National Counselor Examination (NCE) — All Questions

In Rogers's account of the therapeutic relationship, congruence refers to the counselor:

• a.agreeing with the client's view of every situation
• b.holding the client to consistent rules
• c.matching the client's mood and energy level
• d.being genuine, with no facade✓

Rogers (1957) described congruence, or genuineness, as the therapist being a unified, integrated person in the relationship, with no facade between inner experience and outward expression. It does not mean agreeing with the client, mirroring mood, or enforcing rules.

A client admits to cheating on his partner. Showing unconditional positive regard would mean the counselor:

• a.accepts him as a person without conditions of worth✓
• b.withholds warmth until the client changes
• c.avoids the topic to keep the session positive
• d.approves of the cheating so the working relationship is not damaged

Rogers described unconditional positive regard as warm acceptance of the client as a person, without conditions of worth; it is not approval of every behavior. Endorsing the behavior, making warmth conditional, and avoiding the topic all misread the concept.

Rogers described accurate empathy as sensing the client's private world:

• a.by comparing it to other clients with similar problems
• b.exactly as the counselor would feel if the same thing happened to her
• c.by feeling the same emotions at the same intensity
• d.as if it were one's own, without losing the "as if" quality✓

Rogers (1957) wrote that empathy is sensing the client's private world as if it were your own, but without ever losing the "as if" quality. Substituting the counselor's own reaction, merging with the client's emotions, or comparing to other clients departs from that definition.

A client says, "I studied for weeks and still didn't get the promotion. I don't know why I bother." Which response would be rated Level 3 (interchangeable) on Carkhuff's empathy scale?

• a."You're discouraged because all that effort didn't pay off."✓
• b."Did you ask your manager why you were passed over?"
• c."You're discouraged, and maybe also wondering if this job fits who you want to be."
• d."Promotions are often political, so don't take it personally."

On Carkhuff's five-level scale, Level 3 is interchangeable: it reflects essentially the same feeling and meaning the client expressed. Reassurance and a factual question detract from the client's message (below Level 3), while the response adding a new meaning about job fit goes beyond what was said, an additive response above Level 3.

A counselor notices she feels unusually protective and irritable with a client whose situation resembles her own painful divorce. This is best described as:

• a.parallel process
• b.countertransference✓
• c.transference
• d.empathic attunement

Countertransference is the counselor's emotional reaction to a client, often shaped by the counselor's own history; awareness of self and impact on clients is an NCE core attribute, and supervision or consultation helps manage it. Transference is the client's reaction to the counselor, empathic attunement is accurate sensing of the client's feelings, and parallel process refers to dynamics mirrored between counseling and supervision.

In a grief group, a member says with relief, "I thought I was the only one who felt angry at my husband for dying." Which of Yalom's therapeutic factors is operating?

• a.Catharsis
• b.Imparting information
• c.Altruism
• d.Universality✓

Yalom's universality is the discovery that others share similar problems and feelings, relieving the sense of being uniquely alone. Altruism is gaining self-esteem through helping others, catharsis is emotional release, and imparting information is direct teaching or advice.

A new member of a recovery group feels encouraged after hearing a member with two years of sobriety describe how she got there. Which therapeutic factor is this?

• a.Existential factors
• b.Corrective recapitulation of the family
• c.Universality
• d.Instillation of hope✓

Instilling hope occurs when members see others who have progressed, which encourages them to persist; TIP 41 gives exactly this example. Universality is realizing others share one's problems, corrective recapitulation revisits family conflicts in the group, and existential factors involve facing hard truths about life and responsibility.

A counselor's religious beliefs conflict with a client's goal of strengthening her same-sex relationship. According to the ACA Code of Ethics, what should the counselor do?

• a.Refer the client elsewhere because of the value conflict
• b.Share the belief so the client can make an informed choice
• c.Encourage the client to reconsider the relationship
• d.Avoid imposing personal values; seek training✓

ACA Code A.4.b directs counselors to avoid imposing their own values and to seek training in areas where they are at risk of doing so, especially when their values are inconsistent with the client's goals. A.11.b states that counselors refrain from referring clients based solely on personal values, and C.5 bars discrimination based on sexual orientation.

A counselor assumes that her own cultural view of family, independence, and emotional expression is the healthy standard for every client. Wrenn called this:

• a.cultural relativism
• b.acculturative stress
• c.cultural encapsulation✓
• d.cultural humility

Wrenn (1962) described the culturally encapsulated counselor as one who treats his or her own cultural assumptions as universal and ignores cultural variation. Cultural humility is the opposite stance of openness and self-critique, acculturative stress is strain experienced by a person adapting to a new culture, and cultural relativism is the view that behavior should be understood within its own cultural context, the opposite of treating one culture as the universal standard.

Egan's SOLER guideline for attending behavior includes which of the following?

• a.Cross arms to show boundaries
• b.Sit behind a desk to signal role
• c.Look away often to reduce pressure
• d.Lean slightly toward the client✓

Egan's SOLER stands for facing the client Squarely, adopting an Open posture, Leaning toward the client, maintaining good Eye contact, and being Relaxed. Frequent looking away, crossed arms, and a desk barrier are the opposite of the open, engaged posture SOLER describes.