NSG527 EXAM 4: PSYCHOPATHOLOGY,
THEORIES, AND ADVANCED CLINICAL
MODALITIES
1. According to the Psychoanalytic Theory of Harry Stack Sullivan, which of the following
refers to the collection of individual traits and behaviors that reduce anxiety and ensure
security?
A. The Libido
B. The Id
C. The Collective Unconscious
D. The Self-System
Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: Sullivan defined the self-system as a defensive mechanism
against anxiety, developed through interpersonal relationships to ensure security.
2. In Structural Family Therapy, a PMHNP observes a mother and son constantly teaming up
against the father during conflicts. This dynamic is best described as:
A. Differentiation of self
,B. Cross-generational coalition
C. Triangulation
D. Enmeshment
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: In Minuchin’s Structural Family Therapy, a cross-generational
coalition occurs when a parent and child form an alliance against the other parent,
undermining the parental hierarchy.
3. Which neurobiological structure is most directly implicated in the ‘suffocation alarm’
hypothesis of Panic Disorder?
A. Nucleus Accumbens
B. Locus Coeruleus
C. Raphe Nuclei
D. Periaqueductal Gray
Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: The periaqueductal gray (PAG) is thought to be the center of the
brain’s suffocation alarm system, which triggers panic when carbon dioxide levels rise or
oxygen levels fall.
, 4. A patient in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) states, ‘If I don’t get an A in this class, I am
a total failure.’ This is an example of which cognitive distortion?
A. Catastrophizing
B. Dichotomous thinking
C. Personalization
D. Emotional reasoning
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: Dichotomous thinking (also called all-or-nothing thinking)
involves seeing things in black-and-white categories with no middle ground.
5. Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is uniquely designed to address
‘dialectical dilemmas.’ Which dilemma involves the patient oscillating between inhibited grief
and emotional outbursts?
A. Emotional vulnerability vs. Self-invalidation
B. Unrelenting crisis vs. Inhibited grieving
C. Active passivity vs. Apparent competence
D. Radical acceptance vs. Change
Answer: B
THEORIES, AND ADVANCED CLINICAL
MODALITIES
1. According to the Psychoanalytic Theory of Harry Stack Sullivan, which of the following
refers to the collection of individual traits and behaviors that reduce anxiety and ensure
security?
A. The Libido
B. The Id
C. The Collective Unconscious
D. The Self-System
Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: Sullivan defined the self-system as a defensive mechanism
against anxiety, developed through interpersonal relationships to ensure security.
2. In Structural Family Therapy, a PMHNP observes a mother and son constantly teaming up
against the father during conflicts. This dynamic is best described as:
A. Differentiation of self
,B. Cross-generational coalition
C. Triangulation
D. Enmeshment
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: In Minuchin’s Structural Family Therapy, a cross-generational
coalition occurs when a parent and child form an alliance against the other parent,
undermining the parental hierarchy.
3. Which neurobiological structure is most directly implicated in the ‘suffocation alarm’
hypothesis of Panic Disorder?
A. Nucleus Accumbens
B. Locus Coeruleus
C. Raphe Nuclei
D. Periaqueductal Gray
Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: The periaqueductal gray (PAG) is thought to be the center of the
brain’s suffocation alarm system, which triggers panic when carbon dioxide levels rise or
oxygen levels fall.
, 4. A patient in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) states, ‘If I don’t get an A in this class, I am
a total failure.’ This is an example of which cognitive distortion?
A. Catastrophizing
B. Dichotomous thinking
C. Personalization
D. Emotional reasoning
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: Dichotomous thinking (also called all-or-nothing thinking)
involves seeing things in black-and-white categories with no middle ground.
5. Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is uniquely designed to address
‘dialectical dilemmas.’ Which dilemma involves the patient oscillating between inhibited grief
and emotional outbursts?
A. Emotional vulnerability vs. Self-invalidation
B. Unrelenting crisis vs. Inhibited grieving
C. Active passivity vs. Apparent competence
D. Radical acceptance vs. Change
Answer: B
