Congrats on making the journey to obtain your LPC.  I myself delayed taking the test for many years, only to wish I had taken it sooner.  On the other hand, I have a wealth of information to share about the best resources to use for studying for the exam.

The first resource is Howard Rosenthal’s Encyclopedia of Counseling.  Use the most current edition to get the best information.   Also Available is a CD set by Rosenthal called Vital Information and Review Questions.  You may say “Who has a CD player?”  The Academic Success Center in the College of Education has a CD drive you can borrow.   We also have copies of the book as well as the CD’s available in the ASC.  When studying for the exam, I uploaded the CDs to my computer and phone, so that I could listen to them anywhere.  I listened in the car, while running or walking, while waiting for appointments, you get the idea.

You may also want to use note card apps such as Quizlet or Chegg.  Both have many submissions and notecards already developed for the NCE.  As good as these are, for the areas you are weak in, I would recommend handwriting your own notecards. As tedious as this may seem, the handwriting will help you remember more.

Lastly, after studying for two months, I would start looking at guides with practice questions for the exam.  There are many available to purchase at https://www.nbcc.org/exams/examprep  but each option also offers a pretty extensive list of FREE examples.

To start, I would assess your current knowledge using this test example as it includes all areas of the test. Then I would start studying your weakest areas first and move toward areas you may need review in.

NCE Assessment:

I will send out these blogs regularly to your email and include practice questions for your test.  I wish you all the best in your study for the NCE exam.

Nora Murphy