How will the right answer fit in terms of support and conclusion?

Only the right answer will be support that must be true if the conclusion is true. It will also work to say only the right answer will be support for the conclusion that doesn’t bring in anything new.

Highlight the main conclusion in the passage, if there is one:

to help the patient heal, the psychotherapist must focus on the need for positive change in those relationships.

Psychotherapist: [BACKGROUND]; rather, [SUPPORT]. Hence, [CONCLUSION].

The word “must” in the conclusion wants to grab your attention. That means the author is claiming there’s a necessary condition. They’re basically saying it’s a rule: if you want to help the patient, then you have to focus on positive change in relationships. That would mean there is absolutely no other way to help the patient heal. Of course the support isn’t that strong. The right answer is gonna call that out.

Map the wording of the answers to the wording of the passage:

(A) …unless those patients focus on other people’s troubles.

The author never mentions or references “other people’s troubles”. The conclusion is only about helping “the patient”, not anyone else.

(B) …cannot be healed if a psychotherapist helps them…

Wait, what? That’s backwards. If this said they can’t heal if a therapist does NOT help them, then we might be in business. But this doesn’t make any sense. Healing with help from a therapist is the subject of the conclusion.

(C) …who change their relationships…will thereby find relief.

This is wrong on two counts. First, “change” isn’t specific enough, since the passage says it has to be “positive change”. Also, it doesn’t say the change will guarantee relief, it says it’s required for relief. You’re a lawyer, so you know the difference between sufficient conditions (which guarantee things) and necessary conditions (which give requirements).

(D) …solely by addressing the internal causes…

Boom. You should recognize this is another way of saying, ‘there’s no other way to help a patient heal than the way the author says in the conclusion’. If the “must” statement the author made is true, this would absolutely have to be true too.

(E) …thereby provides them the relief they seek.

If this is true, then the conclusion would be wrong to say they “must focus” on relationships. A required assumption never disagrees with the conclusion like that.

(D) is the correct answer.