NBCC NCE-ABE - National Counselor Examination

In the Research and Program Evaluation core area, CACREP emphasizes knowledge of quantitative methods, including the use of regression techniques, correlations, and appropriate statistical procedures.

Multiple regression is a statistical technique used when there is one dependent (criterion) variable and two or more independent (predictor) variables. It estimates how well the set of independent variables predicts or explains variance in the dependent variable and provides coefficients indicating the strength and direction of each relationship.

Stratified sampling is a sampling method, not a statistical technique for analyzing relationships.

Chi-square tests are used primarily for categorical data, examining associations between variables, but do not involve multiple predictors predicting one continuous dependent variable in the same way as multiple regression.

Point-biserial correlation measures the relationship between one continuous and one dichotomous variable, not between multiple independent variables and one dependent variable.

Thus, the method that specifically examines the relationship between one dependent variable and multiple independent variables is A. Multiple regression.

Under Counseling and Helping Relationships, CACREP emphasizes treatment planning that:

Flows from the diagnosis and presenting problems, and

Includes long-term goals focused on improving overall functioning, with short-term objectives that support those goals.

For generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), diagnostic criteria emphasize excessive, persistent anxiety and worry that cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Therefore, the primary long-term goal should focus on reducing impairment in daily life:

Option D (“Reduce frequency of anxiety so that daily routines are not interrupted or impaired”) directly addresses the functional impact of GAD and is appropriately broad and long-term.

The other options are more like short-term objectives or specific interventions:

A (attending group counseling) is a means or method, not the central functional outcome.

B (learning one or two strategies to reduce bouts of anxiety) is a concrete short-term skill-building objective.

C (listening to relaxing music) is a specific coping strategy, not a long-term treatment goal.

Thus, the best primary long-term goal for a client with GAD is to reduce anxiety so that it no longer disrupts daily routines, making D the correct answer.

In the Counseling and Helping Relationships core area, CACREP emphasizes that effective counseling begins with a thorough assessment and case conceptualization. Treatment planning is guided first by:

A comprehensive assessment of the client’s concerns, functioning, and context

A case analysis that organizes this information into a coherent understanding

Clarification of overall (long-term) objectives based on this understanding

Only after this foundation is established should the counselor move into specific, client-centered treatment goals and interventions.

Option D (establishing client-specific short- and long-term goals) is essential, but those goals must be derived from a clear case analysis and assessment.

Option A (availability of resources) and Option B (relationship) are important practical and relational factors, but they are not the primary conceptual guide for what the treatment plan should target.

Thus, the first guiding factor in treatment planning is C. Detailed case analysis, assessment, and long-term objectives.

Within the Assessment and Testing core area, counselors are expected to understand and correctly use basic statistical concepts, including measures of central tendency and variability.

The median is defined as the score that divides a distribution into two equal halves, with 50% of the scores falling above it and 50% below it. This is exactly what the question is asking: the value that separates the top half of the scores from the bottom half.

The mode is the most frequently occurring score in a distribution and does not necessarily divide the distribution into equal halves.

The mean is the arithmetic average of the scores and can be influenced by extreme scores; it does not, by definition, guarantee that half the scores are above and half below.

The semi-interquartile range is a measure of variability (spread), not a measure of central tendency. It represents half the distance between the first and third quartiles.

Because the median is the statistic that separates the upper 50% of scores from the lower 50%, A (Median) is the correct answer.

This question draws on both Social and Cultural Diversity and Counseling and Helping Relationships core areas. Counselors are expected to:

Demonstrate cultural sensitivity and responsiveness with clients from marginalized groups, including transgender clients.

Respond to potential bias, discrimination, or microaggressions in ways that prioritize the client’s safety, dignity, and emotional experience.

Use empathic, client-centered responses to explore feelings before problem-solving or taking action.

Option analysis:

A. “I’ll help you file a complaint…” – Advocacy and support may be appropriate later, but jumping straight to action skips the crucial step of understanding the client’s internal experience.

B. “What feelings came up for you when your advisor told you that?” – This response is client-centered and explores the student’s emotional reaction to a potentially discriminatory event. It aligns with core counseling skills and multicultural competence, making it the best initial response.

C. “How do you think that being transgender would negatively impact your career choice?” – This subtly assumes that being transgender is a negative factor and risks reinforcing stigma, which is contrary to multicultural and ethical principles.

D. “You need to do what is best for you regardless of what your advisor says.” – This is advice-giving and bypasses exploration of feelings, context, and potential systemic issues.

Because the first task in a counseling relationship—especially around identity and discrimination—is to understand and validate the client’s emotional experience, Option B is the most appropriate initial response.

In the Counseling and Helping Relationships core area, systemic and family counseling approaches emphasize that:

A family is a system, and problems (such as parental conflict and stepfamily tension) are best understood by observing the entire system interacting.

Early sessions often focus on joining with the whole family, clarifying roles, boundaries, and interaction patterns, especially in blended families where alliances and loyalties can be complex.

Option B, seeing the family as a whole in the first session, allows the counselor to:

Directly observe parent–child and stepparent–stepchild interactions,

Hear each member’s perspective on the arguing and its impact,

Begin to restructure communication and set shared goals collaboratively.

The other options fragment the system:

A (see each child separately) misses the systemic interaction at the heart of the complaint.

C (see parents together) may be useful later but does not initially address how the conflict is affecting the children or the overall family dynamics.

D (each parent with their stepchildren) reinforces existing divisions and alliances rather than treating the family as a single integrated system.

Therefore, B is the most appropriate first-session technique for this blended family issue.

In the Group Counseling and Group Work core area, CACREP emphasizes the importance of group leadership skills, including self-awareness, emotional regulation, and the impact of the leader on group dynamics.

A central principle is that affect in groups is contagious:

When leaders are visibly anxious and do not manage or contain that anxiety, members often mirror or absorb it, leading to increased tension, defensiveness, or withdrawal.

Effective leaders are aware of their own emotional reactions and manage them so the group environment remains safe, stable, and facilitative of growth.

While:

Ethical and professional standards (option A) do require competence and self-monitoring, the primary reason in group dynamics terms is the direct effect on members.

Option C (improving cohesion and effectiveness) is a positive outcome but is more general and indirect.

Option D (member expectations) may be true, but expectations alone are not the main professional rationale.

The most direct and group-dynamics–based reason is B. Their anxiety can increase that of members.

In the Counseling and Helping Relationships core area, CACREP identifies basic counseling skills such as paraphrasing, reflecting feeling, summarizing, and using empathy.

Summarization pulls together several client statements over time, capturing multiple pieces of content and associated feelings, and then checking for accuracy.

In the statement given, the counselor:

Integrates several experiences (setting boundaries, explaining maternity leave, fielding questions).

Reflects the emotional tone (tired of colleagues’ behaviors, not feeling they’re meeting her halfway).

Ends with a checking-for-accuracy question (“Am I understanding that correctly?”).

This is characteristic of summarization, not just a brief paraphrase of one point.

Additive empathy would involve going beyond what has been stated and offering a deeper interpretation not yet voiced by the client. Reflection of meaning focuses more on deeper values and life meaning. Paraphrasing is shorter and usually focuses on just one main idea.

Because the counselor is organizing and restating multiple themes and feelings in a concise way, the best skill label in line with NCE content is C. Summarization.

In the Research and Program Evaluation core area, CACREP includes knowledge of qualitative research methods, including ethnography.

Ethnography is a qualitative approach in which the researcher studies a culture-sharing group (e.g., a community, organization, or subgroup) over time, focusing on patterns of group behavior, interactions, beliefs, and meanings in their natural context.

The emphasis is on understanding how groups function and behave, often through participant observation and in-depth immersion.

Storytelling (B) and critical tales (C) can be narrative products of qualitative work, and hermeneutic design (D) refers more broadly to interpretive approaches. But ethnography is most centrally concerned with the systematic study of group behavior and culture, making A the correct choice.

UESTION NO: 187 [Career Development]

What is true about group career counseling?

A. It works best if all members are interested in the same career path.

B. It allows members to learn and support each other's career exploration.

C. It should be focused on overcoming the storming phase.

D. It should be based on individual assessments.

Answer: B

Within the Career Development core area, group career counseling is recognized as an effective method because it promotes peer learning, mutual support, and normalization of career concerns. Members share information, experiences, and perspectives, which can broaden each person’s understanding of options and strategies. This is exactly what option B describes—group members learning from and supporting one another’s exploration.

Option A is incorrect because groups do not need to share the same career goal; diversity of interests can enrich the group process.

Option C confuses general group development stages with the purpose of career groups; storming is not the focus of career counseling.

Option D overemphasizes individual assessment; while individual data can be included, group career counseling is not “based on” individual assessment alone, but on shared exploration and interaction.

In Counseling and Helping Relationships, especially in systemic and family counseling, Minuchin’s structural family therapy focuses on:

Family structure (patterns of interaction),

Subsystems,

Boundaries,

Rules and norms that govern behavior.

The “standards that govern behavior” in a family—what is acceptable, expected, or prohibited—are best described as family norms (Option B). These norms shape how members interact, how power is distributed, and how roles are carried out.

Family hierarchy (D) is one important aspect of structure (who has authority over whom), but the broader phrase “standards that govern behavior” aligns more directly with norms and rules across the whole family system.

Genetics (A) and socioeconomic status (C) may influence the family, but they are not Minuchin’s primary explanatory construct for behavioral standards.

Thus, B. Family norms is the best answer.