Encyclopedia of Counseling (Volume 1)

I just learned yesterday that I passed the exam, with a score slightly above average. However, I agree with a previous review as far as having taken the test this April 2013. It was an absolute SHOCK to sit down and open that exam booklet and find questions/material that seemed so way in left field from what I had studied that I literally checked the front of the exam booklet 3 times to make sure I was taking the right exam. However, I don't believe it is the fault of the study guide, nor do I think any study guide ALONE can completely prepare you for this "nuanced" exam. I will break up my experience in an organized fashion to leave as helpful a review as possible...as I sure scoured the internet to get an idea of what I was in for prior to mine.My background:It has been 5 years since I graduated with my Masters in Counseling & Education. My specialty is Career Counseling and I have continued to work in that field. I was rusty on specifics regarding theorists/theories, research/assessment and statistics/data. I do of course use theories and assessments in my work...but there are many that I have not used or forgotten details about since grad school. I have 2 children under the age of 3 and I work part time from home so to say I am pressed for time is an understatement. I studied pretty much faithfully every night for a good 2 hours (some days squeezing some more review in during a nap or down time in the car). This was for 3 months leading up to the exam. I was scoring in the high 80% and low 90% percent based on all my practice questions whereas in the actual exam my score was roughly 76%.Materials I used to study:I got this book, along with the official NBCC NCE exam prep booklet. I also used every practice question and flash card I could find on the internet. I Googled like a madwomen and found several free practice tests (including Linton Hutchinson's free ones), used Quizlet and Flashcard Exchange, and watched You Tube videos. I did not go over my textbooks or notes because the information is way too vast....so my strategy was to stick close to Rosenthal's book. I literally ready the ENTIRE Rosenthal book 3 times and quizzed myself on all the sections every single time.My review of the study materials:Even though the test really threw me....I am fairly certain I would have failed had it not been for Rosenthals book. It was a very organized way to study and verify all of the other study materials I was finding online. I would skip the official NBCC NCE prep book, it was the least helpful surprisingly. Flashcard sites may not be accurate because you are relying on what others have created, so use those once you are comfortable enough to spot a mistake/discrepancy. The other free online sources I mentioned were helpful to test myself, but not as thorough or plentiful as Rosenthals book. There is just so much that I have forgotten since grad school about specific names of theorists, their theories, the names of various laws, bits of history, assessments, etc. In addition, there was a ton of information that I do not recall ever having studied in my program...which is feasible even though my program did teach all CACREP areas.My advice:The reason that the exam throws you is that there are not very many questions that are asked in a DIRECT format similar to the practice questions such as which theorist believed "x", though there are SOME which provide a much needed mental break while you take the exam. Most questions are asked in a longer format which places you in a counseling situation and forces you to use your "street" knowledge as a counselor to choose THE BEST answer...which requires knowledge of everything you studied, but is still so hard when you over think like I do. I could always narrow it down to 2 of the 4 choices but then I could so easily argue why those last 2 could both be right. In addition, there are 40 questions that are being "field tested" and do not count against you if you answer them incorrectly....but let me tell you that they are painful in the sense that I think I may have known when I ran into some of them because the answer choices were WAAAAAY too close to feel confident that you were picking the right one. For instance the difference between "blue" and "azure". It is torture feeling like you are answering incorrectly in these cases, and I made liberal use of the portion of the test where you can write in questions/confusions about various items. I was aware of the above, and am no lightweight when it comes to studying, and consider myself an annoying perfectionist when it comes to scholarly achievement (if not a little distracted by motherhood)and a confident and experienced counselor ...still I felt a little blind-sided sitting down for that exam though there are no trick questions. My best advice would be to use Rosenthals book as the main course, then utilize all the other resources I mentioned....and pay for other prep if you wanted added insurance/testing/confidence (I would have paid for Linton Hutchinson's next but I had already spent a lot all expenses combined for the exam). Then just take a deep breath and go for it. The studying and your own knowledge as a counselor combined will hopefully get you there.I sincerely wish you all the best of luck on your exam!

In the fall of 2014, I purchased 1) Pearson's Mastering the National Counselor Examination and the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (2011) AND 2)Helwig's Study Guide for the National Counselor Examination and CPCE (6th Ed) AND 3)Rosenthal's Encyclopedia of Counseling 3rd Ed/15th Anniv Edition by Rosenthal.At that time, I knew the following summer/early fall, I would be testing. My coursework was mostly completed in 2003 but needed 4 (16 hours) more courses according to the state for LPC licensure. Following the 2 semesters of additional coursework, I began to study intensely in early July 2015 for a August 8th test date. I first started with Rosenthal's. As a visual and kinesthetic learner, I highlighted the book and took separate notes on paper for information I did NOT know, severely forgotten, etc. After collating the information (set it up on a spreadsheet, typed etc (made the information more manageable (fewer pages and neater) which also provided another review as I typed), I compared my information to Helwig's. There were small discrepancies (ex. how many traits did Guilford really come up with? 120? or 180?) between the texts. This made me annoyed and anxious but not enough to throw either away. The majority of the information was the same. The difference was the style in how they were written. Rosenthal's is conversational and encourages mnemonic devices. He also does this spiral thing over the material where he will revisit it, allowing you to build confidence and check your progress. Helwig's book is set up in an outline form and only gives you the basic points which allows you to focus on only what you don't know. One could be an excellent "skimmer" and use Helwig's in a more practical way. In order to get the most out of Rosenthal, you have to read the entire book. After reviewing Helwig with condensed Rosenthal notes, I moved on to Pearson's. I read 1-2 chapters and decided that it was making me more anxious and overwhelmed. I did not utilize the book and would not recommend it. Although, initially I DID like the 5 questions after each small section which also allows you to review and check your progress, after a few sets of those, I realized that worrying over getting the right answers to those questions, for me at least, was futile. Also, the pool of knowledge that the actual exam covers is IMMENSE. So, there is no way to know if the questions are actually helping you. The sets of 5 questions did not build my confidence, and I think after taking the NCE, it could give one a false sense of confidence. (I am also the same person who did not get much benefit from all those practice ACT tests. I am better off, reviewing and practicing the material and making connections to the concepts, etc.)So, you ask, how did I do? Today was my test. I scored (according to the NBCC 2012 normed stats) +1 SD above the mean. In other words, I did very well. If you were my best friend, I would tell you to choose between your preference of learning/studying as I described Rosenthal and Helwig and only buy the one. I would tell you that on the day of the test, you sit down and write down the things you think you will miss or information you think might forget as you test (for instance, I immediately drew out Gauss' bell shaped curve with all the different standardized scores (T, stanines, etc)), and I would say that reviewing daily up until test day is better than cramming. Good luck!

Came on time & is informative- great for my uni course!