Which person is not associated with the existential movement?
a. Rollo May
b. Victor Frankl
c. Irvin Yalom
d.
B. F. Skinner
d
The central goal of existential psychotherapy is to:
a. decrease selfawareness.
b. increase awareness.
c.
help clients reject the responsibility of choosing.
d. keep the
client from experiencing authentic existence.
b
Finding the "courage to be" involves:
a. confronting a specific phobia.
b. learning to be
alone.
c. discarding old values.
d. developing a will to
move forward in spite of anxietyproducing situations.
d
The British scholar working to develop training programs in existential therapy is:
a. Roll May.
b. Irvin Yalom.
c. Emmy van
Deurzen.
d. J. Michael Russell.
c
Which is not an essential aim of existential-humanistic therapy?
a. To help clients become more present to both themselves and
others
b. To assist clients in identifying ways they block
themselves from fuller presence
c. To dispute clients’
irrational beliefs
d. To challenge clients to assume
responsibility for designing their present lives
c
Existential therapy is best considered as:
a. an approach to understand the subjective world of the
client.
b. a school of therapy.
c. a system of
techniques designed to create authentic humans.
d. a strategy
for uncovering dysfunctional behavior.
a
Which of the following was not part of Stan’s work in existential therapy?
a. Challenging his feelings of loneliness
b. Working on his
inauthentic relationship with his siblings
c. Confronting his
responsibility for his drug and alcohol use
d. Exploring Stan's
human potential
b
Philosophically, the existentialists would agree that:
a. the final decisions and choices rest with the
therapist.
b. people do not redefine themselves by their
choices.
c. a person cannot go beyond early
conditioning.
d. making choices can create anxiety.
d
The characteristic existential theme includes:
a. freedom and responsibility.
b.
resistance.
c.transference.
d. examining irrational beliefs.
a
According to the existential viewpoint, death:
a. makes life absurd.
b. makes life meaningless and
hopeless.
c. gives significance to living.
d. should not
be explored in therapy.
c
In regards to techniques, existential practitioners believe:
a. free association is essential to the growth and healing of the
client.
b. no set of techniques is considered
essential.
c. analysis of dysfunctional family patterns is
imperative.
d. role playing is the most important technique used.
b
In a group based on existential principles, clients learn all of the following, except:
a. that there are no ultimate answers for ultimate
concerns.
b. to view themselves through others' eyes.
c.
to come to terms with the paradoxes of existence.
d. that pain
is not a reality of the human experience.
d
__________ emphasizes the subjective and spiritual dimensions of human existence.
a. Existential analysis
b. Existential anxiety
c.
Self-awareness
d. Existential guilt
a
Existential therapy is:
a. a deterministic approach to therapy.
b. an expansion of
the Adlerian school of therapy.
c. a phenomenological approach
to therapy.
d. a structured approach to therapy.
c
Existential therapists prefer to be thought of as:
a. an observer-technician.
b. philosophical companions, not
as people who repair psyches.
c. a teacher and coach.
d.
an advocate for social change.
b
When is the counseling process at its best from an existential viewpoint?
a. When the client feels comfortable enough to engage in
shame-attacking exercises outside of counseling sessions.
b.
When the deepest self of the therapist meets the deepest part of the
client.
c. When the therapist uses his or her influence to
convince the client to let go of his or her anxiety.
d. When
sessions begin with progressive muscle relaxation exercises.
b
Viktor Frankl’s approach to existential therapy is known as:
a. individual psychology.
b. logotherapy.
c. reality
therapy.
d. redecision therapy.
b
Which of the following is not true about Rollo May?
a. He is most responsible for translating European existentialism
into American psychotherapeutic theory and practice.
b. He
focuses on the subjective dimension of therapy.
c. He is a
significant spokesman for the existential approach in the United
States.
d. He believes that we can only escape anxiety by
exercising our freedom.
d
In regards to freedom and responsibility, existential therapy embraces three values. Which of the following is not one of these values?
a. The freedom to become within the context of natural and
self-imposed limitations
b. The capacity to reflect on the
meaning of our choices
c. The capacity to act on the choices we
make
d. The freedom to choose our past and the choices of our parents
d
Ursula lived in New York City on 9/11. Ever since experiencing the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, she has felt anxiety about going to the upper level floors of tall buildings. As an existentially oriented therapist, you might conclude that:
a. Ursula is highly neurotic.
b. Ursula’s fears are
completely unfounded.
c. Ursula's anxiety is normal in light of
the traumatic experience she had on 9/11.
d. Ursula is on the
verge of becoming psychotic.
c
Who was the Danish philosopher that addressed the role of anxiety and uncertainty in life?
a. Medard Boss
b. JeanPaul Sartre
c. Soren
Kierkegaard
d. Martin Buber
c
Existentialists contend that the experience of relatedness to other human beings:
a. is a neurotically dependent attachment.
b. should be
based on our needs and theirs.
c. is healthy when we are able
to stand alone and tap into our own strength.
d. is not
necessary, since we are basically alone.
c
According to existentialists, our search for meaning involves all of these except:
a. discarding old values.
b. meaninglessness.
c.
creating our own value system.
d. exploring unfinished business.
d
Therapy is viewed as a ___________________in the sense that the interpersonal and existential problems of the client will become apparent in the here and now of the therapy relationship.
a. social microcosm
b. “touchy feely” encounter
c.
living laboratory
d. tension-filled encounter
a
The central theme running through the works of Viktor Frankl is:
a. that freedom is a myth.
b. the will to meaning.
c.
selfdisclosure as the key to mental health.
d. the notion of selfactualization.
b
According to Yalom, the concerns that make up the core of existential psychodynamics include all of the following, except:
a. death.
b. freedom.
c. togetherness.
d. meaninglessness.
c
A statement that best illustrates “bad faith” is:
a. Naturally I'm this way, because I grew up in an alcoholic
family.
b. I will not consider others in the choices I
make.
c. I must live by commitments I make.
d. I am
responsible for the choices that I make.
a
For Sartre, existential guilt is what we experience when we:
a. do not live by the Ten Commandments.
b. fail to think
about the welfare of others.
c. allow others to define us or to
make our choices for us.
d. reflect on all that we might have
done and failed to do.
c
The therapist’s presence is:
a. a condition of therapeutic change.
b. a goal of
therapeutic change.
c. both a condition and a goal of
therapeutic change.
d. neither a condition nor a goal of
therapeutic change.
c
Which of the following is not an example of how existential therapy is unlike many other therapies?
a. It does not have a well-defined set of techniques.
b. It
stresses the I/Thou encounter in the therapy process.
c. It
focuses on the use of the specific techniques created for this
theory.
d. It allows for incorporation of techniques from many
other approaches.
c
Which of the following is not considered a basic dimension of the human condition?
a. Capacity for self-awareness
b. Striving for acceptance
of others
c. Establishing meaningful relationships with
others
d. Freedom and responsibility
b
Being alone is a process by which we do all of the following except:
a. learn to tolerate feelings of isolation.
b. develop
strength and self-reliance.
c. develop a deep understanding of
ourselves.
d. reject the social overtures of others.
d
The goals of existential therapy include all but_________.
a. to help clients become more present to both themselves and
others.
b. to assist clients in identifying ways they block
themselves from fuller presence.
c. helping clients to
eliminate anxiety in their lives.
d. to encourage clients to
choose more expanded ways of being in their daily lives.
c
When working with a client living a restricted existence, an existential therapist would likely:
a. explore the developmental origins of these feelings.
b.
develop a specific behavioral plan to help the client get
"unstuck."
c. encourage the client to do a
shame-attacking exercise.
d. make the client aware of how his
or her current ways of living are keeping him or her stuck.
d
In the book Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death (2008), ________________develops the idea that confronting death enables us to live in a more compassionate way.
a. Martin Buber
b. Justin Bieber
c. Irvin Yalom
d.
Stephen King
c
From a multicultural perspective, some clients may reject this approach because:
a. it is founded on abstract, westernized notions that are not
widely applicable.
b. their life circumstances provide them
with truly limited choices.
c. death anxiety is not a central
issue in all cultures.
d. the use of techniques may be
overwhelming for them.
b
From a scientific perspective, existential psychotherapy:
a. is well researched.
b. lends itself easily to evaluation
due to its clearly defined principles and techniques.
c. fits
well into the framework of evidence-based practice.
d. is
difficult to research because every psychotherapy experience is unique.
d
The existential approach is particularly well-suited to clients who:
a. are dealing with grief and loss.
b. are victims of
oppression.
c. have limited intellectual capacities.
d.
suffer from severe mental illness.
a
Existential therapy groups are particularly helpful for clients working on:
a. self-actualization.
b. issues of responsibility.
c.
reducing problematic behaviors.
d. exploring family dynamics.
b
Time-limited existential treatments:
a. can serve as a catalyst for clients to become actively and
fully involved in each therapy session.
b. are by definition,
lacking in depth and richness.
c. lack structure and clear
goals.
d. are well studied and shown to be effective.
a
true or false
Rollo May has been instrumental in translating some concepts drawn from existential philosophy and applying them to psychotherapy.
true
true or false
Existential therapy can best be considered as a system of highly developed techniques designed to foster authenticity.
false
true or false
The outcomes of existential therapy have been submitted to rigorous empirical testing.
false
true or false
Existential therapy grew out of a reaction to the limitations of both the psychoanalytic and deterministic stance.
true
true or false
A central existential concept is that although we long for freedom we often try to escape from our freedom by defining ourselves as a fixed or static entity.
true
true or false
In the existential approach, techniques are primary, while subjective understanding of clients is secondary.
false
true or false
Existential therapists strive to be their authentic selves when working with clients.
true
true or false
According to existential thinking, effective therapy does not stop with awareness, for clients are challenged to take action based on their insights.
true
true or false
From the existential viewpoint, anxiety is seen as a neurotic manifestation; thus the aim of therapy is to eliminate anxiety so clients can live comfortably.
false
true or false
Existential anxiety is the unavoidable result of being confronted with the “givens of existence.”
true
true or false
During the initial phase of counseling, existentially oriented therapists assist clients in identifying and clarifying their assumptions about the world.
true
true or false
Existentialists claim that the use of specific techniques is the cornerstone of the approach.
false
true or false
According to the existential view, death makes life meaningless.
false
true or false
A major criticism of the existential approach is that it lacks a systematic statement of the principles and practices of psychotherapy.
true
true or false
This approach puts emphasis on the human quality of the therapeutic relationship.
true
true or false
Martin Buber stressed the importance of presence, which allows for the creation of I/Thou relationships in therapy
true
true or false
Existential guilt is being aware of having evaded a commitment, or having chosen not to choose.
true
true or false
The existential view is not designed to “cure” people of illness in the tradition of the medical model because people are not sick but are “sick of life or clumsy at living.”
true
true or false
In the existential framework, inaction is a decision.
true
true or false
Existential therapy is especially appropriate for clients who are struggling with developmental crises.
true
true or false
Existentially, humans both long for and wish to escape from their freedom.
true
true or false
The existential approach can be used in a brief therapy context.
true
true or false
Existential therapy is rarely used for group treatment.
false
true or false
The existential vacuum represents a place of reflection and solace.
false
true or false
Currently, there is wide-ranging international interest in the existential approach to psychotherapy.
true
true or false
Existential therapy is especially useful in working with culturally diverse populations because of its focus on individuality.
false
true or false
The core of the therapeutic relationship is respect.
true
true or false
A distinctly human characteristic is the struggle for a sense of peace.
false
true or false
Freedom implies that we are responsible for the lives of others around us.
false
true or false
Failure to move through anxiety results in neurotic anxiety.
true