ATCBE Exam 2026 – Questions with Correct Answers and Rationales

ATCBE exam questions with correct m
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Circumstantial Thought process - CORRECT ANSWER -organized but over inclusive
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Tangential Thought process - CORRECT ANSWER -occasional lapses in organization
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Loosening associations - CORRECT ANSWER -frequent lapses in connection between thoughts
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Blocking - CORRECT ANSWER -loses train of thought
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Neologisms - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn




Words created by the patient which have their own idiosyncratic meanings
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Flight of ideas - CORRECT ANSWER -
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Flow of thought is extremely rapid but connections remain in tact
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Delusional Thought Content - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn mn mn




a firmly held, false belief not shared by members of the patient's culture
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Overvalued idea - CORRECT ANSWER -an idea that is intrusive and egodystonic
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paranoid ideation - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn mn




suspiciousness about others' motives and ideas of reference mn mn mn mn mn mn mn




Phobia - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn




a specific fear that results in avoidance of the situation or object despite the patient's realizati
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on that the fear is irrational
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,describe the 10 areas of functioning evaluated in the mental status exam (MSE) -
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CORRECT ANSWER -
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Appearance, affect, mood, thought content, speech, thought process, cognition, judgment,
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insi ght, movement and behavior
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MSE- Appearance - CORRECT ANSWER -
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Person's age, race, sex, civil status, and overall appearance.
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MSE- Movement and behavior - CORRECT ANSWER -
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Person's gait, posture, coordination, eye contact, facial expressions, and similar behaviors
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Affect - CORRECT ANSWER -outwardly observable emotional reactions
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mood - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn




underlying emotional "atmosphere" or tone of the person's answers
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Speech - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn




volume/speed of speech, length of answers, appropriateness and clarity of the answers
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thought content - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn mn




Indications of hallucinations, delusions, obsessions, symptoms of disassociations, or thoughts
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o f suicide via responses
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thought process - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn mn




irrelevant, detail, repeated words and phrases, interrupted thinking and illogical connections b
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etween thoughts
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cognition - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn




knowing orientation with regard to time, place, and personal identity
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,insight - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn




ability to recognize a problem and understand its nature and severity
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Bender Visual Motor Gestalt assessment - CORRECT ANSWER -used to evaluate "visual-
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motor maturity", to screen for developmental disorders, or to assess neurological function or
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b rain damage. It is administered to children and adults ages three and older and may be
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admini stered in a group setting.
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Bridge Drawing Assessment - CORRECT ANSWER -
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is a sequential drawing in which the client draws a visual representation of the problem, mean
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s of solving the problems and the desired solution
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Landgarten Photo Collage Assessment - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn mn mn mn




is a 4 task test adapts readily to various ethnic backgrounds as various photo images are availa
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ble that match culture. It is easy for patients to produce, even if they are uncomfortable
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creati ng images through drawing, painting, or sculpture.
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Leverick Emotional and Cognitive Art Therapy Assessment - CORRECT ANSWER -
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developed for exceptional nonverbal children who could draw. It assesses styles of coping
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and thinking, organization and use of space, and planning and sequencing.
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Psychomotor agitation - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn mn




noticeable and marked increase in body movements; hand wringing, pacing
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Psychomotor retardation - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn mn




significant slowing of speech and body movements, lack of usual fidgetiness
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expansive mood - CORRECT ANSWER -enthusiastic mn mn mn mn mn




euphoric mood - CORRECT ANSWER -feeling great, as if one just won the lottery
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, blunted affect - CORRECT ANSWER -decrease in amplitude of emotional expression
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flat affect - CORRECT ANSWER -virtually complete absence of affective expression
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constricted affect - CORRECT ANSWER -normal amplitude but restricted range
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inapropriate affect - CORRECT ANSWER - mn mn mn mn mn




emotions expressed are not congruent with content of patient's thoughts
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labile affect - CORRECT ANSWER -unpredictable shifts in emotional state
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basic techniques utilized in crisis intervention - CORRECT ANSWER -
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assessment; determination of the therapeutic intervention; intervention; resolution
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Explain theory of object relations - CORRECT ANSWER -
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Objects can be people or things, such as transitional objects with which we form attachments.
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these objects and the developing child's relationship with them are incorporated into a self,
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an d become the building blocks of the self system. The self-
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structure we internalize in early childhood functions as a blueprint for establishing and maintai
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ning future relationships.
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Describe the normal development of speech and language - CORRECT ANSWER -
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As the speech mechanism and voice mature, an infant is able to make controlled sound. This b
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egins in first few months of life with "cooing." By 6 months, an infant produces repetitive
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sylla bles. End of first year, most children can say a few simple words. By 18 months, a child
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can say 8-
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10 words. By age 2 a child can put together crude sentences. At age 3, 4, and 5, a child's vocab
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ulary increases rapidly.
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