NCMHCE Test Coaching
Mental Health Licensure Test Coaching

The mental health counseling exam was developed by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC). There are two versions of tests used for mental health counselors throughout the United States. The NCE (National Counselor Examination) is a standardized 200 question multiple choice examination. The National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) is based on ten accumulating vignette simulations in which the candidate must formulate an understanding and action plan from intake through discharge of the client. The domains reviewed in the vignette simulations are meant to test the candidate’s ability in all areas from assessment through diagnosis and treatment. All states use one or the other of these examinations. Some states require a specific one, while other states let the candidate choose which examination they prefer. There is currently much discussion about insurance companies beginning to require the NCMHCE as the chosen examination for reimbursement of client services by licensed therapists. Therefore, the NCMHCE has become more of the chosen examination by many states. There is a map on the next page for you to determine which states currently require, although I encourage each candidate to contact their state’s specific licensing board for up-to-the-minute changes in their state.

The NCMHCE can be quite difficult to conquer and requires an understanding of the direction the exam preparers are looking at in the treatment of clients. With scores for each correct answer bringing up to +3 points, and scores for each incorrect answering being weighted as down to -3 points, the test can feel daunting and discouraging.

I have been assisting mental health counseling in passing the exam since 2004 when I began what I coined as “Test Coaching.” At the time of beginning the test coaching service, the only ways to study for the exam was to buy manuals, do on-line simulations, or join large seminars. However, I recognized each person learns in a different way, so began providing three services to choose from based on your specific learning style.

Those services are:

Individual        Small Group          Seminars

One-on-one private sessions. These sessions begin with building a base-line of your specific strengths and areas of need in order to formulate the best use of time studying. This is achieved by taking you through a vignette simulation to learn how and why you choose each answer as correct or incorrect. Once this has been achieved, it is easy to structure our time together to meet your specific areas of need without wasting time on areas of strength. At the end of our first session, together we will have a plan of attack to achieve your ultimate goal of passing the exam including how often/long to meet individually as well as suggestions on studying between our sessions.

Whichever service you choose, elements included are:

• Overview of the test format
   Understanding of how the exam is set up, how to answer questions, and what to expect from the computerized exam.
• Practice Exams
   Numerous vignettes to assist you in becoming comfortable with the format as well as teach you about a variety of populations       and diagnosis that you may not have first-hand experience with.
• The 4 T’s (Traditional Test Taking Techniques)
   Techniques on how traditional tests are scored.
• Test Rules
   These are a list of rules that I have gathered over 13 years of test coaching that are specifics on how the exam preparers score           specific answers.
• DSM-5 Review
   Extensive review of the DSM-5 to teach you specific areas to know for the test as well as utilization of memory strategies.
• Psychological Tests and Assessments Review
   Review of which tests/assessments are used for specific populations and for which areas of need.
• Theories, Techniques, Recommendations
   How to determine which techniques to use for specific populations/diagnosis and what outside referrals/recommendations to make for each.


TIP

Traditional Test Taking Techniques

Read the question and all answers before choosing any answers. Counselors are taught to make quick decisions on directions to take clinical discussions. However, counselors are also taught to be flexible. On the test, those quick decisions can cause candidates to choose an answer impulsively – and then realize an answer a few down on the series of answers is more accurate. So begin each question with a clear head (no pre-diagnosing before gaining all potential information), read all the way through, then begin making your choices.

Testimonies

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