DCD Counselling (DCD Abu Dhabi) exam questions

The DCD Counselling (DCD Abu Dhabi) exam

Regulator

Department of Community Development (DCD), Abu Dhabi - social-care licensing

Format

100 multiple-choice questions in 120 minutes, computer-based

Delivery

Prometric (Prometric.com/ADDCD)

Booking

Apply in TAMM, complete DataFlow verification, then book with your eligibility ID

From DCD's public Professional Certification Exams guide (2022). DCD publishes no pass mark or fee in it; confirm both on your eligibility notice. Dubai counsellors are licensed by the Community Development Authority instead.

From each regulator's own exam pages; anything a regulator does not publish says so. Assessment mode also depends on your licence title, so confirm your route on your eligibility notice.

12 worked Counselling (DCD Abu Dhabi) practice questions

Original exam-style questions from the bank, spread across the blueprint domains. They are not real or recalled exam questions. Try each one, then open the answer for the rationale and reference. None of them appear in the free mock exam, so reading them will not spoil it.

1. Question 1 · Professional Knowledge

   A counsellor invites a client to speak to an empty chair as if a deceased parent were sitting in it, and then to switch chairs and respond. What is the main purpose of this technique?

   1. ATo test the client's memory for childhood events with accuracy
   2. BTo bring unfinished emotional business into awareness now
   3. CTo train the client in assertive communication with strangers
   4. DTo reduce muscle tension through progressive relaxation training
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. To bring unfinished emotional business into awareness now

   The empty chair technique from Gestalt therapy encourages clients to enact dialogues to complete unresolved feelings. It is an experiential method rather than a memory test, social skills drill or relaxation exercise.

   Reference: Corey G, Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 10th ed. (2017)

2. Question 2 · Professional Knowledge

   In a Strange Situation procedure, an infant shows little distress when the mother leaves and avoids her on return. Which attachment style does this suggest?

   1. ASecure
   2. BInsecure-resistant
   3. CInsecure-avoidant
   4. DDisorganised
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. Insecure-avoidant

   Infants with avoidant attachment appear unconcerned at separation and turn away at reunion, reflecting caregivers who are often rejecting of distress. Secure infants seek comfort and settle, resistant infants are angry and hard to soothe, and disorganised infants show contradictory behaviour.

   Reference: Ainsworth MDS et al., Patterns of Attachment (1978)

3. Question 3 · Professional Knowledge

   A counsellor uses enactment so that a mother and son talk to each other in the session instead of to the counsellor, then helps the mother step back from over-involvement. Which model is this?

   1. AStructural family therapy
   2. BBowen family systems therapy
   3. CNarrative therapy
   4. DSolution-focused brief therapy
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: A. Structural family therapy

   Structural therapy uses enactments and boundary-making to change interactions and subsystem boundaries, such as an enmeshed parent and child. Bowen therapy focuses on differentiation, while narrative and solution-focused therapies emphasise stories and exceptions.

   Reference: Minuchin S, Families and Family Therapy (1974)

4. Question 4 · Interpersonal Skills

   A client says she feels the counsellor does not take her seriously. Which immediacy response is most appropriate?

   1. AAcknowledge it, ask what just happened between us and invite feedback
   2. BExplain how long you have worked in this field and list all your qualifications
   3. CSuggest that her feelings come from her relationship with her mother
   4. DMove on to the agenda so that the session is not wasted
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: A. Acknowledge it, ask what just happened between us and invite feedback

   Immediacy addresses what is happening in the relationship and can repair a rupture while strengthening the alliance. Defending credentials, premature interpretation or ignoring it will leave the concern unaddressed.

   Reference: Ivey A, Ivey MB and Zalaquett C, Intentional Interviewing and Counseling, 9th ed. (2018)

5. Question 5 · Interpersonal Skills

   A client says he is very committed to his marriage but has not attended the last three couple sessions. Which statement is the best confrontation of this discrepancy?

   1. AYou are lying about being committed to your marriage, are you not?
   2. BIt seems that you do not respect me or my time at all.
   3. COn one hand you value your marriage, on the other you missed three sessions.
   4. DMost people who miss this many sessions have simply lost interest.
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. On one hand you value your marriage, on the other you missed three sessions.

   Confrontation in the Ivey model presents both sides of a discrepancy without judgement and invites the client to resolve it. Accusation or generalisation provokes defence.

   Reference: Ivey A, Ivey MB and Zalaquett C, Intentional Interviewing and Counseling, 9th ed. (2018)

6. Question 6 · Professional Ethics and Legality

   At the first meeting of a counselling group, a member asks whether everything said will stay in the room. What is the best response?

   1. APromise that no member will ever disclose anything outside the group
   2. BMembers agree to keep confidentiality but it cannot be guaranteed
   3. CSay that confidentiality does not really apply in group settings
   4. DAvoid the subject until a problem actually occurs in the group itself
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. Members agree to keep confidentiality but it cannot be guaranteed

   Group leaders must explain the importance of confidentiality and also that it cannot be guaranteed because members are not bound by professional ethics. Promises or avoidance do not support informed participation.

   Reference: ACA Code of Ethics (2014), Section B.4.a

7. Question 7 · Professional Ethics and Legality

   A counselling intern is seeing a client under supervision. What must the client be told?

   1. ANothing, because supervision is an internal matter for the agency to manage
   2. BOnly that a senior colleague may be consulted now and then in passing
   3. CThat the intern is fully qualified and works completely independently
   4. DThat the intern is in training, who supervises and how information is shared
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: D. That the intern is in training, who supervises and how information is shared

   Clients have the right to know that a trainee is working under supervision, including the supervisor's name and the limits of confidentiality. Withholding it or misrepresenting qualifications breaches honesty and consent.

   Reference: ACA Code of Ethics (2014), Sections F.1.c and F.6.d

8. Question 8 · Professional Ethics and Legality

   A counsellor plans to begin video counselling with a client who lives in another emirate. Which step is most important before the first session?

   1. ARecord all sessions without informing the client, to protect yourself
   2. BRely on the client's email address alone as proof of who she is
   3. CVerify identity and location, agree an emergency plan and use secure technology
   4. DBegin immediately and address any risks only if they actually occur
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. Verify identity and location, agree an emergency plan and use secure technology

   Telecounselling requires attention to identity, current location, emergency contacts and data security, as well as jurisdiction and licensing. Covert recording or leaving risk planning until problems arise falls short of informed practice.

   Reference: ACA Code of Ethics (2014), Section H.2 and H.5

9. Question 9 · Professional Assessment

   A woman presents with a pattern of drinking for 18 months. She has cravings, drinks longer than intended, has failed to cut down, and continues despite relationship problems. She meets five DSM-5-TR criteria. How is her alcohol use disorder rated?

   1. AModerate
   2. BMild
   3. CSevere
   4. DEarly remission
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: A. Moderate

   DSM-5-TR rates alcohol use disorder as mild with 2 to 3 criteria, moderate with 4 to 5 and severe with 6 or more. Remission specifiers require at least three months without criteria other than craving.

   Reference: American Psychiatric Association, DSM-5-TR (2022)

10. Question 10 · Professional Assessment

    A parent reports that her 8-year-old is inattentive in class. For a counsellor to consider ADHD, which requirement must be met?

    1. ASymptoms occur only at school, and began before age 12
    2. BSymptoms started after the child changed schools last term
    3. CSymptoms are fully explained by a recent bereavement
    4. DSymptoms in two or more settings, with onset before age 12
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: D. Symptoms in two or more settings, with onset before age 12

    DSM-5-TR requires several symptoms before age 12 that appear in at least two settings and impair functioning, which helps distinguish ADHD from situational difficulties. Single-setting or clearly reactive symptoms should prompt other explanations.

    Reference: American Psychiatric Association, DSM-5-TR (2022)

11. Question 11 · Cultural Diversity

    A man from India has lived in Abu Dhabi for ten years. He keeps his language and festivals at home but also has friends from many nationalities and takes part in community life. In Berry's model, which acculturation strategy is this?

    1. AAssimilation
    2. BIntegration
    3. CSeparation
    4. DMarginalisation
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. Integration

    Integration involves maintaining one's heritage culture while engaging with the wider society. Assimilation gives up the heritage culture, separation avoids the host society, and marginalisation rejects both.

    Reference: Berry JW, Immigration, Acculturation and Adaptation, Applied Psychology (1997)

12. Question 12 · Fitness to Practice

    Which approach has the best support for reducing counsellor burnout?

    1. AIncreasing caseload so as to improve a sense of effectiveness at work
    2. BRegular supervision, peer support and clear work-life boundaries
    3. CAvoiding discussion of difficult cases in order to stay positive
    4. DWorking extra hours to prevent client crises from developing at all
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. Regular supervision, peer support and clear work-life boundaries

    Burnout risk falls with supportive supervision, peer consultation and sustainable workload and boundaries. Overwork and avoidance tend to worsen exhaustion.

    Reference: Skovholt TM and Trotter-Mathison M, The Resilient Practitioner, 3rd ed. (2016)