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ABPP Counseling Psychology study materials
ABPP Counseling Psychology study resources

ABPP Counseling Psychology practice questions

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Question 1Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A client tells a counseling psychologist that they intend to seriously harm a specific, identifiable person. Under the Tarasoff duty-to-protect principle, the counselor's most appropriate action is to:

  1. Take reasonable steps to protect the intended victim, such as warning the person and notifying authorities Correct answer.
  2. Immediately terminate the counseling relationship to avoid liability
  3. Maintain confidentiality because Tarasoff applies only to property crimes
  4. Document the threat and wait for the client to act before intervening

Explanation

The Tarasoff duty-to-protect principle permits and often requires counselors to breach confidentiality to protect an identifiable third party from serious harm, typically through warning and/or notifying authorities.

Question 2Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

Informed consent to counseling is best understood as:

  1. A legal formality that has little clinical relevance
  2. A document that primarily protects the counselor from lawsuits
  3. A one-time signature obtained before the first session only
  4. An ongoing collaborative process throughout treatment Correct answer.

Explanation

Informed consent is an ongoing process of shared decision-making that continues as treatment, risks, and alternatives evolve, not merely a single signed form.

Question 3Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

Which ethical principle is most directly reflected when a counselor respects a competent adult client's right to make their own treatment decisions?

  1. Nonmaleficence
  2. Beneficence
  3. Justice
  4. Autonomy Correct answer.

Explanation

Autonomy refers to respecting clients' self-determination and their right to make informed choices about their care.

Question 4Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor who uses the DSM-5-TR to assign a diagnosis should understand that a diagnosis is:

  1. A descriptive classification that supports communication and treatment planning Correct answer.
  2. Irrelevant to treatment because it labels clients
  3. A definitive statement of the client's permanent personality structure
  4. Required before any counseling can ethically begin

Explanation

DSM diagnoses are descriptive categories used to communicate about and plan treatment for presenting problems, not fixed statements about a person's identity.

Question 5Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor working with a client whose cultural background differs from their own should first:

  1. Refer the client to a counselor of the same ethnicity automatically
  2. Assume the client's cultural background is irrelevant to the presenting problem
  3. Apply the same standardized protocol used with all clients
  4. Explore the client's cultural identity and how it shapes the presenting concern Correct answer.

Explanation

Culturally competent practice begins with assessing how the client's cultural context, values, and identity relate to the presenting problem and treatment preferences.

Question 6Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

Which of the following best describes the purpose of clinical supervision for a trainee?

  1. To monitor and develop the trainee's clinical competence and protect client welfare Correct answer.
  2. To replace the trainee's own ethical decision-making
  3. To evaluate the trainee solely on documentation speed
  4. To provide the trainee with personal therapy for unresolved issues

Explanation

Supervision is a gatekeeping and developmental process aimed at building clinical competence and safeguarding clients.

Question 7Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor notices strong feelings of irritation toward a client that seem unrelated to the client's behavior. In psychodynamic terms, this is best described as:

  1. Projective identification
  2. Countertransference Correct answer.
  3. Transference
  4. Resistance

Explanation

Countertransference refers to the counselor's own emotional reactions to the client, which may stem from the counselor's personal history and can inform clinical understanding.

Question 8Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

The primary purpose of a mental status examination is to:

  1. Determine the client's childhood attachment history
  2. Establish a formal diagnosis for insurance billing
  3. Measure the client's intelligence quotient
  4. Assess the client's current cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning Correct answer.

Explanation

The mental status exam is a structured observational assessment of current functioning across domains such as appearance, mood, thought process, and cognition.

Question 9Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is deciding whether to break confidentiality to report suspected child abuse. The most relevant legal-ethical standard is:

  1. The principle of veracity
  2. Mandatory reporting statutes Correct answer.
  3. The duty of beneficence
  4. The statute of limitations

Explanation

Mandatory reporting laws require counselors to report suspected child abuse to designated authorities, overriding confidentiality in those circumstances.

Question 10Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A client presents with depressed mood and passive suicidal ideation but denies intent or plan. The counselor's most appropriate next step is to:

  1. Immediately hospitalize the client involuntarily
  2. Conduct a structured suicide risk assessment and collaboratively develop a safety plan Correct answer.
  3. Avoid discussing suicide to prevent increasing risk
  4. Discontinue treatment because of the risk

Explanation

When suicide risk is present, a thorough risk assessment followed by collaborative safety planning is the standard of care; hospitalization is reserved for situations with imminent risk or inability to maintain safety.

Question 11Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A researcher reports that a new anxiety measure correlates highly with an established anxiety scale. This provides evidence of:

  1. Convergent validity Correct answer.
  2. Internal consistency
  3. Test-retest reliability
  4. Criterion contamination

Explanation

Convergent validity is demonstrated when a measure correlates strongly with other measures of the same or related constructs.

Question 12Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor relies on a clinical intuition about a client's diagnosis that is later contradicted by a structured assessment. This illustrates the importance of guarding against:

  1. Confirmation bias Correct answer.
  2. Hindsight bias
  3. Base-rate neglect
  4. Anchoring

Explanation

Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek or interpret information in ways that support an initial belief, which structured assessment helps correct.

Question 13Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor using a cognitive-behavioral approach with a client who catastrophizes is most likely to begin by:

  1. Helping the client identify and evaluate catastrophic thoughts Correct answer.
  2. Prescribing medication for anxiety
  3. Exploring family-of-origin dynamics in depth
  4. Encouraging free association about childhood memories

Explanation

CBT targets maladaptive cognitions directly; identifying and testing catastrophic thoughts is a core early intervention.

Question 14Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor notices that a client consistently arrives late and misses sessions after discussing difficult material. The counselor should interpret this pattern as:

  1. A reason to confront the client harshly
  2. Resistance that may signal important clinical material Correct answer.
  3. Irrelevant to the therapeutic process
  4. A lack of motivation that justifies termination

Explanation

Patterns of lateness and missed sessions can reflect resistance, which is clinically meaningful and should be explored collaboratively rather than punished.

Question 15Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

In group counseling, a member monopolizes discussion and others grow silent. The counselor's best response is to:

  1. Ignore the behavior to avoid singling anyone out
  2. Ask the monopolizing member to leave the group
  3. Address the group process and invite broader participation Correct answer.
  4. Extend the session length to accommodate the member

Explanation

Group counselors attend to process as well as content; naming the dynamic and inviting others to participate restores balance and safety.

Question 16Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A client from a collectivist cultural background describes strong obligations to family that conflict with individual goals. A culturally responsive counselor would:

  1. Encourage the client to reject family expectations immediately
  2. Apply a standard individuation model without modification
  3. Explore how cultural values shape the client's goals and choices Correct answer.
  4. Frame the family obligations as pathological enmeshment

Explanation

Culturally responsive practice considers how collectivist values inform the client's experience and avoids imposing individualistic norms.

Question 17Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

Which of the following best describes the concept of informed assent for a minor client?

  1. A form only required for research studies
  2. Obtaining the child's agreement to participate while parents provide legal consent Correct answer.
  3. Replacing parental consent with the child's signature
  4. A legal document that minors must sign alone

Explanation

Informed assent involves seeking the minor's agreement to participate while legal consent remains with parents or guardians.

Question 18Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor's notes are subpoenaed in a legal proceeding. The counselor should first:

  1. Verify the subpoena's validity and seek client authorization or legal guidance Correct answer.
  2. Immediately send all records to the requesting attorney
  3. Discuss the client's case publicly to clarify the record
  4. Destroy the records to protect confidentiality

Explanation

A subpoena does not automatically authorize release; counselors should confirm legal validity and, where possible, obtain client authorization or consult legal counsel.

Question 19Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A client reports feeling detached from reality and describes hearing voices commenting on their behavior. The counselor should first:

  1. Diagnose a personality disorder and continue standard talk therapy
  2. Interpret the voices as symbolic of childhood conflict
  3. Recommend the client reduce sleep to test the symptoms
  4. Assess for psychosis and consider referral for psychiatric evaluation Correct answer.

Explanation

Auditory hallucinations and detachment suggest possible psychosis, warranting careful assessment and referral for psychiatric evaluation.

Question 20Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is developing a treatment plan. Which element is essential to make the plan measurable and useful?

  1. A list of the counselor's theoretical orientation only
  2. Specific, observable, and time-bound objectives Correct answer.
  3. Vague goals that allow flexibility
  4. A fixed number of sessions regardless of progress

Explanation

Effective treatment plans include specific, observable, and time-bound objectives so progress can be monitored and adjusted.

Question 21Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is asked to provide a custody evaluation for a family in which the counselor is currently treating one parent. The most appropriate action is to:

  1. Conduct the evaluation without disclosing the dual role
  2. Accept the evaluation because the counselor already knows the family
  3. Decline the evaluation role because of the conflict of interest Correct answer.
  4. Delegate the evaluation to an unlicensed assistant

Explanation

Therapeutic and forensic roles have conflicting obligations; taking on a custody evaluation for a family in treatment creates an inappropriate multiple relationship.

Question 22Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A client with borderline personality features becomes intensely angry and idealizing toward the counselor within weeks. The counselor should:

  1. Maintain consistent boundaries and explore the relational pattern Correct answer.
  2. Immediately refer the client elsewhere without discussion
  3. Respond by becoming more emotionally intimate to reassure the client
  4. Interpret this as a sign the client is untreatable

Explanation

Intense, shifting relational patterns are central to borderline dynamics; consistent boundaries and exploration of the pattern support treatment.

Question 23Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor conducts a study and finds that a new screening tool has high sensitivity but low specificity. This means the tool:

  1. Cannot be used for any clinical purpose
  2. Correctly identifies most people with the condition but produces many false positives Correct answer.
  3. Has excellent overall accuracy
  4. Correctly identifies most people without the condition

Explanation

Sensitivity is the ability to identify true cases; high sensitivity with low specificity means many non-cases will be flagged as positive.

Question 24Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A client discloses a plan to drive after drinking heavily later that evening. The counselor's most defensible action is to:

  1. Terminate treatment to avoid responsibility
  2. Report the client to the police immediately without discussion
  3. Engage the client in safety planning and, if risk persists, take protective steps Correct answer.
  4. Document the disclosure and take no further action

Explanation

The counselor should first address the imminent risk through safety planning and, if the client remains intent on driving impaired, consider protective steps consistent with duty-to-protect reasoning.

Question 25Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is evaluating a client whose test scores fall at the 84th percentile on a measure of anxiety. Assuming a normal distribution, this score is approximately:

  1. At the mean
  2. Half a standard deviation below the mean
  3. One standard deviation above the mean Correct answer.
  4. Two standard deviations above the mean

Explanation

In a normal distribution, the 84th percentile corresponds to roughly one standard deviation above the mean.

Question 26Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is meeting a new client for the first time and wants to establish rapport while gathering initial background information. Which activity best characterizes this initial phase of counseling?

  1. Terminating the counseling relationship
  2. Administering a full battery of psychological tests
  3. Conducting an intake interview Correct answer.
  4. Interpreting the client's dreams

Explanation

The intake interview is the standard first contact activity in which the counselor builds rapport and collects presenting-problem, history, and background information. Testing, dream interpretation, and termination belong to later or different phases of the counseling process.

Question 27Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

Which theoretical orientation holds that psychological distress arises primarily from incongruence between the client's real self and ideal self, addressed through unconditional positive regard and empathic understanding?

  1. Psychoanalytic therapy
  2. Behavioral therapy
  3. Person-centered therapy Correct answer.
  4. Rational emotive behavior therapy

Explanation

Person-centered (Rogerian) therapy attributes distress to incongruence between the real and ideal self and relies on the core conditions of empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence. The other orientations locate distress in unconscious conflict, learned behavior, or irrational beliefs.

Question 28Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is required to obtain a client's permission before sharing treatment information with a consulting psychiatrist. This requirement reflects which ethical principle?

  1. Autonomy Correct answer.
  2. Justice
  3. Beneficence
  4. Fidelity

Explanation

Autonomy respects the client's right to make informed decisions about their own care, including whether information is disclosed to others. Obtaining permission before sharing information is a direct expression of that self-determination.

Question 29Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A client reports low energy, loss of interest in activities, and difficulty concentrating for the past three weeks. Which diagnostic category should the counselor consider first?

  1. Adjustment disorder
  2. Major depressive disorder Correct answer.
  3. Bipolar I disorder
  4. Generalized anxiety disorder

Explanation

The combination of anhedonia, low energy, and impaired concentration lasting at least two weeks is the hallmark presentation of a major depressive episode. Anxiety, bipolar, and adjustment disorders have different defining features.

Question 30Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

In a counseling relationship, the counselor's obligation to keep client information private unless the client authorizes disclosure or an exception applies is called:

  1. Confidentiality Correct answer.
  2. Informed consent
  3. Duty to warn
  4. Privilege

Explanation

Confidentiality is the counselor's ethical duty to protect client information from disclosure. Privilege is the client's legal right to prevent testimony, and informed consent and duty to warn are distinct concepts.

Question 31Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor working with a client who reports panic attacks wants to teach a technique that involves slow, diaphragmatic breathing. This intervention is best classified as:

  1. Psychoeducation
  2. Exposure therapy
  3. Cognitive restructuring
  4. Relaxation training Correct answer.

Explanation

Slow diaphragmatic breathing is a relaxation training technique that reduces physiological arousal associated with panic. Cognitive restructuring targets thoughts, exposure targets avoidance, and psychoeducation provides information.

Question 32Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor wants to compare a client's score on a depression measure to the scores of a large group of people who have already taken the test. The counselor is making use of:

  1. Norms Correct answer.
  2. Factor loadings
  3. Item difficulty indices
  4. Reliability coefficients

Explanation

Norms are the reference data from a defined group that allow a client's score to be interpreted relative to others. Reliability coefficients, item difficulty, and factor loadings describe other psychometric properties.

Question 33Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is working with a client who has recently immigrated and whose cultural background emphasizes indirect communication. The counselor should:

  1. Refer the client to a counselor from the same cultural background in all cases
  2. Adapt communication and questioning style to the client's cultural context Correct answer.
  3. Interpret the client's indirect style as resistance to treatment
  4. Require the client to adopt the counselor's communication norms

Explanation

Culturally responsive practice requires the counselor to adapt communication and assessment approaches to the client's cultural context rather than pathologizing cultural differences. Flexibility and cultural humility are core to competent practice.

Question 34Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor wants to ensure that a treatment goal is written in a way that allows progress to be tracked. Which goal statement best meets this criterion?

  1. Client will report reduced anxiety symptoms on a weekly 0-10 scale to a score of 3 or below within eight weeks Correct answer.
  2. Client will feel better about their life
  3. Client will explore childhood experiences
  4. Client will gain insight into their problems

Explanation

A measurable goal specifies a concrete indicator, a target level, and a timeframe. The weekly rating scale with a defined threshold and deadline meets these criteria, whereas the other options are vague and unobservable.

Question 35Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

During a session, a client begins to cry and describes feeling overwhelmed by grief. Which counselor response best demonstrates accurate empathy?

  1. "You seem to be carrying a lot of pain right now, and it makes sense given what you've been through." Correct answer.
  2. "Let's move on to a more positive topic."
  3. "I think you are overreacting to the loss."
  4. "You shouldn't be so upset about this."

Explanation

Accurate empathy involves perceiving and communicating understanding of the client's experience from the client's frame of reference. Reflecting the pain and validating its context demonstrates this skill, while the other responses minimize or dismiss the client's feelings.

Question 36Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is working with a client who reports drinking heavily several times per week. When assessing the severity of the client's substance use, which information is most important to obtain first?

  1. The client's history of use, quantity, frequency, and consequences Correct answer.
  2. The client's favorite social activities
  3. The client's preferred brand of alcohol
  4. The client's family history of any medical conditions

Explanation

Severity assessment for substance use requires a careful history of quantity, frequency, pattern, duration, and functional consequences. The other details are less central to determining severity and risk.

Question 37Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is conducting a suicide risk assessment with a client who reports hopelessness. Which factor most strongly increases the client's acute risk level?

  1. Current employment
  2. A history of completed treatment for depression
  3. A supportive family nearby
  4. A stated intent and a specific plan with access to lethal means Correct answer.

Explanation

Acute suicide risk is highest when there is intent, a specific plan, and access to lethal means. Prior treatment, employment, and social support are relevant but do not elevate acute risk as directly as intent plus a plan with means.

Question 38Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is concerned that a client's symptoms may be influenced by a medical condition. The most appropriate action is to:

  1. Consult with or refer the client to a medical provider to rule out medical causes Correct answer.
  2. Ignore the concern because counselors cannot address medical issues
  3. Diagnose a psychological disorder and begin treatment immediately
  4. Increase the frequency of counseling sessions as the sole intervention

Explanation

Counselors should rule out medical conditions that can mimic psychological symptoms by coordinating with medical providers. Immediate diagnosis and treatment without ruling out medical causes risks misattribution and harm.

Question 39Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor in private practice is asked to provide counseling to a close friend. According to ethical standards, the counselor should:

  1. Accept the friend as a client because familiarity improves rapport
  2. Accept the friend as a client and charge a reduced fee
  3. Decline and refer the friend to another counselor Correct answer.
  4. Accept the friend as a client but keep no records

Explanation

Entering a counseling relationship with a friend creates a multiple relationship that risks impairing objectivity and exploiting the relationship. The ethical course is to avoid the dual role and refer the person elsewhere.

Question 40Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A client in a counseling group repeatedly interrupts others and gives unsolicited advice. The group leader's most appropriate initial response is to:

  1. Ignore the behavior to avoid conflict
  2. Remove the client from the group immediately
  3. Set a group norm about turn-taking and invite members to give feedback Correct answer.
  4. End the group session early

Explanation

Group leaders address disruptive behavior first by establishing and enforcing group norms and using the group process itself, such as member feedback. Immediate removal or avoidance bypasses the therapeutic potential of the group.

Question 41Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is developing a treatment plan with a client and wants to ensure it reflects shared decision-making. Which action best supports this goal?

  1. Omitting measurable objectives to preserve flexibility
  2. Writing the plan before meeting the client
  3. Collaboratively identifying goals and interventions with the client Correct answer.
  4. Choosing goals based solely on the counselor's preferences

Explanation

Collaborative goal setting reflects respect for client autonomy and improves engagement and outcomes. Plans developed unilaterally or without measurable objectives are less likely to be effective or client-centered.

Question 42Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor working with an older adult client notices that the client seems to be experiencing memory problems. The counselor should:

  1. Diagnose dementia immediately
  2. Discontinue counseling because the client cannot benefit
  3. Conduct a brief cognitive screening and consider medical referral Correct answer.
  4. Assume the memory problems are a normal part of aging and take no action

Explanation

When cognitive concerns arise, counselors should screen and coordinate with medical providers to clarify the cause, since reversible and non-reversible conditions both require evaluation. Immediate diagnosis or dismissal of the client is inappropriate.

Question 43Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is providing services to a client who speaks limited English. To meet ethical obligations, the counselor should:

  1. Proceed without interpretation and rely on gestures
  2. Use the client's young child as an interpreter
  3. Arrange for a qualified interpreter and confirm informed consent in the client's language Correct answer.
  4. Ask the client to bring a neighbor to interpret sensitive information

Explanation

Ethical practice requires that clients understand services and consent to them, which depends on qualified interpretation when language barriers exist. Using children or untrained individuals as interpreters compromises confidentiality and accuracy.

Question 44Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A client reports that they have been feeling persistently anxious for months, and the counselor selects a manualized cognitive-behavioral protocol for anxiety. Which consideration is most important before implementing the protocol?

  1. Whether the protocol is the newest one available
  2. Whether the protocol is the counselor's personal favorite approach
  3. Whether the protocol requires the fewest sessions
  4. Whether the protocol fits the client's presentation, culture, and preferences Correct answer.

Explanation

Evidence-based practice requires integrating the best available research with clinical expertise and the client's characteristics, culture, and preferences. Selecting a protocol solely on personal preference, novelty, or brevity does not meet this standard.

Question 45Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is reviewing progress data and notices that a client's symptoms have not improved after several weeks of the agreed treatment. The counselor's best course of action is to:

  1. Increase session length without altering the approach
  2. Continue the same plan without change to preserve consistency
  3. Discharge the client for lack of progress
  4. Review the data with the client and adjust the treatment plan Correct answer.

Explanation

Routine outcome monitoring supports reviewing progress with the client and modifying the plan when data indicate insufficient response. Persisting unchanged or discharging prematurely ignores the purpose of monitoring.

Question 46Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is working with a client who has a history of trauma and becomes visibly distressed when discussing the event. The counselor should:

  1. Insist that the client describe the event in full detail immediately
  2. Pace the exploration, monitor the client's distress, and use grounding as needed Correct answer.
  3. End the session without discussion
  4. Change the topic permanently and never address the trauma

Explanation

Trauma-informed practice emphasizes safety, pacing, and monitoring of distress, with grounding strategies to maintain stability. Forcing full disclosure or permanently avoiding the topic both fail to balance therapeutic work with client safety.

Question 47Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A client's employer requests information about the client's diagnosis and treatment. The counselor should:

  1. Refuse to speak with the employer under any circumstances
  2. Obtain the client's written authorization before releasing any information Correct answer.
  3. Provide only verbal information to avoid documentation
  4. Release the information because the employer is paying for services

Explanation

Disclosure to third parties requires the client's informed written authorization unless a legal exception applies. Payment for services does not confer a right to clinical information, and refusal to communicate when authorized is unnecessarily restrictive.

Question 48Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is evaluating a client whose score on a depression measure is two standard deviations above the mean of the normative sample. Assuming a normal distribution, the counselor should interpret this as indicating that the client's score is:

  1. At approximately the 98th percentile Correct answer.
  2. At approximately the 16th percentile
  3. Within the average range
  4. At approximately the 50th percentile

Explanation

In a normal distribution, a score two standard deviations above the mean corresponds to roughly the 97.7th percentile, commonly rounded to the 98th. Scores at the 50th percentile are at the mean, and the 16th percentile is one standard deviation below the mean.

Question 49Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is asked to serve as an expert witness in a case involving a former client. The counselor's records are incomplete and the counselor has limited recollection of the case. The most appropriate action is to:

  1. Refuse to testify without explanation
  2. Testify confidently based on general clinical impressions
  3. Disclose the limitations of the records and recollection honestly Correct answer.
  4. Reconstruct the records from memory before testifying

Explanation

Expert testimony must be accurate and honest, including acknowledgment of the limits of records and memory. Fabricating confidence or reconstructing records from memory misrepresents the evidence and violates ethical standards.

Question 50Counseling Psychology Specialty Practice

A counselor is using a cognitive-behavioral approach with a client who believes that making a single mistake at work will lead to being fired. The counselor's most appropriate initial intervention is to:

  1. Reassure the client that the belief is definitely false
  2. Avoid discussing the belief to reduce anxiety
  3. Advise the client to quit the job
  4. Help the client identify and evaluate the evidence for and against the belief Correct answer.

Explanation

Cognitive restructuring begins with identifying the automatic thought and examining the evidence supporting and contradicting it. Reassurance, avoidance, and premature behavioral advice bypass the cognitive work and may reinforce the belief.