National Counselor Examination (NCE) — All Questions

Three years after counseling ended, a former client contacts her counselor and asks him out on a date. Under the ACA Code of Ethics (2014), what applies?

• a.A romantic relationship is permitted once a colleague has approved it
• b.A romantic relationship is permitted because more than 2 years have passed
• c.A romantic relationship is permitted because the former client initiated it
• d.It is prohibited for 5 years after the last professional contact✓

ACA Code A.5.c prohibits sexual and/or romantic relationships with former clients for 5 years following the last professional contact, and even after 5 years the counselor must document forethought about possible exploitation or harm. A 2-year rule does not appear in the ACA Code. Who initiates the contact and a colleague's approval do not lift the prohibition.

A counselor learns that a colleague routinely arrives late to sessions and keeps sloppy notes. No client has been substantially harmed. According to the ACA Code of Ethics, what should the counselor do first?

• a.Take no action until a client is harmed
• b.File a complaint with the state licensing board before speaking to the colleague
• c.Attempt to resolve the concern informally with the colleague✓
• d.Inform the colleague's clients of the problem

ACA Code I.2.a directs counselors who believe a colleague is violating a standard, when substantial harm has not occurred, to first attempt informal resolution with that counselor if feasible and confidentiality allows. A board complaint is the route when harm is substantial or informal resolution fails. Telling the colleague's clients would breach their confidentiality, and waiting for harm ignores the duty in I.2.a. NBCC Code directive 10 likewise calls for reasonable resolution first unless state rules require immediate reporting.

Which condition is required before a counselor may barter under ACA Code standard A.10.e?

• a.The client requests the arrangement✓
• b.The goods offered exceed the value of the usual fee
• c.The terms are kept verbal to protect the client's privacy
• d.The counselor proposes it when fees fall behind

ACA Code A.10.e allows bartering only if it does not result in exploitation or harm, if the client requests it, and if it is an accepted practice among professionals in the community; the agreement is documented in a clear written contract. A counselor-initiated barter to recover fees fails the client-request condition. Keeping terms verbal contradicts the written-contract requirement, and an exchange worth more than the fee invites exploitation.

A client is court-mandated to attend anger management counseling, and the court expects attendance reports. What does the ACA Code require the counselor to do?

• a.Send attendance reports to the court without telling the client
• b.Share session content with the court only if the client fails
• c.Explain in advance what will be shared, and with whom✓
• d.Refuse the referral because mandated clients cannot consent

ACA Code A.2.e requires counselors to discuss the limits of confidentiality with mandated clients and explain what type of information will be shared, and with whom, before counseling begins; the client may refuse services, and the counselor then discusses the consequences of refusing. Reporting without telling the client violates this. Mandated clients are not barred from services, and disclosure terms must be set at the outset rather than decided later.

A counselor licensed in one state wants to provide video counseling to a client who lives in another state. According to the ACA Code of Ethics, whose laws may the counselor be subject to?

• a.Only federal law, because interstate practice is federally governed
• b.Both the counselor's location and the client's residence✓
• c.Only the laws of the state where the counselor is licensed
• d.Only the laws of the state where the video platform is based

ACA Code H.1.b states that counselors using distance counseling may be subject to the laws and regulations of both the counselor's practicing location and the client's place of residence, and must inform clients of pertinent legal rights and limitations across state lines. Neither the counselor's state alone nor the platform's location settles the question, and interstate counseling is not governed by federal law alone.

A competent adult client asks for a copy of her counseling records. Under the ACA Code of Ethics, when may the counselor limit her access?

• a.Whenever the records contain the counselor's private clinical impressions and hypotheses
• b.Whenever the client has an unpaid balance for services
• c.Whenever the counselor believes the client may misread them
• d.Only when there is compelling evidence that access would harm the client✓

ACA Code B.6.e requires counselors to provide reasonable access to records for competent clients and to limit access only when there is compelling evidence that access would cause harm; the request and the rationale for any withholding are documented. Clinical impressions, an unpaid balance, or a general worry that the client may misunderstand do not meet that standard, and B.6.f expects counselors to help clients interpret records.

A client discloses a communicable, life-threatening disease and says he has not told his partner. Under ACA Code B.2.c, what should the counselor do before any disclosure to the partner?

• a.Keep the information confidential in all circumstances
• b.Notify the partner right away, without first discussing the matter with the client
• c.Notify the local health department before the next session
• d.Assess whether the client intends to inform the partner and follow state law✓

ACA Code B.2.c says counselors may be justified in disclosing to identifiable third parties at serious and foreseeable risk, but before disclosing they assess the client's intent to inform those parties or engage in harmful behavior, and they adhere to relevant state laws on disclosing disease status. Immediate notification skips the required assessment, absolute confidentiality ignores the permitted exception, and a health-department report is a matter of state law rather than a step the Code prescribes.

A counselor who works at a community agency also has a small private practice. An agency client asks to continue with the counselor privately. The agency has no policy on self-referral. What does the ACA Code direct?

• a.The counselor does not refer the client to the private practice✓
• b.The counselor may accept if the client initiated the request
• c.The counselor may accept if the client pays the agency rate
• d.The counselor may accept the client after the agency case closes

ACA Code A.10.a states that counselors working in an organization do not refer clients to their private practice unless the organization's policies make explicit provisions for self-referral, and in that case clients must be told of other options. With no such policy, closing the agency case, matching fees, or the client's initiative does not make the referral permissible.

Under the NBCC Code of Ethics (2023), a counselor accepts a small handmade gift from a client because it is culturally meaningful. What must the counselor also do?

• a.Report the gift to NBCC within 30 days
• b.Pay the client the gift's market value
• c.Return the gift after counseling ends
• d.Document it in the client's record✓

NBCC Code directive 21 permits accepting gifts only when culturally appropriate or therapeutically relevant, requires the counselor to consider the gift's value and its effect on the relationship, and states that acceptance of a gift shall be documented in the client's record. The Code does not require paying for the gift, reporting it to NBCC, or returning it later.

A researcher concludes that a new group intervention reduces anxiety, but in the population it actually has no effect. What kind of error has occurred?

• a.Regression toward the mean
• b.Type I error✓
• c.Sampling bias only
• d.Type II error

A Type I error is rejecting a null hypothesis that is true: claiming an effect that does not exist; its probability is set by alpha. A Type II error is the opposite, failing to detect an effect that does exist. Sampling bias and regression toward the mean are possible causes of misleading results, but the name for concluding an effect exists when it does not is a Type I error.

A counselor randomly assigns clients to either CBT or a waitlist and compares their anxiety scores after 8 weeks. In this study, the assignment to CBT or waitlist is the:

• a.dependent variable
• b.confounding variable
• c.independent variable✓
• d.intervening variable

The independent variable is the factor the researcher manipulates, here the treatment condition. The dependent variable is the outcome measured, the anxiety scores. A confounding variable is an uncontrolled factor that varies with the treatment and distorts the result, and an intervening variable is a presumed mechanism between cause and effect; neither is the condition the researcher manipulates.

A current client sends her counselor a friend request on a personal social media account. According to the NBCC Code of Ethics (2023), how should the counselor respond?

• a.Accept after termination, as social media rules end with counseling
• b.Decline, since connecting with clients online is to be avoided✓
• c.Accept, provided the account has strict privacy settings
• d.Accept, as long as the counselor never comments on the client's posts

NBCC Code directive 114 requires counselors to avoid non-professional relationships with clients online, including connecting with or following client social media accounts, and ACA Code A.5.e prohibits personal virtual relationships with current clients. Privacy settings or silence on the platform do not change the relationship, and directive 109 requires a social media policy that covers former clients as well as current ones.