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NCE - National Counselor Exam Practice Test

Take this free NCE practice test to study for your National Counselor Exam.

Once you pass the NCE, you can become a National Certified Counselor (NCC), a credential offered by The National Board for Certified Counselors. Some states require counselors to become certifed or licensed. The content outline of the NCE covers multiple domains and common core areas, such as assessment and diagnosis, counseling techniques, group counseling and career counseling and professional ethics.

When you are ready to prepare for the actual test, try our full-length 800 question NCE Practice Exam that includes online flash cards, exam review and a 50 state guide.  It is written by counseling experts and instructors. Our interactive test platform allows you to simulate the exam. Take as many practice tests as you need. There's no time limit or recurrent charges.

For more information on the NCE, including detailed information on the domains and common core areas the test covers, see the NCE Study Guide.

If you are looking for additional test prep after taking the below NCE Practice Test, here's another free NCE Practice Exam.

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1 A counselor intensifies a client's emotional state to show the client the irrationality of her emotional reaction.  What is this technique known as?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Victor Frankl developed the technique of Paradoxical intention and used it with clients who had severe anxiety.  Transactional-Analysis is used by psychoanalysts to help clients determine their ego states in order to understand behavior.  For behavior change, therapists help clients alter the state of their ego (parent, child, or adult-like).  Systematic Desensitization is a behavioral therapy technique developed by Wolpe to help clients overcome phobias.

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2 Despite its age, Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development is still in widespread use. Which of the following is the final level in the theory?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Principled thought comes after moving through the 6th stage, which Kohlberg believed few people actually reached.  Self-actualization is the highest level of development one can reach according to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
3 Which of the following interventions is not commonly used in Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Interpersonal Therapy is a short term, solution focused treatment mainly for clients who have depression.  The ABC Model is a cognitive behavioral therapy technique developed by Albert Ellis to use when clients hold irrational beliefs.  
4 Members of a counseling group that score high in authoritarianism also tend to score high in independence.
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Authoritarianism values strict obedience to authority, even if personal freedom is sacrificed, which is contrary to independence.
5 If a child is learning to use abstract concepts, which of Piaget's stages is she in?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Typically around the age of 11 or 12, children are moving into the Formal Operational Stage where they are learning to think about abstract concepts.  The Concrete Operational Stage is characterized by applying logic.
6 Approximately how old is the child in question 5?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Children typically move into the Formal Operational Stage around the age of 11 or 12.
7 If someone is thinking about committing suicide, asking them whether they are thinking about suicide will not cause them to commit suicide.
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Research shows that talking about suicide does not increase the likelihood of someone committing suicide. Talking about suicide and educating people about it can be one of the most effective ways of preventing it from happening.
8 Under which of the following circumstances is it not okay to break patient confidentiality?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
The patient's employer has no right to request information he or she shared in a confidential session with a therapist, even if it is through the Employee Assistance Program.  Therapists are required to break confidentiality when someone's safety is at risk.  Courts can subpoena charts, which is why therapists should be careful about taking notes during sessions.
9 You are using the ABC model of cognitive therapy. Which model are you trying to promote in your clients after a negative event?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Albert Ellis developed the ABC model to help replace unhealthy, irrational beliefs with rational ones following a negative event.
10 Carl Jung's Theory of Archetypes is still very influential, and several of them are listed below. Choose the one that is not correct.
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
The Shadow represents sex and life instincts and consists of repressed ideas and desires.  The Hero represents a champion defender. The Wise Old Woman is helpful and a symbol of female nature.

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11 The mean, median and mode are not at the same point on a normal curve.
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
The normal curve is symmetrical. Therefore, there's an equal number of values greater and lower than the peak, which then average out to be the mode, median and mean.
12 Which of the following kinds of therapy seeks to help clients find their answers to questions such as: Why am I here? Is this all there is? Why do people suffer?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
 Existential therapy centers on the client, rather than the symptom, in its focus on free will, self-determination, and the search for meaning.  It is not client-centered therapy because in this approach, therapists allow the clients to steer the conversation in an effort to get them to better understand themselves and others.  Cognitive behavioral therapy tries to treat problems and boost happiness by modifying emotions, behaviors, and thoughts.  Holistic health therapy focuses on integrating the body, mind, spirit, and emotions.
13 A client is 35. She is married, has two kids and is working on a big promotion at work. She is focused entirely on her family and career. Which of Erickson's Stages of Psychosocial Development is she in?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
In the Generativity vs. Stagnation stage, people are focused on contributing to the next generation (the client produced 2 offspring) and to society (the client's meaningful career).  Industry vs. Inferiority occurs during the elementary school years and Integrity vs. Despair during late adulthood.  It is not Intimacy vs. Isolation because she has gone beyond sharing her life with one other person.
14 Crites is the researcher that first described the concept of "career maturity."
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Career maturity was first mentioned by Donald Super and is the degree to which people are prepared to make good educational and vocational choices.  Crites created the Career Maturity Inventory based on Donald Super's theory of career development.
15 A dog is trained to salivate at the ringing of a bell. What form of conditioning is this?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Classical conditioning occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired. In this case, the two stimuli were the ringing of the bell and the treat.  Operant conditioning occurs when there are rewards and punishments associated with learning.  Reinforcement is a term associated with operant conditioning.
16 All humans have a five-stage sleep cycle and all cycle through the stages in the same order. Choose the correct sequence.
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Sleep does not progress through all of these stages in sequence, however. Sleep begins in Stage One and progresses into stages Two, Three, and Four. Then, after Stage Four sleep, Stages Three, then Two are repeated before going into REM sleep. Once REM is over, we usually return to Stage Two sleep. Sleep cycles through these stages approximately 4 or 5 times throughout the night.
17 The "fields and levels" approach to group career counseling uses one of the theories developed by which famous theorist?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Roe's theory consists of 8 fields (Service, Business Contact, Organization, Technology, Outdoor, Science, General Culture, and Arts & Entertainment) and 6 levels (professional and managerial, levels 1 and 2; semiprofessional and small business, level 3; skilled, level 4; semiskilled, level 5; and unskilled, level 6).  Carl Jung founded analytical psychology.  Holland created the Holland Codes including Realistic, Investigative, Artisitic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional (RIASEC).
18 What traits originate in the cerebral cortex?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
The cerebral cortex is the most highly developed section of the brain and is responsible for these advanced skills.
19 A conditioned association is not a learned association.
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
In operant conditioning, therapists believe the reaction to an object or event can be modified by learning, or conditioning.
20 What type of partial reinforcement produces the best response to stimuli?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
A variable ratio schedule is when a reward occurs after an unpredictable amount of responses and typically provides a high rate of response.  A fixed ratio schedule occurs when a response is reinforced after a set number of responses.  Fixed interval schedules reinforce the response only after a certain amount of time has passed.  Variable interval schedules reinforce the response after an unpredictable amount of time has gone by.

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21 The archetype of the "Shadow" encompasses which of the following?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Carl Jung believed the “Shadow” represented the dark side of someone's personality.
22 A counselor that decides his consultancy fee job-by-job instead of setting a standard rate is using a variable-ratio reinforcement schedule.
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
A variable ratio schedule is when a reward occurs after an unpredictable amount of responses and typically provides a high rate of response.  The counselor's rate is unpredictable from one job to the next.  A fixed ratio schedule occurs when a response is reinforced after a set number of responses.  Fixed interval schedules reinforce the response only after a certain amount of time has passed.  Variable interval schedules reinforce the response after an unpredictable amount of time has gone by.
23 Some counseling methods are "product-oriented," while others are "process-oriented." Which of the following is more interested in the product than the process?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Behavioral counseling focuses on changing the client's behavior.  Transactional-analysis, developed by Berne, focuses on interactions between people and communication is very important.  In this theory, it is believed that within each person, there are 3 altered ego stages- the parent, the adult, and the child.  In Client-centered, developed by Carl Rogers, the process is the focus and often guided by the client. 
24 Which type of memory retrieval requires a person to reconstruct a memory?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Memories are stored in the brain's hippocampus and recollection occurs when a person needs to reconstruct a memory.  Each time a person reminisces about an experience, that memory is strengthened.  Recall designates that specific details be retrieved through memory.  Recognition is the ability to recognize previously encountered people, events, or objects.
25 Behavioral reinforcers always raise behavioral probability.
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
The purpose of reinforcers is to increase the likelihood that a specific behavior will occur following a stimulus.
26 What is one of the most important hallmarks of the Formal Operations stage of cognitive development?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
The Formal Operational stage is the last of Piaget's stages, beginning in early adolescence and lasting until adulthood, and is characterized by abstract concepts.
27 What will the standard error of measurement tell you about a test?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Standard error of measurement estimates how an individual's scores would fall if given the same assessment over a period of time.  Validity is one of the most important criteria for determining the quality of a test and refers to if the test is measuring what it claims to measure.  
28 The four lobes of the human brain are each responsible for handling different tasks. Which of these lobes is responsible for processing tactile sensory information?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
The Parietal Lobe processes information temperature, taste, touch, and movement.  The Occipital Lobe is responsible for vision, while the Frontal Lobe's main jobs include cognitive functions and voluntary movement.  The Temporal Lobe processes memory and connects them with our senses.
29 Which of the following would not be a part of a standard first counseling session with a therapist who was practicing client-centered counseling?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
A large focus of client-centered counseling is discussion, often guided by the client. 
30 If a counselor's role changes from a nonforensic evaluative role to a therapeutic role, the client must be informed of the change as a matter of __________________.
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Informed consent is a process of getting permission before conducting a healthcare intervention on a person. Informed consent needs to occur before treatment.
31 Who developed the technique of paradoxical intention?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Victor Frankl developed the technique of paradoxical intention and used it with clients who had severe anxiety. Systematic desensitization is a behavioral therapy technique developed by Wolpe to help clients overcome phobias. 

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32 John and Carol took the same test. John got a score of 87 and Carol got a score of 73. To determine if the differences in scores is the result of chance, a counselor would need to know which of the following characteristics of the test?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Standard error of measurement estimates where an individual's scores would fall if given the same assessment over a period of time.  Standard error of the mean is the variability of the sample means while standard deviation is a measure telling the amount of variation of a set of data points. 
33 Who has most extensively researched and described the concept of career maturity?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
While Super first described the concept of career maturity, it was Crites who researched and created the Career Maturity Inventory.  Ginzberg believed the development of the following four factors led to career choice: the reality factor, the influence of the educational process, the emotional factor, and individual values.  Hoyt viewed career education as a composite of activities and experiences designed to prepare and engage individuals in paid or unpaid work during their lives.  Super believed the following stages explained career development: 1. The crystallization stage, ages 14-18 2. Specification stage, ages 18-21 3. Implementation stage, ages 21-24 4. The stabilization stage, ages 24-35 5. Consolidation, age 35 6. Readiness for retirement, age 55.
34 The correct order of Piaget's 4 stages is:
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Piaget was a developmental theorist who believed all people went through the same four stages. The main goals of each stage follow: sensorimotor - object permanence; preoperational - symbolic thought; concrete operational - operational thought; and formal operational - abstract concepts.
35 John Bowlby is associated with:
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Bowlby's work was the beginning of Attachment Theory which describes how the parent-sibling bond/attachment later influences how a person develops. Parsons, Holland, Bandura, and Super are associated with career guidance. Moreno founded psychodrama, also known as the first type of group therapy.
36 Culture can be defined as:
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Culture is a broad term used to describe the social behavior and norms found in human societies and therefore, a, b, and c are all part of the definition. An overly simplified way of thinking about culture is as a way of life for certain groups.
37 Cultural norms:
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
While understanding cultural norms may help you understand the behavior and actions of someone from another culture, thereby making it easier to interact with that person, they do not provide a roadmap showing how to interact.
38 Talking about difficulties to purge them is a curative process known as:
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
While Aristotle was the first to describe catharsis, it was the psychoanalyst Josef Breuer who first used it as a technique. He found that while recalling traumatic experiences under hypnosis, his clients experienced relief after expressing the repressed emotions.
39 Which theorist spoke of social connectedness?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Social connectedness is the measure of how an individual is connected to and takes interest in the well-being of others. Adler believed when people reached a level of social connectedness, they would feel successful and happy. The other theorists mentioned above adhered more toward an individualistic explanation of success and happiness.
40 The difference between open and closed groups is:
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
In closed groups, the group typically ends with the same members it began with. New members are not allowed to join a closed group once the sessions have started, but members are allowed to drop out at any time. Counselors need to screen members for both open and closed groups. In open groups, new members can join in at any time once they've been screened. Regardless of the type of group, confidentiality is always an important aspect so that group members can trust one another and the counselor.

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41 An advantage of having coleaders for a group is:
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
As long as the coleaders get along and adhere to a similar theoretical approach and vision for the group, having coleaders can provide multiple benefits for group members.
42 Which theorist believed a person's personality needs to be congruent with their work environment?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Holland believed that if a person chose to work in an environment congruent with their personality, they would feel happier and more satisfied. The six work environments he identified are: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. Parsons believed careers had to be matched to talents, skills, and personality.
43 Which person is associated with the beginning of the guidance movement?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Frank Parsons is known as the founder of the guidance movement. His talent matching approach was later developed into the Trait and Factor Theory of Occupational Choice. Adler was the founder of individual psychology, Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis, and Ellis was the founder of rational emotive behavior therapy.
44 What does RIASEC stand for?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Career theorist John Holland developed these 6 categories describing different work environments. He believed an individual's personality needed to match their work environment in order to maximize happiness and success.
45 Which is NOT an example of a Computer Assisted Career Guidance System (CACGS)?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
SIGI Plus, Choices, and Discover are all types of CACGS. CACGS is a term used to describe a computer program that combines career assessment, information, and guidance all into one system. Indeed is a popular job search website.
46 Most ethical dilemmas are related to:
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
An ethical dilemma occurs when a counselor feels pulled in two different directions. In surveys of practitioners, confidentiality is one of the top dilemmas reported.
47 One of your clients who is a minor comes into your office with visible bruising and you suspect abuse. You should:
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
It is very important for counselors to follow through with reporting abuse, especially since they are mandated reporters. This is one of the instances when breaking confidentiality is warranted. It is not the counselor's job to get more information from the client in order to try to prove abuse occurred. If a counselor has the suspicion that abuse occurred, they need to report. In some instances, counselors do choose to let the parent know a report had to be made, but that is not required.
48 Which test measures key personality factors?
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
The 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) is a self-report personality test developed using several decades worth of empirical research. Cattell and his associates set out to measure the following personality factors: warmth, intellect, emotional stability, aggressiveness, liveliness, dutifulness, social assertiveness, sensitivity, paranoia, abstractedness, introversion, anxiety, open mindedness, independence, perfectionism, tension. The Myers Briggs Type Inventory is a self-report personality inventory which indicates how people perceive the world and make decisions. The WISC and the WAIS are tests designed to measure cognitive intelligence.

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49 The most valuable type of research is the:
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
The experiment is the most powerful research method because it is the only design that examines a single factor's effect on a particular behavior. Therefore, it is the only method where a direct cause and effect relationship can be established. While correlational studies can show if 2 variables are related and how strong the relationship is, it is important to remember correlation does not equal causation.
50 A man comes to you and has been through a series of traumatic events. You have no training or experience in helping clients overcome trauma. Ethically, you should:
Incorrect. Please choose another answer.
Helping clients work through trauma requires specialized training. If the client is presenting with trauma and it is out of the realm of the counselor's ability to handle, the client should be referred to a qualified professional.

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Quality starts with who wrote the material. Our writers:

Diane Dean, LPC, RN-BC, MA, is a licensed professional counselor and educator with 20 years experience in healthcare. She has taught at many colleges and universities, including the University of Pittsburgh.

Stacy Fruhling, LCPC, LCADC, NCC, MAC, is an adjunct professor in psychology and counseling at the Ann Arundel Community College and the Community College of Baltimore.

Lisa Slade, MS, LPC, NCC, is an adjunct professor in psychology, counseling, sociology and human services at Caldwell University in the Graduate School of Psychology, at the University of Bridgeport and at the Housatonic Community College.

OUR PRACTICE EXAM COVERS THE ACTUAL NCE DOMAINS:
 
The NCE contains 200 multiple-choice, non-sectioned questions. There are different versions of the test. Test questions come from a pool of questions that have been extensively reviewed and researched for content accuracy and clarity.
Below are the six domains tested by the NBCC on the NCE:
 
  • Professional Practice & Ethics
  • Intake Assessment and Diagnosis
  • Areas of Clinical Focus
  • Treatment Planning
  • Counseling Skills and Interventions
  • Core Counseling Attributes
 
Covering the eight CACREP Common Core Areas:
 
  • Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical Practice
  • Social and Cultural Diversity
  • Human Growth and Development
  • Career Development
  • Counseling and Helping Relationships
  • Group Counseling and Group Work
  • Assessment and Testing
  • Research and Program Evaluation
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