Chapter 12: Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Psychodynamic psychotherapy refers broadly to the approach created by ______ and includes all subsequent adaptations or expansions of it.

A. Carl Rogers

B. Sigmund Freud

C. Hans Strupp

D. B. F. Skinner

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Defining Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. The primary goal of psychodynamic psychotherapy is ______.

A. to make the unconscious conscious

B. to replace illogical or irrational thoughts with more logical, rational thoughts

C. to use reinforcement or punishment to change target behaviors

D. to enhance self-actualization

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Defining Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Prior to Freud, ______.

A. mental health professionals did not generally acknowledge mental activity occurring outside of conscious awareness

B. the idea of the unconscious was popular among psychiatrists

C. the influence of the unconscious was linked to depression and anxiety

D. Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow introduced the concept of the unconscious

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Goal of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. The term ______ succinctly captures the primary goal of psychodynamic psychotherapy.

A. self-actualization

B. insight

C. shaping

D. congruence

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Goal of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Of the following approaches to psychotherapy, which most heavily relies on inferential methods?

A. behavioral

B. cognitive-behavioral

C. exposure plus response prevention

D. psychodynamic

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Accessing the Unconscious

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Which of the following statements about free association is NOT true?

A. It is used by psychodynamic psychotherapists as an effort to access the unconscious.

B. It involves asking clients to say whatever comes to mind.

C. It asks clients to say the first word that comes to mind after the therapist speaks a word.

D. It requires clients to not censor themselves at all.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Free Association

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Free association is to ______ as word association is to ______.

A. Sigmund Freud; Carl Jung

B. Carl Jung; Sigmund Freud

C. Albert Bandura; Alfred Adler

D. Alfred Adler; Albert Bandura

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Free Association

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Dr. James “forgets” to unlock the front door to his office on a Saturday when his only patient is Millie, a loud, disagreeable woman who often yells during therapy sessions. According to the psychodynamic school of thought, Dr. James has committed a ______.

A. Freudian slip

B. free association

C. dream work

D. manifest content

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Freudian “Slips”

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. When a patient is asked to engage in ______, the patient’s task is to verbalize any thought that comes to mind, no matter how nonsensical, inappropriate, illogical, or unimportant it may seem.

A. word association

B. fixation

C. projection

D. free association

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Free Association

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. When a patient is asked to engage in ______, the therapist presents the patient with a word, and the patient is to respond with the first word that comes to mind.

A. word association

B. fixation

C. projection

D. free association

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Free Association

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. According to the psychodynamic approach, the actual plot of a dream as the dreamer remembers it is the ______.

A. manifest content

B. latent content

C. dream work

D. projection

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Dreams

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. According to the psychodynamic approach, the process by which the latent content of a dream is converted into manifest content is called ______.

A. displacement

B. interpretation

C. free association

D. dream work

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Dreams

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Clarissa dreams she is a platypus flopping about on a never-ending sandy beach, while the bright sun slowly bakes her to a crisp. Dr. Siggie, her psychologist, explains that the never-ending beach represents her inability to emotionally escape from an abusive relationship, and the sun represents the abuser. What is the manifest content in this scenario?

A. the beach representing her inability to escape an abusive relationship

B. the sun representing an abuser

C. Clarissa as a platypus flopping about on a beach

D. Dr. Siggie’s nonverbal behaviors while explaining Clarissa’s dream

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Dreams

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Ron is a psychotherapy client who senses that certain unconscious material will soon be exposed. This makes him anxious, so he abruptly changes the subject and then misses his next appointment. Ron’s psychodynamic psychotherapist is likely to understand Ron’s actions as ______.

A. insight

B. resistance

C. displacement

D. transference

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Resistance

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. When clients sense that certain unconscious thoughts and feelings are being laid bare too extensively or too quickly, they create distractions or obstacles that impede the exploration of those thoughts and feelings. This is known as ______.

A. defensiveness

B. resistance

C. displacement

D. transference

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Resistance

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. According to psychodynamic theory, the ______ is the part of the mind that generates all pleasure-seeking, selfish, indulgent, animalistic impulses.

A. ego

B. superego

C. id

D. alter ego

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Defense Mechanisms

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. According to psychodynamic theory, the ______ is the part of the mind that generates defense mechanisms.

A. ego

B. superego

C. id

D. alter ego

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Defense Mechanisms

Difficulty Level: Easy

18. According to psychodynamic theory, the ______ is the part of the mind that establishes rules, restrictions, and prohibitions.

A. ego

B. superego

C. id

D. alter ego

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Defense Mechanisms

Difficulty Level: Easy

19. Which of the following best defines a defense mechanism?

A. an attempt to manage conflict between the id and superego

B. the client’s unconscious tendency to interact with the therapist as if the therapist were very similar to an important person in the client’s personal history

C. a verbal or behavioral “mistake” that, according to psychodynamic psychotherapists, communicates an underlying unconscious wish

D. an attempt to say whatever comes to mind, without censorship, no matter how nonsensical, illogical, or inappropriate

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Defense Mechanisms

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. Displacement is a defense mechanism characterized by ______.

A. doing the opposite of the unconscious wish

B. redirecting the unconscious wish toward a safer target

C. attributing the unconscious wish to others rather than to the self

D. denying the entire conflict surrounding the unconscious wish such that the individual never becomes aware of it

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Defense Mechanisms

Difficulty Level: Easy

21. Reaction formation is a defense mechanism characterized by ______.

A. doing the opposite of the unconscious wish

B. redirecting the unconscious wish toward a safer target

C. attributing the unconscious wish to others rather than to the self

D. denying the entire conflict surrounding the unconscious wish such that the individual never becomes aware of it

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Defense Mechanisms

Difficulty Level: Easy

22. ______ is the defense mechanism in which the ego projects an id impulse onto other people around us.

A. Displacement

B. Repression

C. Projection

D. Reaction formation

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Defense Mechanisms

Difficulty Level: Easy

23. Of all defense mechanisms, ______ is typically considered to be the most mature or healthy by psychodynamic psychotherapists.

A. displacement

B. repression

C. sublimation

D. reaction formation

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Defense Mechanisms

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. Juan has formed a psychotherapy relationship with his clinical psychologist in which Juan unconsciously and unrealistically expects the psychologist to behave like Juan’s mother. Juan’s situation best illustrates ______.

A. reflection

B. resistance

C. transference

D. allegiance effects

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Transference

Difficulty Level: Medium

25. ______ occurs when a patient forms a relationship with a therapist in which he unconsciously and unrealistically expects the therapist to behave like important people in his life.

A. Reflection

B. Transference

C. Allegiance effects

D. Countertransference

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Transference

Difficulty Level: Easy

26. When a psychodynamic therapy patient does not immediately accept his analyst’s interpretation, the analyst may need to repeat the interpretation across multiple sessions before it is fully accepted. This process is known as ______.

A. interpretive reframing

B. working through

C. transference

D. defensive scaffolding

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Transference

Difficulty Level: Medium

27. The “blank screen” role of the psychotherapist is most important to ______ psychotherapists.

A. cognitive

B. psychodynamic

C. behavioral

D. humanistic

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Transference

Difficulty Level: Easy

28. ______, according to psychodynamic psychotherapists, is the therapist’s unconscious tendency to interact with clients as if the client is very similar to an individual from the therapist’s own personal history.

A. Transference

B. Countertransference

C. Fixation

D. Counterfixation

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Transference

Difficulty Level: Medium

29. According to psychodynamic psychotherapists, fixation at the oral stage can result in problems related to ______ later in life, fixation at the anal stage can result in problems related to ______ later in life, and fixation at the phallic stage can result in problems related to ______ later in life.

A. dependency; self-worth; control

B. control; dependency; self-worth

C. dependency; control; self-worth

D. self-worth; control; dependency

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Psychosexual Stages: Clinical Implications

Difficulty Level: Medium

30. Which of the following lists Freud’s psychosexual stages in the correct order?

A. oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital

B. genital, oral, phallic, anal, and latency

C. anal, oral, phallic, genital, and latency

D. latency, oral, anal, genital, and phallic

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Psychosexual Stages: Clinical Implications

Difficulty Level: Medium

31. Freud’s psychodynamic psychotherapy has been reinvented in many forms, including all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A. Erikson’s ego psychology

B. Klein’s object relations

C. Jung’s associative psychology

D. Kohut’s self-psychology

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: More Contemporary Forms of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Hard

32. ______ is a contemporary variation of psychodynamic psychotherapy.

A. Interpersonal therapy

B. Motivational interviewing

C. Exposure plus response prevention

D. Time-limited thought shaping

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Interpersonal Therapy

Difficulty Level: Medium

33. ______ is a variation of IPT developed for patients with bipolar disorder.

A. Interpersonal and social rhythm therapy

B. Ego therapy

C. Self-psychology therapy

D. Object relations therapy

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Interpersonal Therapy

Difficulty Level: Medium

34. In ______, the therapist’s primary task is to identify the “script” that the client appears to be unknowingly following, which is likely to be based on previous important relationships, and to refuse to enact that script in the therapeutic relationship.

A. cognitive psychotherapy

B. exposure therapy

C. time-limited dynamic therapy

D. systematic desensitization

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Time-Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Medium

35. Which of the following statements is TRUE about how well psychodynamic therapy works?

A. The nature of psychodynamic therapy readily lends itself to empirical study.

B. Many studies, including meta-analyses, indicate that psychodynamic treatment is generally beneficial.

C. Empirical support for the treatment of personality disorders with psychodynamic therapy does not exist.

D. Transference-focused psychotherapy has been largely discredited as an acceptable treatment for bipolar disorder.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Well Does It Work?

Difficulty Level: Medium

36. Relative to its prominence in the early and mid-1900s, psychodynamic psychotherapy is currently ______.

A. more prominent

B. less prominent

C. equally prominent

D. more prominent for adult therapists and less prominent for child therapists

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Easy

37. After a psychodynamic therapist makes an interpretation to a client, it can take many sessions for the client to incorporate that interpretation into his thinking and behavior. That post-interpretation period is often called ______.

A. the working-through process

B. the blank-screen

C. transference

D. fixation

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Transference

Difficulty Level: Easy

38. Some empirical evidence does exist for particular components of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Which of the following components has/have empirical support?

A. interpretation of transference reactions

B. interpretation of countertransference reactions

C. both interpretation of transference and countertransference reactions

D. neither interpretation of transference nor countertransference reactions

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Well Does It Work?

Difficulty Level: Medium

39. Compared to long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy, brief psychodynamic psychotherapy ______.

A. involves a more narrow focus on specific clinical problems

B. is better suited for clients with severe (rather than mild) pathology

C. focuses more on the past than the present

D. typically requires at least 24 sessions

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: More Contemporary Forms of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Medium

Short Answer

1. What is the primary goal of psychodynamic therapy?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Goal of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. In ______, the therapist presents the patient with a list of words. After hearing each word, the patient is to respond with the first word that comes to mind.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Goal of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. In which defense mechanism does the ego superimpose an id impulse onto other people around us, allowing us to convince ourselves that the unacceptable impulse belongs to someone else, not ourselves?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Goal of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. ______ occurs when a patient unconsciously and unrealistically expects his psychologist to behave like important people from his past.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Goal of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Which Freudian psychosexual stage is associated with the development of trust (or distrust)?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Psychosexual Stages: Clinical Implications

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Which Freudian psychosexual stage is associated with the development of control?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Psychosexual Stages: Clinical Implications

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. What contemporary form of psychodynamic therapy assumes that depression happens in the context of relationships, so improving a patient’s relationships with others will facilitate improvement of symptoms in the patient?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: More Contemporary Forms of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Name one component of psychodynamic psychotherapy that has some empirical evidence to support its practice.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: More Contemporary Forms of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. What is a defense mechanism? Name and describe two defense mechanisms.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Goal of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. According to psychodynamic psychotherapists, what is resistance, and why is it important?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Goal of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. According to psychodynamic psychotherapists, what is the “blank slate” role of the therapist and why is it important?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Goal of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Describe the oral and anal stages from Freud’s psychosexual stages. Specifically, identify the fixation that may occur at each stage through under- or over-indulgence.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Psychosexual Stages: Clinical Implications

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Briefly describe time-limited dynamic psychotherapy (TLDP). Identify the primary task of the therapist in this form of therapy.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: More Contemporary Forms of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Difficulty Level: Medium