Free EPPP Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision Practice Questions

The Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision content area represents 15% of the EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) and covers treatment models, evidence-based interventions, consultation, career development, telepsychology, and supervision. Review each answer and explanation as you practice.

The EPPP format is 225 questions in 255 minutes; this page is a focused content-area sample.

What Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision Covers on the EPPP

ASPPB's test specifications for this content area include:

How to Study Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision

EPPP Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision Sample Questions with Answers

Sample Question 1 — Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision

A client with obsessive-compulsive disorder spends hours each day washing after touching objects the client believes are contaminated. Which psychological treatment has the strongest evidence for this presentation?

  1. A. Psychodynamic therapy aimed at the conflicts behind the obsessions
  2. B. Systematic desensitization paired with relaxation training
  3. C. Exposure and response prevention (Correct answer)
  4. D. Thought stopping whenever an obsession begins

Correct answer: C

Explanation: C is correct because repeated exposure to feared contamination cues while refraining from washing lets anxiety decline without the compulsion, and it is the most strongly supported psychological treatment for OCD. A is incorrect because psychodynamic therapy lacks the controlled evidence for OCD that exposure-based treatment has. B is incorrect because relaxation-based desensitization does not block the compulsion and has been outperformed by exposure with response prevention. D is incorrect because attempts to suppress obsessions tend to increase their frequency, and thought stopping is not an evidence-based treatment for OCD.

Sample Question 2 — Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision

A school psychologist consults with a teacher about a defiant student. The psychologist realizes the teacher has little difficulty with similar students but cannot manage this one because the student reminds the teacher of a family member, which is distorting the teacher's view. In Caplan's model, this is BEST addressed through which type of consultation?

  1. A. Consultee-centered case consultation (Correct answer)
  2. B. Program-centered administrative consultation
  3. C. Client-centered case consultation
  4. D. Consultee-centered administrative consultation

Correct answer: A

Explanation: A is correct because the main problem is the consultee's lack of objectivity about a particular case, which Caplan addressed through consultee-centered case consultation, including theme interference reduction. B is incorrect because this type addresses the design or running of a program rather than one consultee's work with one case. C is incorrect because this type focuses on assessing the student and recommending a plan, which does not address the teacher's distorted view. D is incorrect because this type addresses administrators' difficulties in planning and running programs or policies, not a teacher's handling of one student.

Sample Question 3 — Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision

A client says, "I know my drinking is causing problems, and I'll probably cut back sometime in the next few months, but I'm not ready to do anything yet." According to the transtheoretical model, the client is in which stage of change?

  1. A. Action
  2. B. Preparation
  3. C. Precontemplation
  4. D. Contemplation (Correct answer)

Correct answer: D

Explanation: D is correct because in contemplation the person acknowledges the problem and intends to change within about six months but has not committed to action. A is incorrect because in action the person has already started making observable changes to the behavior. B is incorrect because preparation involves intending to act within about a month and usually taking small steps toward change. C is incorrect because in precontemplation the person does not see a problem or has no intention to change in the foreseeable future.

Sample Question 4 — Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision

Across meta-analyses of psychotherapy outcome, which factor shows the most consistent association with client improvement regardless of the treatment model used?

  1. A. The therapist's number of years in practice
  2. B. The therapist's theoretical orientation
  3. C. A match between client and therapist gender
  4. D. The strength of the therapeutic alliance (Correct answer)

Correct answer: D

Explanation: D is correct because the alliance between client and therapist predicts outcome across many treatment approaches and is the most consistently supported of the common factors. A is incorrect because therapist experience shows only a weak and inconsistent relationship with client outcome. B is incorrect because bona fide treatments tend to produce similar overall outcomes, so orientation by itself predicts outcome poorly. C is incorrect because gender matching has shown little consistent effect on psychotherapy outcome.

Sample Question 5 — Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision

A client says they like and trust their therapist and agree that reducing panic attacks is the right goal, but they think the weekly exposure exercises the therapist assigns are pointless and keep skipping them. In Bordin's model of the working alliance, which component is MOST strained?

  1. A. The client's expectancy that therapy will help
  2. B. The emotional bond between client and therapist
  3. C. Agreement on the tasks of therapy (Correct answer)
  4. D. Agreement on the goals of therapy

Correct answer: C

Explanation: C is correct because Bordin described the alliance as agreement on goals, agreement on tasks, and an emotional bond; here the bond and goals are intact, but the client rejects the methods used to reach the goal. A is incorrect because expectancy is a separate common factor rather than one of Bordin's three alliance components. B is incorrect because the client reports liking and trusting the therapist, which reflects a positive bond. D is incorrect because the client explicitly agrees that reducing panic attacks is the right goal.

Sample Question 6 — Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision

A client referred by a court after a second arrest for driving under the influence says their drinking is "no different from anyone else's" and that the arrest was bad luck. Which approach is MOST appropriate at this point?

  1. A. Begin a structured plan for gradually cutting down the client's drinking
  2. B. Explore the client's ambivalence and raise awareness of drinking's effects (Correct answer)
  3. C. Develop a relapse prevention plan for high-risk drinking situations
  4. D. Refer the client to a twelve-step group to start building sober support

Correct answer: B

Explanation: B is correct because the client is in precontemplation, where consciousness-raising and motivational strategies that elicit the client's own concerns fit better than action-oriented techniques. A is incorrect because a behavior change plan suits the preparation or action stage, and the client does not yet see a problem. C is incorrect because relapse prevention is a maintenance-stage task for someone who has already changed the behavior. D is incorrect because asking someone who does not yet see a problem to commit to an abstinence-based program is premature for the precontemplation stage.

Sample Question 7 — Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision

A 50-year-old client seeks therapy for low mood. The client also reports fatigue, weight gain, constipation, and feeling cold when others are comfortable, and has not seen a physician in several years. What should the psychologist do FIRST?

  1. A. Refer the client for an antidepressant medication evaluation
  2. B. Refer the client for a medical evaluation, including thyroid function (Correct answer)
  3. C. Begin cognitive therapy, because the symptoms meet criteria for depression
  4. D. Assess for a somatic symptom disorder before planning treatment

Correct answer: B

Explanation: B is correct because several of these symptoms suggest hypothyroidism, which can cause depressive symptoms, so a medical cause should be ruled out before or alongside psychological treatment. A is incorrect because the somatic pattern calls for a general medical workup rather than a psychiatric medication consultation. C is incorrect because treating the mood symptoms without ruling out a likely medical cause risks missing the condition that is producing them. D is incorrect because these are specific physical signs that warrant medical evaluation, not evidence of excessive thoughts or worry about symptoms.

Sample Question 8 — Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision

A clinic director proposes assigning every client to a therapist of the same racial or ethnic background in order to improve treatment outcomes. Which summary of the research is MOST accurate?

  1. A. Matching improves outcome only when the therapist is a trainee
  2. B. Many clients prefer a match, but matching has little effect on outcome (Correct answer)
  3. C. Matching produces large gains in outcome for clients of every group
  4. D. Matching worsens outcomes because therapists overidentify with clients

Correct answer: B

Explanation: B is correct because meta-analyses find a moderate preference for a therapist of one's own background but only a very small association between ethnic matching and treatment outcome. A is incorrect because research has not found that matching effects depend on therapist training level. C is incorrect because the average effect of matching on outcome is close to zero across studies. D is incorrect because research does not show that matching harms outcome.

Sample Question 9 — Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision

Midway through treatment, a previously engaged client begins arriving late, gives brief answers, and says sessions are "fine" when asked. The therapist suspects an alliance rupture. Research on rupture and repair suggests the MOST helpful response is to:

  1. A. Interpret the lateness as resistance rooted in the client's earlier relationships
  2. B. Tell the client the lateness shows low motivation and renegotiate the contract
  3. C. Continue the treatment plan unchanged so that therapy stays predictable
  4. D. Invite the client to talk about how therapy and the therapist are working for them (Correct answer)

Correct answer: D

Explanation: D is correct because openly and nondefensively exploring the client's experience of the relationship, including dissatisfaction, is how ruptures are repaired, and repaired ruptures are associated with better outcomes. A is incorrect because an early transference interpretation can feel blaming and may deepen a withdrawal rupture rather than repair it. B is incorrect because attributing the lateness to the client's motivation is confrontational and ignores the relationship; rupture repair invites the client's view of the alliance, including the therapist's own contribution. C is incorrect because ignoring signs of a rupture leaves it unaddressed, which raises the risk of dropout.

Sample Question 10 — Treatment, Intervention, Prevention and Supervision

In Ellis's rational emotive behavior therapy, emotional disturbance is attributed MAINLY to:

  1. A. The activating events that the person has experienced
  2. B. Reinforcement of maladaptive behavior by the environment
  3. C. Unconscious conflicts that originated in early childhood experience
  4. D. Irrational beliefs about events, such as rigid "musts" (Correct answer)

Correct answer: D

Explanation: D is correct because in Ellis's ABC model, the activating event does not directly cause the emotional consequence; the person's irrational beliefs about it do, and therapy disputes those beliefs. A is incorrect because REBT holds that events by themselves do not create disturbance; beliefs about them do. B is incorrect because that is a behavioral explanation, whereas REBT centers on the person's beliefs. C is incorrect because that is the psychodynamic explanation of disturbance, not Ellis's.

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