PTS Exam Questions and Answers Already Passed Latest Update 2025-2026
Congruence - AnswersState of being in which our thoughts about our real and ideal selves are
very similar
Incongruence - AnswersThe degree of disparity between one's self-concept and one's actual
experience
Self-disclosure - AnswersDirect and clear about own feelings regarding what the client brings to
therapeutic reliance (transparency)
Unconditional positive regard - AnswersAccording to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance
toward another person
Empathy - AnswersIdentification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and
motives
Three core conditions of a therapeutic relationship (Rogers) - Answers1. Congruence
(genuineness)
2. Unconditional positive regard
3. Empathy
Sympathy - AnswersFeelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune
Cognitive perspective taking - AnswersReading the apparent inner experience and intention of
others amid complex and sometimes conflicting cues
Shared affective responding - AnswersTo recognize and experience, at least in part, another
person's emotions
Empathic listening - AnswersListening in order to experience/understand what another person
is thinking or feeling
Three important therapeutic skills (CCT) - Answers1. Empathy
2. Acceptance
3. Positive regard
Acceptance - AnswersThe skill to listen without preconception, prejudgment or condemnation
Positive regard - AnswersDeep respect for the patient's worth as a person and his rights as a
free individual
Affirmation - AnswersNoticing and commenting on a person's strength, positive reactions and
attributes
, Self-actualizing tendency - AnswersThe striving to fulfill one's innate capacities and capabilities
Idiographic - AnswersAn approach to studying personality that focuses on individual case
studies (due the uniqueness of the person)
External locus of evaluation - AnswersRelying on others' judgement about them
Internal locus of evaluation - AnswersJudgement based on one's own view, rather than seeking
the approval of others
Positive psychology - AnswersThe desirability of focusing on clients' strengths as the engine of
change
Feminist therapy - AnswersFocuses on women's issues and strives to help women achieve
greater personal freedom and self-determination
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy - AnswersA popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive
therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)
Dodo bird verdict - AnswersThe finding that most forms of therapy are effective and few
significant differences exist in effectiveness among standard therapies
Rogers' personality theory - Answers- Everyone has an actualizing tendency: Motivation to
maintain/enhance life
- Painful experiences make us insensitive to the outside world and to our actualizing tendency
- Therapist provides unconditional positive regard and empathetic understanding
Internal frame of reference - AnswersSubjective reality, or phenomenological field, according to
which a person lives his or her life
Organismic valuing process - AnswersIndividuals make value judgments based on direct
experience rather than societal expectations
Moments of movement - AnswersA transformative moment where the client experiences a shift
in awareness
Play therapy - AnswersTherapeutic process, often used with children, that employs toys to help
them resolve psychological problems
Specificity myth - AnswersThe belief that specific disorders require specific treatments
Differentiation - AnswersRefining our beliefs and attitudes based on upcoming information
Integration - AnswersConnections are made between different pieces of information, and an
overall pattern is discovered
Congruence - AnswersState of being in which our thoughts about our real and ideal selves are
very similar
Incongruence - AnswersThe degree of disparity between one's self-concept and one's actual
experience
Self-disclosure - AnswersDirect and clear about own feelings regarding what the client brings to
therapeutic reliance (transparency)
Unconditional positive regard - AnswersAccording to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance
toward another person
Empathy - AnswersIdentification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and
motives
Three core conditions of a therapeutic relationship (Rogers) - Answers1. Congruence
(genuineness)
2. Unconditional positive regard
3. Empathy
Sympathy - AnswersFeelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune
Cognitive perspective taking - AnswersReading the apparent inner experience and intention of
others amid complex and sometimes conflicting cues
Shared affective responding - AnswersTo recognize and experience, at least in part, another
person's emotions
Empathic listening - AnswersListening in order to experience/understand what another person
is thinking or feeling
Three important therapeutic skills (CCT) - Answers1. Empathy
2. Acceptance
3. Positive regard
Acceptance - AnswersThe skill to listen without preconception, prejudgment or condemnation
Positive regard - AnswersDeep respect for the patient's worth as a person and his rights as a
free individual
Affirmation - AnswersNoticing and commenting on a person's strength, positive reactions and
attributes
, Self-actualizing tendency - AnswersThe striving to fulfill one's innate capacities and capabilities
Idiographic - AnswersAn approach to studying personality that focuses on individual case
studies (due the uniqueness of the person)
External locus of evaluation - AnswersRelying on others' judgement about them
Internal locus of evaluation - AnswersJudgement based on one's own view, rather than seeking
the approval of others
Positive psychology - AnswersThe desirability of focusing on clients' strengths as the engine of
change
Feminist therapy - AnswersFocuses on women's issues and strives to help women achieve
greater personal freedom and self-determination
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy - AnswersA popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive
therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)
Dodo bird verdict - AnswersThe finding that most forms of therapy are effective and few
significant differences exist in effectiveness among standard therapies
Rogers' personality theory - Answers- Everyone has an actualizing tendency: Motivation to
maintain/enhance life
- Painful experiences make us insensitive to the outside world and to our actualizing tendency
- Therapist provides unconditional positive regard and empathetic understanding
Internal frame of reference - AnswersSubjective reality, or phenomenological field, according to
which a person lives his or her life
Organismic valuing process - AnswersIndividuals make value judgments based on direct
experience rather than societal expectations
Moments of movement - AnswersA transformative moment where the client experiences a shift
in awareness
Play therapy - AnswersTherapeutic process, often used with children, that employs toys to help
them resolve psychological problems
Specificity myth - AnswersThe belief that specific disorders require specific treatments
Differentiation - AnswersRefining our beliefs and attitudes based on upcoming information
Integration - AnswersConnections are made between different pieces of information, and an
overall pattern is discovered
