitator of the patient's self-actualizing tendency.
