Clinical Skills Assessment

The below questions are intended to help us get a sense of your clinical skills and judgement from a trauma-focused lens. It is not uncommon for us to see these types of issues arise from clients we work with at Sustainable Wellness. There may be more than one way to respond to some of these questions. We are most interested in understanding how and why you came to your decision, and also where some of your strengths and struggles may be if you are hired at our practice. You may be further asked about your responses in an interview.

First name

Last name

What job are you applying to?

You are meeting with a new client for an intake session. The client reports coming to therapy to work on childhood trauma then proceeds to start talking in detail about their trauma history without waiting for your next prompt. How do you respond and why?

How would you describe the relationship between stabilization and processing when it comes to trauma work?

A client becomes emotionally dysregulated in your office. The client denies suicidal / self harm risk, though it's clear they are not grounded. You have another session starting in 10 minutes. How do you proceed?

Describe a time you experienced transference/countertransference and how you handled it. Please include ways in which countertransference can impact your work.

You notice that one of your motivated clients shuts down / has a difficult time staying present each time you discuss emotionally overwhelming topics. What might be happening for this client and how would you work through it?