By the end of the first counseling session, a DSM diagnosis is often recorded and goals are established. The session is likely to be

By the end of the first counseling session, a DSM diagnosis is often recorded and goals are established. The session is likely to be

• A. Insight Oriented and Long Term
• B. Stopgap and Less Effective
• C. Brief Therapy Focused and Intermittent
• D. Relationship and Counselor Oriented

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is that the initial counseling session is typically an intake that quickly identifies presenting problems, records a provisional DSM diagnosis if appropriate, and sets concrete goals to guide a short, structured treatment plan. This leads to a brief, focused approach with follow-up sessions that are intermittent rather than a long, ongoing, open-ended process. So, describing the session as brief therapy focused and intermittent best matches the usual aim of using the first session to diagnose and establish actionable goals within a time-limited framework. Why the other descriptions don’t fit as well: an insight-oriented, long-term frame implies deep exploration and extended therapy without the immediate plan or time limit often established early on; stopgap and less effective suggests a casual fix rather than a formal, goal-driven treatment plan; relationship and counselor oriented emphasizes the therapeutic relationship more than the structured, goal-focused timing and diagnosis that typically characterize the first session.

The main idea here is that the initial counseling session is typically an intake that quickly identifies presenting problems, records a provisional DSM diagnosis if appropriate, and sets concrete goals to guide a short, structured treatment plan. This leads to a brief, focused approach with follow-up sessions that are intermittent rather than a long, ongoing, open-ended process. So, describing the session as brief therapy focused and intermittent best matches the usual aim of using the first session to diagnose and establish actionable goals within a time-limited framework.

Why the other descriptions don’t fit as well: an insight-oriented, long-term frame implies deep exploration and extended therapy without the immediate plan or time limit often established early on; stopgap and less effective suggests a casual fix rather than a formal, goal-driven treatment plan; relationship and counselor oriented emphasizes the therapeutic relationship more than the structured, goal-focused timing and diagnosis that typically characterize the first session.