NBCC NCE-ABE National Counselor Examination Exam Practice Test

Within the Assessment and Testing core area, counselors are expected to know the basic diagnostic classification of common disorders, including ADHD, as described in widely used diagnostic systems. ADHD is described as having three primary presentations:

Predominantly inattentive

Predominantly hyperactive/impulsive

Combined presentation

The inattentive presentation is characterized by symptoms such as difficulty sustaining attention, being easily distracted, forgetfulness, and problems with organization. “Aggressive,” “disorganized,” and “interpersonal” are not formal diagnostic presentations of ADHD. Therefore, the correct answer is C. Inattentive.

The Group Counseling and Group Work CACREP core area requires knowledge of:

Group development stages,

Group process and dynamics, and

Leader behaviors that facilitate members’ growth and change.

Effective group leaders are trained to:

Encourage here-and-now, emotionally honest interactions,

Promote sharing of feelings and experiences (the affective level), and

Create conditions for cohesion, trust, and risk-taking.

Option analysis:

A. Call on natural leaders to take charge.This can actually interfere with group development by creating dominance, cliques, or dependency on certain members rather than developing shared responsibility.

B. Promote sharing on an affective level.This is central to group progress. When members move beyond surface-level, intellectual discussion and begin to share feelings and emotional reactions, the group becomes more therapeutic and change-oriented.

C. Link interactions to personal problems.This is a useful skill, but it tends to come after members are safely sharing at an affective level. Without emotional engagement, such linking can feel forced or overly interpretive.

D. Minimize interpretation of relationships.This runs counter to group counseling principles, where leaders often help members understand the meaning of their interactions and relationships in the group.

Thus, the action that most directly fosters progress in counseling groups is B (promote sharing on an affective level).

In the Assessment and Testing core area, counselors are required to understand different types of observational and documentation methods used to gather data about client behavior:

An anecdotal report (or anecdotal record) is a narrative, descriptive account of a specific incident or event, written in the observer’s own words. It is inherently subjective and focuses on describing what the client did or said in a particular context. This matches the stem exactly, so Option D is correct.

A rating scale (Option A) involves assigning numerical or descriptive ratings (e.g., “never,” “sometimes,” “often”) to specific behaviors or traits; it is not a narrative description.

A checklist (Option B) is a list of behaviors or characteristics where the observer simply marks whether each behavior was observed; it is not a written narrative.

A cumulative folder (Option C) is a collection of records and documents (e.g., grades, test scores, reports) that summarize a student’s or client’s history over time; it is not a single narrative observation.

Thus, the term that best fits a subjective, narrative description of behavior in a specific situation is anecdotal report (D).

Within the Assessment and Testing core area, counselors are expected to distinguish between screening instruments and diagnostic assessments.

The SASSI-4 (Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory) is a screening tool, not a diagnostic instrument. It:

Uses both face-valid (obvious) and subtle items.

Classifies individuals into categories indicating the likelihood (probability) of having a substance use disorder.

Ethically and professionally, screening tools such as the SASSI-4 are used to:

Identify those with a high probability of SUD,

Guide decisions about further assessment or referral,

But not to independently confirm a diagnosis.

Therefore, the results indicate the probability that a person has a substance use disorder, making D correct.

In the Human Growth and Development core area, CACREP includes understanding theories of human needs, such as Maslow’s hierarchy. According to this framework:

When individuals are under significant financial stress, their basic needs (e.g., housing, food, safety, security) are threatened.

Under such conditions, people are more likely to be preoccupied with survival-level concerns (physiological and safety needs) than with higher-order needs such as development, self-exploration, or complex interpersonal growth.

Options A, B, and C refer to important but higher-level needs relative to basic survival and security. In the presence of acute financial stress, clients understandably prioritize D. Survival needs.

In the Group Counseling and Group Work core area, CACREP includes knowledge of group leadership styles, including approaches grounded in person-centered (client-centered / group-centered) theory.

A group-centered leader, drawing from person-centered principles, typically:

Holds a positive view of human nature,

Believes members have an innate tendency toward growth and self-actualization,

Trusts that, given the right conditions (empathy, genuineness, unconditional positive regard), people will move in constructive directions.

This matches D: seeing people as basically positive in their intentions.

Why the others are not best:

A (pessimistic about human nature): More consistent with some strictly psychoanalytic or control-oriented approaches, not group-centered leadership.

B (seeing people as reactive to their environments): Sounds more like behavioral or social learning perspectives, not specifically group-centered.

C (focused on redirecting negative impulses): Implies a directive, control-focused stance, rather than the non-directive, facilitative stance of a group-centered leader.

Therefore, the characteristic that best fits a group-centered leader is D. Seeing people as basically positive in their intentions.

In the Counseling and Helping Relationships core area, counselors are trained to develop treatment plans and goals that are grounded in a clear understanding of the client’s presenting concerns, assessment data, and diagnostic impressions.

Treatment goals should flow logically from the client’s current diagnosis and presenting problems as identified through assessment and clinical formulation. This ensures that interventions are appropriate, evidence-informed, and clinically justified for the condition being treated.

Past goals may provide historical context but should not dictate current treatment if the client’s situation, functioning, or diagnosis has changed.

Internal consistency is a psychometric concept usually referring to the reliability of items within an assessment instrument, not a direct client factor used to anchor treatment goals.

Counselor’s expertise is important ethically (practice within competence), but it is not a client factor; treatment goals must prioritize the client’s needs and diagnosis, not simply what the counselor is most comfortable doing.

Because treatment goals in professional counseling are expected to be aligned with the client’s current diagnosis and presenting clinical picture, the best answer is B (Current diagnosis).

In the Counseling and Helping Relationships core area, CACREP emphasizes the importance of:

A nonjudgmental, empathetic stance,

Respect for client autonomy,

Use of open-ended, client-centered questions.

Option A is an open invitation for the client to share more, without evaluation, criticism, or assumptions. It:

Centers the client’s experience,

Avoids imposing values,

Demonstrates respect and curiosity, not judgment.

By contrast:

B is a microaggressive statement implying surprise at competence due to nationality.

C imposes the counselor’s values and directs the client’s personal decision.

D suggests that sexual orientation is a “problem” to be “addressed,” which is pathologizing and judgmental.

Therefore, A is the example that aligns with a nonjudgmental counseling stance.

In the Group Counseling and Group Work core area, counselors are trained to use systematic observation to understand group dynamics, members’ behaviors, and group process. Effective observation is intentional, not random. That means the group leader must know what specific behaviors, interactions, or processes they are watching for (e.g., participation patterns, conflict, cohesion, leadership, resistance).

CACREP-based training emphasizes:

Using planned, purposeful observation tied to the group’s goals and stage of development.

Monitoring both verbal and nonverbal behaviors to inform interventions.

While informing members about general observation and taking notes can be good practice, the essential professional skill is having a clear, defined focus for what is being observed, which makes D the best answer.

Within the CACREP Core Area of Social and Cultural Diversity, counselors are expected to demonstrate skills that allow them to work effectively with clients from diverse backgrounds. A key competency is the ability to avoid imposing personal values and to maintain an unbiased, respectful stance toward clients’ cultural identities, beliefs, and worldviews.

Ethical Bracketing (Correct Answer)Ethical bracketing refers to a counselor’s intentional process of setting aside personal values, beliefs, or biases in order to provide competent, culturally responsive services.This aligns with ethical expectations that counselors:

Maintain value neutrality,

Avoid personal value imposition, and

Uphold client autonomy, dignity, and cultural uniqueness.Ethical bracketing is specifically encouraged as an important skill when working with diverse populations.

Countertransference (Incorrect)This refers to a counselor’s emotional reactions toward the client, often based on the counselor’s unresolved issues. It is not about intentionally setting aside personal values; instead, it is a internal emotional process that must be managed during therapy.

Acculturation (Incorrect)Acculturation refers to the process of adapting to a dominant or new culture, not the counselor’s act of setting aside personal values during counseling.

Developmental Maturation (Incorrect)This refers to normal growth processes across the lifespan. It has no direct connection to value management in counseling.

Because only ethical bracketing describes consciously setting aside personal values to serve clients without bias, A is the correct answer.

The Social and Cultural Diversity core area requires counselors to understand oppression, privilege, and internalized oppression, including internalized racism, sexism, and other forms of bias.

Internalized sexism occurs when individuals from a marginalized gender group adopt and believe sexist stereotypes about their own group.

In this example, the adolescent states, “Most girls are not good at math,” which reflects a negative stereotype about girls’ abilities, and then claims to be the exception (“but I am”). This is a classic presentation of internalized sexism: accepting a harmful cultural stereotype about one’s own gender group.

Gender role conflict refers to distress that arises from rigid gender-role expectations and how they conflict with a person’s behavior or self-concept; it does not necessarily involve endorsing a demeaning stereotype about one’s group. Gender identity is simply one’s internal sense of gender. Internalized privilege would refer to members of a dominant group accepting and benefiting from their unearned advantages; she is not in the privileged group in this stereotype.

Therefore, the term that best matches CACREP’s description of internalized oppression in this scenario is A. Internalized sexism.

In the Assessment and Testing core area, counselors are expected to recognize common diagnostic features of mental disorders to inform screening, referral, and conceptualization (not to replace full diagnosis).

For generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), hallmark symptoms include:

Excessive anxiety and worry about a variety of events or activities,

Difficulty controlling the worry,

Physical and cognitive symptoms such as:

Restlessness or feeling keyed up/on edge,

Being easily fatigued,

Difficulty concentrating,

Irritability,

Muscle tension,

Sleep disturbance.

Thus, restlessness (Option B) is a classic symptom associated with GAD.

The other options fit different or nonspecific issues:

A. Lack of hobbies is not a diagnostic criterion; it may relate to lifestyle, depression, or other factors but is not specific to GAD.

C. Rechecking locked doors is more characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), where compulsive checking behaviors respond to intrusive obsessions.

D. Pressured speech is typically associated with mania or hypomania, not GAD.

Therefore, B is the correct symptom associated with generalized anxiety disorder.

In the Group Counseling and Group Work core area, CACREP emphasizes the counselor’s ability to design and facilitate preventive and psychoeducational group interventions, especially in school settings.

For elementary school students who witness bullying, the primary need is often:

Understanding what bullying is,

Learning appropriate bystander behaviors (how to report, how to support peers), and

Developing social-emotional skills and empathy.

Group psychoeducation is developmentally appropriate and efficient for:

Teaching many students at once about bullying,

Normalizing their experiences as witnesses,

Practicing skills (role-plays, discussions) in a safe, structured group environment.

Not B (Individual counseling): May be appropriate for specific students in distress, but it is not the best first-line method for a general group of witnesses.

Not C (Conduct an assessment): Assessment may be part of the process, but the question asks for the best method for working with these students, which focuses on intervention.

Not D (Determine the need for a referral): Referrals are indicated when specialized services are needed; they are not the primary method of working with a broad group of witnesses.

Thus, providing group psychoeducation (A) is the best method in this context.

In the Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical Practice core area, counselors are expected to recognize that consultation with colleagues is an important part of maintaining ethical and competent practice. Ethical guidelines emphasize that counselors:

Seek consultation or supervision when facing ethical dilemmas,

Seek consultation when a client’s needs are beyond their current competence,

Use consultation to improve the quality of client care.

While collegial support (options A and D) can be helpful, CACREP-aligned ethical standards specifically highlight consultation as a means to clarify and uphold ethical responsibilities and strengthen clinical decision-making, not simply to vent or replace formal professional development. Thus, the best answer is C. To seek assistance with ethical obligations or professional practice.

The Social and Cultural Diversity core area emphasizes understanding of acculturation, cultural identity development, and multicultural concepts. Within common acculturation and identity frameworks used on the NCE:

Acculturation (A) is a broad term for the overall process of adapting to a new culture; it does not, by itself, specify whether individuals maintain their original culture, adopt the new one, or both.

Biculturalism (B) describes people who identify with and competently navigate two cultures, maintaining their original culture while also actively participating in and identifying with the new/dominant culture.

Marginalization (C) occurs when individuals do not strongly identify with either the original or the new culture.

Separation (D) refers to maintaining strong identification with the original culture while rejecting or minimizing identification with the new culture.

The question specifically describes identifying with both the original and the new culture. This is the definition of biculturalism, making B the correct answer.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

In the Human Growth and Development core area, CACREP emphasizes understanding typical and atypical development across the lifespan, including cognitive changes in later adulthood.

Research summarized in NCE-aligned materials shows that:

Some aspects of cognitive functioning (such as processing speed and some problem-solving tasks) may decline with age.

Other aspects, particularly crystallized abilities (like vocabulary and accumulated knowledge), are relatively stable.

Regular use of cognitive skills—such as reading, problem-solving, learning new activities, and staying mentally engaged—is associated with better preservation of intellectual functioning and reduced risk or slower onset of decline.

Option A overstates decline and implies that older adults have broadly reduced learning capacity, which is not accurate. Option B incorrectly suggests no change at all in intellectual functioning. Option C is conceptually incorrect.

Option D reflects the widely referenced “use it or lose it” pattern, which is consistent with CACREP-based lifespan development content: staying mentally active can decrease the likelihood or speed of intellectual decline.

Thus, the best answer in line with Human Growth and Development principles for the NCE is D.

Within the Counseling and Helping Relationships core area, counselors are expected to understand and apply a range of evidence-based counseling strategies and interventions, including behavioral and cognitive-behavioral techniques for specific problems such as insomnia.

Paradoxical intention is a technique in which the counselor instructs the client to intentionally engage in, or exaggerate, the very symptom they fear or are trying to avoid (in this case, trying to stay awake instead of trying to fall asleep). This counters performance anxiety and reduces the pressure around the symptom.

Not A (Sleep education): Sleep education focuses on teaching about sleep cycles, sleep hygiene, and lifestyle factors, not instructing clients to do the opposite of their goal.

Not B (Mirroring): Mirroring is reflecting the client’s emotional or verbal content, not giving paradoxical directives.

Not D (Stimulus control): Stimulus control involves modifying environmental and behavioral cues that signal sleep (e.g., using the bed only for sleep), not asking the client to try to stay awake.

Therefore, the intervention described is best understood as paradoxical intention (C).

In the Assessment and Testing core area, counselors must differentiate among types of validity:

Face validity refers to the degree to which a test appears, on the surface, to measure what it claims to measure. It is based on a subjective judgment of the items by laypersons or test users—essentially, “does this look like it measures what it says it does?” This is captured by option D, which involves subjectively examining the items.

By contrast:

Option A describes criterion-related or convergent validity (correlating with another established measure).

Option B reflects item analysis and relates to internal consistency/reliability, not face validity.

Option C describes content validity, which relies on expert judgment about whether items adequately represent the construct content.

Thus, D is the correct description of how face validity is established.

Within the Group Counseling and Group Work core area, counselor training emphasizes that the group leader has primary responsibility for establishing and facilitating the group process, particularly in the early stages. In existentially oriented groups, the leader:

Actively models authentic, present-centered interaction.

Invites and structures here-and-now dialogue between members.

Encourages members to move from speaking to the leader to speaking to one another.

Although an eventual goal is for members to assume more ownership of the interaction, the initial responsibility for fostering intermember interactions rests with the leader, who intentionally shapes a climate that supports genuine encounter, openness, and exploration of meaning.

Option A (group members alone) minimizes the leader’s intentional facilitating role.

Option C (group members and leader) is partially true in practice, but exam content and theory place primary responsibility on the leader to initiate and sustain interaction patterns.

Option D (leader and strongest group members) is inconsistent with group counseling principles, which avoid privileging “strongest” members and instead promote shared participation.

Therefore, based on group leadership roles taught under the CACREP core area, the best answer is B. The group leader.

Within Counseling and Helping Relationships, CACREP highlights core conditions from person-centered theory: empathy, unconditional positive regard, and genuineness (also called congruence).

Genuineness/congruence means the counselor’s outer responses match their inner experience—they are authentic, real, and not putting on a professional façade.

Among the options, “congruence” (B) is the technical term that directly corresponds to genuineness.

Paraphrasing (A) and empathic responding (D) are important attending and empathy skills, but they do not automatically mean the counselor is genuine. Self-disclosure (C) can be a tool that may express genuineness, but it is not, by itself, the definition of genuineness and can even be misused.

Therefore, the counselor behavior that most clearly and directly demonstrates genuineness is B. Congruence.

In the Counseling and Helping Relationships core area, students are expected to understand psychodynamic concepts, including defense mechanisms.

Displacement occurs when a person redirects emotional reactions (often anger or hostility) from the true source (seen as threatening or unsafe) to a safer or more acceptable target.In this case, the client is actually angry with her spouse but expresses that hostility indirectly toward her supervisor through criticism and gossip. This is classic displacement, making B correct.

Rationalization (A) is offering excuses or justifications to make unacceptable behavior seem reasonable.

Reaction formation (C) involves behaving in a way that is opposite to one’s true feelings (e.g., being overly nice to someone one dislikes).

Projection (D) means attributing one’s own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone else (“He’s the one who’s angry, not me”).

Only B matches the described pattern.

Within Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical Practice, CACREP highlights the importance of counselors understanding impairment, burnout, and self-care—for themselves and in general occupational contexts.

Burnout is typically defined as a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion that results from chronic work-related or career-related stress, often accompanied by decreased sense of accomplishment and depersonalization.

Option D captures burnout as a phenomenon associated with career-related (occupational) stress, which is the broad, accurate description tested on the NCE.

Options A, B, and C each describe possible symptoms or correlates (hopelessness, confusion, fatigue, illness), but none by themselves constitute the definition of burnout. Burnout is best understood as a syndrome arising from prolonged job stress, making D the best answer.

In the Counseling and Helping Relationships core area, CACREP emphasizes that effective counseling begins with a thorough assessment and case conceptualization. Treatment planning is guided first by:

A comprehensive assessment of the client’s concerns, functioning, and context

A case analysis that organizes this information into a coherent understanding

Clarification of overall (long-term) objectives based on this understanding

Only after this foundation is established should the counselor move into specific, client-centered treatment goals and interventions.

Option D (establishing client-specific short- and long-term goals) is essential, but those goals must be derived from a clear case analysis and assessment.

Option A (availability of resources) and Option B (relationship) are important practical and relational factors, but they are not the primary conceptual guide for what the treatment plan should target.

Thus, the first guiding factor in treatment planning is C. Detailed case analysis, assessment, and long-term objectives.

In the Research and Program Evaluation core area, CACREP emphasizes knowledge of quantitative methods, including the use of regression techniques, correlations, and appropriate statistical procedures.

Multiple regression is a statistical technique used when there is one dependent (criterion) variable and two or more independent (predictor) variables. It estimates how well the set of independent variables predicts or explains variance in the dependent variable and provides coefficients indicating the strength and direction of each relationship.

Stratified sampling is a sampling method, not a statistical technique for analyzing relationships.

Chi-square tests are used primarily for categorical data, examining associations between variables, but do not involve multiple predictors predicting one continuous dependent variable in the same way as multiple regression.

Point-biserial correlation measures the relationship between one continuous and one dichotomous variable, not between multiple independent variables and one dependent variable.

Thus, the method that specifically examines the relationship between one dependent variable and multiple independent variables is A. Multiple regression.

In the Human Growth and Development core area, middle adulthood (approximately 40–65) is commonly associated with life review, reappraisal, and concerns about time and life goals. Theories such as Erikson’s generativity vs. stagnation and life-span models emphasize:

Awareness that time is finite,

Reflection on accomplishments vs. unfulfilled goals,

A possible sense that some earlier aspirations may no longer be realistic or attainable.

This makes Option A consistent with core developmental theory for this age range.

Option B is inaccurate because men and women often experience different developmental stressors, roles, and expectations (e.g., caregiving, menopause, occupational shifts).

Option C overgeneralizes; while peer deaths may trigger grief and reflection, severe distress and heightened spirituality are not universal or predicted outcomes.

Option D is not characteristic specifically of ages 40–65; significant memory decline is more commonly associated with older adulthood, and even then, it tends to be more complex than “short-term down, long-term up.”

Therefore, A best reflects what human development theory tells us about midlife adults.

In the Counseling and Helping Relationships core area, CACREP emphasizes the importance of Rogers’ core conditions: empathy, genuineness (congruence), and unconditional positive regard.

Unconditional positive regard is the counselor’s nonjudgmental acceptance of the client as a person, without placing conditions on their worth or requiring them to think, feel, or behave in specific ways in order to be accepted.

In this scenario, the counselor continues to work with the client without insisting that they confess, change their choice, or think differently, which directly reflects unconditional positive regard.

Empathy (B) is understanding and feeling with the client; congruence (C) is the counselor being genuine; fidelity (D) is about loyalty and keeping commitments as an ethical principle. The description most clearly matches A. Unconditional positive regard.

In the Assessment and Testing core area, counselors are expected to understand different types of tests, including the distinction between maximum performance measures (e.g., ability, aptitude, achievement) and typical performance measures (e.g., personality, interests, attitudes, self-concept).

Ability tests (including aptitude and achievement) are designed so that each item has one correct answer. They measure how well a person can perform on tasks that have objectively right or wrong responses.

Measures of personality, interest, and self-concept do not have right or wrong answers; they assess typical ways of thinking, feeling, behaving, or preferences.

Because the question states that each item has only one correct answer, this clearly describes a measure of ability, making B the correct answer.

Within the Human Growth and Development core area, the NCE expects knowledge of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development and how children think at different ages.

The preoperational stage (approximately ages 2–7) is marked by:

Egocentric thinking

Magical thinking and fantasy

Difficulty distinguishing appearance from reality

Judging situations based on how things look, not on logical principles

In this question, the 4-year-old believes the 10-year-old has literally disappeared because of a costume. This reflects appearance–reality confusion and prelogical thinking, which are classic features of the preoperational stage.

Sensorimotor (birth–2): focus on sensory experience and object permanence, not costumes/identity.

Concrete operational (7–11): children at this stage can usually understand that a costume does not change who someone is.

Formal operational (11+): abstract reasoning; far beyond this situation.

Therefore, the behavior described matches Piaget’s preoperational stage, making D correct.

Within the Counseling and Helping Relationships core area, CACREP highlights the importance of empathy and the counselor’s ability to be fully present with the client. Empathic attunement refers to:

Deeply tuning in to the client’s emotional experience,

Staying present with the client without judging, fixing, or overanalyzing,

Conveying understanding and acceptance of the client’s internal world.

Active listening (option B) involves attending behaviors and reflective responses, but empathic attunement specifically emphasizes nonjudgmental presence and emotional resonance with the client’s experience. Interpretation (option A) involves analyzing or offering meanings, which is the opposite of simply sitting with the experience. Integration (option C) refers more broadly to combining insights or aspects of the self, not this particular stance.

In the Group Counseling and Group Work core area, CACREP describes typical stages of group development (initial, transition, working, termination). The working stage (often called Stage III):

Is characterized by greater cohesion, trust, and openness,

Members assume more responsibility for the work of the group,

The leader shifts from high structure to a less directive, more facilitative role.

Because the group is more mature and self-directing in Stage III, the leader usually provides less overt intervention (Option A), while still monitoring process and safety.

Resistance (B) is often highest in earlier or transition stages; in the working stage it is present but more manageable.

Conflict resolution (C) certainly can occur, but conflict is often addressed more effectively by members themselves at this point.

Self-disclosure (D) typically increases, not decreases, in the working stage.

Thus, the most accurate distinction is A. Less leader intervention.

In developmental and ethological theory, imprinting refers to the process by which very young offspring form a strong, early bond or attachment to a primary caregiver. This process is especially noted in animal studies but is often used conceptually to describe how early, close caregiver relationships form and shape later attachment patterns.

Option B, imprinting, matches the idea of an early, foundational attachment process.

Role identification (A) involves modeling and adopting roles/behaviors, typically later in development.

Operant conditioning (C) and classical conditioning (D) describe learning through reinforcement or association, not specifically the attachment bond itself.

Knowledge of early attachment processes and their impact on later emotional and relational functioning is part of Areas of Clinical Focus in the NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas, as it helps counselors understand developmental roots of clients’ concerns.

Client-centered (person-centered) counseling, based on Carl Rogers’ theory, is grounded in a fundamentally positive view of human nature. People are seen as having an innate actualizing tendency—a built-in drive to grow, develop, and move constructively toward fulfillment when provided with appropriate conditions such as empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard from the counselor.1

Because of this, client-centered counselors view people as essentially:

Forward moving – oriented toward growth, change, and self-improvement.

Capable of realistic perception when not distorted by conditions of worth or external pressures.1

This aligns directly with Option A: forward moving and realistic.

Why the other options are incorrect:

B. Incongruent in most aspects of their lives.While Rogers acknowledges that incongruence (a mismatch between self-concept and experience) can occur and lead to distress, he does not define people primarily as incongruent in “most aspects” of their lives. Rather, incongruence is seen as a condition that can be reduced in a supportive therapeutic relationship.1

C. Incapable of unassisted change.Person-centered theory emphasizes that clients possess their own resources for growth. The counselor’s role is to provide facilitative conditions, not to act as the expert who “changes” the client. People are not viewed as fundamentally incapable of change without a counselor.1

D. Seeking to purge the evil from their lives.This reflects a moral or theological framing, not the humanistic, nonjudgmental stance of client-centered counseling. Rogers did not conceptualize people as evil; he saw them as basically trustworthy and constructive.1

In the Core Counseling Attributes area, NBCC emphasizes that counselors hold attitudes that respect the client’s inherent capacity for growth, autonomy, and self-direction—exactly the view reflected in Option A.

Effective treatment planning is described as a dynamic, ongoing process. Counselors are expected to regularly review treatment goals and progress and revise the plan as needed to reflect the client’s current status.

When a client meets treatment goals earlier than expected, the most appropriate step is to revisit the treatment plan, confirm which goals have been successfully achieved, and then:

Decide whether to add new goals,

Shift focus to maintenance or relapse prevention, or

Begin planning for termination if appropriate.

Option C captures this responsibility to review and revise the treatment plan based on actual client progress.

A (changing medication) is a medical decision and may or may not be relevant; it is not the primary treatment-planning response.

B (referral to group) could be appropriate in some cases, but it should follow a thoughtful treatment-plan review.

D (understanding attitude toward treatment) may be clinically useful, but again it is not the primary, required next step in structured treatment planning.

This directly reflects the Treatment Planning work behavior: monitoring progress and modifying plans to ensure services remain appropriate and goal-directed.

When a client repeatedly circles back to the same topics or themes, the counselor can help them gain insight by pulling these pieces together into a brief, organized statement. That is the skill of summarization.

Summarization highlights patterns, recurring themes, and connections across what the client has been saying over time, which helps the client see the “big picture” and deepen understanding.

Why the others don’t fit as well:

Reflection (A) focuses on mirroring back content or feelings in the moment, but it does not necessarily organize repeated themes over time.

Clarification (B) aims to clear up confusion about a specific statement, not to tie together multiple recurring topics.

Confrontation (D) is used to point out discrepancies or inconsistencies, not simply to help the client recognize themes they keep bringing up.

NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas include effective use of attending and responding skills, such as summarizing client material to enhance self-understanding.

In Donald Super’s career development theory, career maturity refers to a person’s readiness to successfully complete the career-related tasks appropriate to their developmental stage. This includes:

Making realistic career decisions at that stage.

Possessing attitudes and competencies needed for age-appropriate career exploration and choices.

Thus, career maturity (C) is the concept that explicitly focuses on completion of appropriate tasks at each developmental stage.

A. Self-efficacy refers to belief in one’s ability to perform tasks, but it is a broader construct (Bandura), not specific to Super’s framework.

B. Maintenance is one of Super’s life-span stages (maintaining one’s career status), not the overarching concept of task readiness.

D. Crystallization is a sub-stage where a person begins to clarify and firm up a vocational preference, but it is only one part of the broader picture.

In the NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas, understanding career development theories and tasks across the lifespan is a core clinical focus for career counseling.

Feminist counseling approaches highlight the impact of power, social roles, and systemic oppression on client wellness. These modalities place strong emphasis on social justice, advocacy, and empowerment, and they often extend beyond individual intrapsychic change to include action aimed at transforming oppressive systems that affect the client’s life.

Option A captures this core feature: feminist counseling actively orients intervention toward changing systemic threats (such as sexism, racism, heterosexism, and other forms of oppression) that harm the client’s mental health and overall well-being. This is consistent with counselor work behaviors that stress advocacy, attention to sociocultural context, and the integration of interventions that promote equity and client empowerment.

Why the other options are incorrect:

B. SFBT roots: Feminist therapy developed from feminist movements and critical perspectives on traditional psychotherapy, not from solution-focused brief therapy.

C. Contraindicated for couples and families: Feminist approaches are frequently applied to couples and family counseling, especially to examine power imbalances and gendered expectations.

D. Androgynous gender role requirement: While feminist therapy may explore gender roles and encourage flexibility, it does not require practitioners to “move beyond an androgynous gender role” as a precondition for effective practice.

This aligns with NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas, which include using counseling models that acknowledge social, cultural, and systemic influences and incorporating advocacy and systemic change into interventions when appropriate.

Career work with clients in midlife and later adulthood must consider actual life circumstances, including financial responsibilities, health, caregiving roles, retirement timing, age discrimination, and existing skills. For this reason, career counseling for this group should be grounded in the realities of clients’ lives—their current roles, constraints, and opportunities—making Option C the best answer.

Option A (focus on career selection) is more appropriate for adolescents or emerging adults choosing an initial field, not individuals who already have extensive work histories.

Option B (abstract self-perception) is too vague and detached from the very concrete life factors often central in midlife/older transitions.

Option D (emphasize training/education) may be appropriate for some clients, but it is not a universal guiding principle and ignores many who may not have the time, resources, or interest for extensive retraining.

NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas highlight that, in career development, counselors must integrate developmental stage and real-world context into their clinical focus, particularly for adults navigating later-life work and retirement decisions.

In the Counseling Skills and Interventions area, counselors must be able to select and apply theoretical approaches that fit client needs, preferences, and readiness. A client who is skeptical and questions the treatment plan often responds well to an approach that is:

Structured and transparent

Collaborative, with shared goal-setting

Evidence-informed, with clear rationales for techniques

A cognitive behavioral approach (CBT) emphasizes:

Clear explanations of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are related

Time-limited, goal-oriented treatment plans

Homework and behavioral experiments that allow clients to “test” ideas and see concrete outcomes

This tends to be particularly effective with clients who want to understand how and why therapy works and who are questioning its effectiveness.

A humanistic approach (A) strongly values the relationship and empathy but is often less structured and may not directly satisfy a skeptical client’s desire for clear rationale and techniques.

Psychodynamic (C) and analytical (D) approaches typically focus on unconscious processes, past experiences, and symbolic material, which may feel too abstract or indirect to a skeptical newcomer to therapy.

Thus, B. Cognitive behavioral approach is most consistent with effectively engaging this type of client.

In outplacement and career transition counseling following a reduction in force (RIF), counselors are expected to understand that clients often first experience shock, grief, anger, anxiety, and loss. Early in the process, the primary clinical need is emotional stabilization and support, not immediate job-search strategy.

D. Cope with the resulting feelings is the immediate priority: helping clients process reactions to job loss, normalize emotional responses, reduce acute distress, and restore enough psychological stability to engage in problem solving.

A (retraining information), B (interview skills), and C (lifestyle integration) are important later-stage goals once the client is more emotionally grounded and ready to plan and act.

Thus, in the early stages of RIF outplacement counseling, helping clients cope with the resulting feelings is the central immediate counseling goal, making D correct.

Counselors are expected to understand major theoretical orientations and how they conceptualize the family and the individual in context. Within this competency, Alfred Adler is recognized as the theorist who emphasized:

The family constellation, including the structure and dynamics of the family system.

The impact of birth order (e.g., oldest, middle, youngest, only child) on personality development, beliefs, and interpersonal style.

How these early family experiences shape a person’s sense of belonging, inferiority/superiority, and lifestyle.

Adlerian theory holds that an individual’s position in the family constellation influences roles, expectations, and perceived significance, which in turn affect behavior and psychological functioning. Counselors use this understanding to conceptualize clients within their relational and familial context.

Why the other options are not correct:

B. Carl Jung focused on the collective unconscious, archetypes, and individuation—not birth order.

C. Jean Piaget is associated with cognitive development in children, not family constellation dynamics.

D. Virginia Satir worked extensively with families and communication patterns, but she is not the theorist associated with birth order as a core conceptual tool.

This aligns with the NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Area expectations that counselors understand key theorists and use family and developmental context when conceptualizing client concerns.

In understanding human motivation and development (key to clinical focus), counselors often draw on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow proposed that needs are organized from basic physiological and safety needs up through love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

A central principle is that a need’s motivational force lessens once it is sufficiently gratified. When a higher-level need (such as esteem or self-actualization) is met, its intensity as a driver of behavior temporarily decreases (C). The person is no longer as strongly motivated by that need until it becomes frustrated or deprived again.

The need does not permanently disappear (A); it can re-emerge if no longer satisfied.

Stabilizes (B) is too vague and does not capture the idea that motivation drops when needs are met.

Increases (D) is the opposite of Maslow’s notion that unmet needs drive behavior more strongly than gratified ones.

Thus, the best description is that the intensity of the need decreases after gratification, so C is correct.

Within the assessment domain, counselors are expected to distinguish among different types of tests and their purposes. Aptitude tests are designed primarily to predict future performance or potential, such as success in training, education, or specific occupations. They focus on what an individual is capable of learning or doing in the future, making “focused on the future” (B) the defining characteristic.

Achievement tests (described by option A) measure what has already been learned (past instruction or experience), so A actually defines achievement, not aptitude.

Program accountability (C) is more closely tied to evaluation of programs or interventions rather than the core nature of aptitude tests.

While some aptitude tests are nonverbal, being “predominantly nonverbal” (D) is not what distinguishes aptitude from achievement; both can include verbal and nonverbal formats.

Thus, aptitude tests are best differentiated by their predictive, future-oriented focus, making B correct.

The scenario highlights that:

The client changed their thought process during anxious episodes.

Their reactions were less intense than before.

This indicates the client is applying a coping or cognitive skill learned in counseling—for example, cognitive restructuring, grounding, or other anxiety-management techniques. That is using an acquired skill (B).

A. Collaborative goal-setting is important early in treatment but does not itself explain why symptom intensity decreased.

C. Counselor’s emotional support can be helpful, but the change described is specifically tied to the client’s own cognitive work, not simply emotional support.

D. Time heals all wounds ignores the active, skill-based nature of counseling progress.

NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas emphasize helping clients develop, practice, and generalize skills so that they can independently manage symptoms—exactly what is described here.

Within Professional Practice and Ethics, counselors are expected to monitor and evaluate their own effectiveness, seek feedback, and engage in ongoing professional development to improve their practice.

In this scenario, the counselor:

Asks for anonymous written comments after each session

Focuses specifically on the counselor’s own behaviors in the group

Takes steps to protect confidentiality (having comments typed by a third party)

This clearly frames the feedback as a tool for the counselor to evaluate and improve their own performance, which is an example of self-evaluation.

Group stage evaluation (A) would focus on where the group is developmentally (forming, storming, norming, etc.), not primarily on the counselor’s behavior.

Outcome evaluation (B) assesses whether client or group goals are being met (symptom reduction, improved functioning), not how the counselor acted.

Process gradient scaling (D) is not what’s being described here; this is not a formal scaling or rating method of session process variables.

Therefore, the process is best understood as self-evaluation, making C the correct answer.

Within professional practice, counselors are expected to recognize how organizational environments can increase or reduce the risk of compassion fatigue, burnout, and impairment. An agency culture that discourages open discussion of stress, emotional impact, client crises, and critical incidents is an organizational risk factor for compassion fatigue.

A culture of silence means staff are less likely to:

Debrief after difficult cases.

Seek support or supervision when overwhelmed.

Normalize and process the emotional toll of their work.

This isolation can increase emotional exhaustion and secondary traumatic stress. Recognizing and addressing such organizational patterns is part of ethical responsibility to maintain counselor wellness and protect client care.

Why the others are incorrect:

B. Competition between agencies for resources is a systemic or macro-level pressure but is not, by itself, a direct internal organizational risk factor for compassion fatigue.

C. Predisposing personal characteristics and issues are individual risk factors, not organizational ones.

D. Providing required supervision and training opportunities is a protective factor, not a risk factor; supportive supervision actually helps reduce compassion fatigue.

This aligns with the NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas, which emphasize monitoring the impact of work settings on counselor functioning and advocating for healthy organizational practices.

Counselors are expected to practice within ethical guidelines that include evaluating potential risks, cultural factors, and therapeutic implications of client gift-giving. Ethical practice involves assessing the meaning, timing, and potential impact of the gift on the therapeutic relationship. Exploring the significance of the gift with the client allows the counselor to determine whether accepting it maintains appropriate boundaries and supports the client’s cultural values without compromising professional judgment or the integrity of the counseling relationship.

Counselors are expected to understand major developmental theories and the research methods that support them. Piaget’s classic work on children’s cognitive development relied primarily on systematic observation and description of how children think at different ages. He observed children’s responses to tasks and carefully recorded how their thinking changed over time, building a stage model from these observations rather than from statistical tests of relationships between variables.

This type of work is best classified as descriptive research, which focuses on portraying characteristics or developmental patterns of individuals or groups without manipulating variables or inferring cause-and-effect relationships.

By contrast:

Correlational research (B) studies the degree of relationship between variables (e.g., how two measured variables co-vary).

Causal-comparative research (C) compares existing groups to look for possible causes after the fact (ex post facto).

Historical research (D) analyzes past events using records and documents.

Knowledge of how foundational theories like Piaget’s were developed supports the counselor’s ability to critically understand human development—an important Area of Clinical Focus in professional counseling practice.

In treatment planning, counselors are expected to identify and incorporate client strengths, resources, and existing coping strategies to increase the likelihood of successful goal attainment. Option A is a strengths-focused question because it:

Directs attention to what the client is already doing that is working, even partially.

Helps uncover existing skills, strategies, supports, or internal resources the client uses to prevent the situation from deteriorating.

Allows those strengths to be built into the treatment plan as intentional interventions.

The other options are less directly focused on usable strengths for goal attainment:

B. “What is the worst part about having this problem?” explores distress and problem impact, not strengths.

C. “What resources do you wish you had?” can be useful, but it focuses on missing or external resources, not current strengths the client already possesses.

D. “What is your most positive memory from childhood?” might be helpful for rapport or narrative work, but it does not necessarily elicit current, goal-relevant strengths.

NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas related to treatment planning emphasize using client resilience, skills, and successes as part of collaborative goal setting and intervention design. Asking about how the client has kept the problem from becoming worse, as in Option A, directly aligns with that strengths-based, change-oriented approach.

When assessing intellectual disability, severity is determined primarily by adaptive functioning, particularly in conceptual, social, and practical domains, rather than by etiology or isolated mental status features. For a seven-year-old, the counselor would consider how the child:

Understands and uses concepts (e.g., time, quantity, basic academic skills).

Solves problems and learns new information appropriate to their developmental level.

Option D. Concept formation aligns with this focus on conceptual functioning, which is central to determining the severity of intellectual disability.

A. Pressured speech and B. Agitation are more associated with mood or anxiety disorders (e.g., mania, acute distress) rather than severity of intellectual disability.

C. Genetic factors may help explain the cause of the disability but do not determine its severity.

The NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas emphasize accurate use of diagnostic criteria and understanding that severity ratings for intellectual disability are based on everyday functioning in key domains, not just on symptoms or etiology.

For depressive disorders, counselors are expected to select interventions that have strong empirical support. Behavioral activation is a well-established, evidence-based intervention for depression. It focuses on:

Increasing engagement in pleasant, mastery-oriented, and values-consistent activities

Reducing patterns of withdrawal and avoidance that maintain or worsen depressive symptoms

Research has repeatedly shown that behavioral activation can be as effective as cognitive therapy and medication for many clients with depression, and it is considered a frontline treatment in many practice guidelines [e.g., standard CBT/BA literature and clinical protocols].

Why the other options are not the best answer:

A. Fear hierarchy – This is typically used as part of systematic desensitization or exposure therapies for anxiety disorders, especially phobias, not as a primary, evidence-based treatment for depression.

C. Empty chair – A Gestalt technique often used for unresolved feelings toward self or others. It can be helpful in some contexts but is not a primary empirically validated core treatment for depression.

D. Dream analysis – Associated with psychodynamic or psychoanalytic approaches; it does not have the same level of empirical support as behavioral activation specifically for depression.

Counselors working within the NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas are expected to use interventions like behavioral activation that directly target depressive patterns through structured, change-oriented action.

The term “outsider witness groups” comes specifically from narrative therapy. In this approach, clients tell and re-author their stories, and selected others (outsider witnesses) listen to these stories and then respond by sharing what moved or resonated with them. This process:

Brings in social resources and supportive witnesses.

Strengthens the client’s preferred identity and alternative story.

Helps the client feel seen and supported in a broader community context.

Thus, option D. Narrative therapy is correct.

Adlerian therapy (A) uses family constellation, early recollections, and encouragement, but not outsider witness groups as a standard technique.

Gestalt therapy (B) emphasizes experiential awareness, here-and-now work, and empty-chair techniques.

Community psychology (C) incorporates social systems and resources but does not specifically use “outsider witness groups” as conceptualized in narrative therapy.

NBCC Counselor Work Behaviors expect counselors to know the distinctive concepts and methods of major counseling theories, including narrative therapy’s use of outsider witnesses to support client change.

Counselors are expected to understand how to convert between different score scales (standard scores and raw scores) using the logic of z scores.

Step 1: Find the z score of the student’s standard score.

Standard-score mean = 76

Standard-score standard deviation = 7

Student’s score = 69

z=X−μσ=69−767=−77=−1z = \frac{X - \mu}{\sigma} = \frac{69 - 76}{7} = \frac{-7}{7} = -1z=σX−μ​=769−76​=7−7​=−1

So the student is one standard deviation below the mean (z = -1).

Step 2: Convert that z score back to the original raw-score distribution.

Original mean = 25

Original standard deviation = 5

Xraw=μraw+z⋅σraw=25+(−1)⋅5=25−5=20X_{\text{raw}} = \mu_{\text{raw}} + z \cdot \sigma_{\text{raw}} = 25 + (-1) \cdot 5 = 25 - 5 = 20Xraw​=μraw​+z⋅σraw​=25+(−1)⋅5=25−5=20

So the corresponding raw score is 20, which is option D.

This kind of conversion is part of basic testing and measurement knowledge that supports accurate assessment and communication of test results.

In accountability and program evaluation, counselors are expected to use data that reflects actual client change to demonstrate effectiveness. Within professional practice, the most powerful and persuasive evidence is outcome data, because it shows:

What changed for clients (e.g., improved career decision-making, job placement, satisfaction with career choice).

The degree to which program goals and client objectives were met.

The impact of services on client functioning and development.

By comparison:

Input data focuses on what resources went into the program (e.g., staff, time, materials).

Context data describes the environment or client population characteristics.

Process data shows what was done (activities, number of sessions), but not whether it worked.

NBCC-aligned counselor work behaviors emphasize using results-focused (outcome) data for accountability to stakeholders and for improving services, which is why outcome data has the greatest impact.

Behavioral approaches are grounded in the assumption that most human behavior, including maladaptive behavior, is learned through principles such as conditioning, reinforcement, modeling, and environmental contingencies. From this perspective:

Problem behaviors are acquired in the same way as other behaviors (through learning).

Therefore, they can be modified or unlearned using the same learning principles.

Option B directly reflects this core assumption.

A is inaccurate because behavior therapy typically focuses directly on observable behavior, not on uncovering deep “underlying causes” in a psychodynamic sense.

C is the opposite of what behavior therapy proposes; behavior therapy is built on the idea that learning principles are effective in changing behavior.

D is incorrect because behavior therapy uses many techniques (e.g., exposure, systematic desensitization, skills training, reinforcement strategies) tailored to specific problems and clients.

Understanding major theoretical orientations, including behavior therapy and how they conceptualize the development and modification of maladaptive behaviors, is part of the Areas of Clinical Focus within the Counselor Work Behavior Areas.

The scenario describes an adult who, instead of punishing the child in a purely behavioristic way, talks with the child about how their behavior affects others and helps the child recognize their own feelings and others’ feelings. This is characteristic of an inductive discipline approach, which emphasizes:

Helping the child understand the consequences of their actions on other people.

Developing empathy, moral reasoning, and internalized values.

Encouraging the child to take responsibility and regulate behavior from within.

Option B, the inductive approach, matches this style. It is often contrasted with more power-assertive or purely consequence-based methods.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. Operant conditioning focuses on behavior change through reinforcement and punishment, typically without explicit emphasis on the child’s understanding of others’ feelings.

C. Deductive approach generally refers to reasoning from general principles to specific cases and is not the standard term used to describe this kind of discipline strategy.

D. Intermittent reinforcement refers to a schedule in which behaviors are reinforced only some of the time, a concept from learning theory that does not describe the empathic, discussion-based process in the scenario.

This fits with NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas under clinical focus with children and families, where counselors are expected to understand and, when appropriate, teach or model developmentally sensitive discipline practices that foster empathy, prosocial behavior, and internalized self-control.

Counselors must understand major theories of human development as part of their Areas of Clinical Focus. Carol Gilligan (A) is known for her work on moral development in females, challenging Kohlberg’s male-centered model. She argued that women’s moral reasoning often emphasizes care, relationships, and responsibility, and that this pattern was not adequately captured in earlier theories that relied heavily on male samples.

Her research opened the door for a more nuanced understanding of gender differences in moral reasoning, which is important for counselors when conceptualizing clients’ values, decision-making, and developmental tasks.

The other theorists focus on different areas:

Virginia Satir (B) is associated with family systems and communication patterns in families.

Anne Roe (C) is known for a theory of career development related to early child–parent relationships.

Karen Horney (D) contributed to neo-Freudian psychoanalytic theory and explored personality and feminine psychology but did not specifically develop a major model of moral development in females.

Gilligan’s work supports counselors in recognizing diverse developmental pathways and avoiding gender-biased assumptions when understanding clients’ moral judgments and values.

Within group counseling, counselors are expected to foster participation, interaction, self-exploration, and mutual responsibility. Effective group work typically involves:

Building authentic relationships among members

Encouraging appropriate self-disclosure

Supporting members in exploring personal issues

Promoting responsibility for self and sensitivity to others

Options B, C, and D all reflect desired therapeutic outcomes in groups:

B: Developing positive, natural relationships is a core benefit of group interaction.

C: Exploring personal issues within a supportive group is central to group counseling’s therapeutic power.

D: Learning responsibility to self and others aligns with group norms and interpersonal learning.

In contrast, A describes a client who only listens and stays anonymous, avoiding meaningful participation or self-disclosure. While some initial caution is normal, maintaining anonymity throughout the group undermines the interactive and experiential nature of group counseling and is therefore least desirable.

So the correct answer is A.

When planning treatment for substance use disorders, counselors are expected to prioritize immediate safety and stabilization, followed by the development of skills and environmental changes that support abstinence and recovery. Early treatment typically focuses on:

Physical concerns (A): addressing withdrawal, medical risks, and overall health stability is often the first priority.

Managing stress without substances (B): clients need early coping strategies to handle cravings and stressors without returning to use.

Dysfunctional lifestyle (C): examining and beginning to modify high-risk routines, relationships, and environments that maintain substance use is an early and ongoing focus.

Personality traits (D), while potentially relevant, are typically not an initial focus. Deep exploration of personality structure, enduring traits, or complex characterological issues usually comes later, after stabilization, reduction of use, and establishment of basic coping skills. Addressing these too early can be overwhelming and may distract from urgent recovery tasks.

Therefore, the factor not initially addressed is personality traits, making D the correct answer.

Top of Form

Extended thinking

Bottom of Form

A work sample is a screening or assessment technique in which an applicant is asked to perform a task that closely resembles an actual job duty. In this case, writing a response to a commonly encountered situation in that counseling setting simulates the type of clinical writing, judgment, and communication the job requires.

Thus, C. A work sample is the correct term.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. Structured interview involves a standardized set of interview questions asked face-to-face or virtually, not a written job-task simulation.

B. Content analysis is a research or evaluation method used to analyze written, verbal, or media material, not the name of a screening tool itself.

D. Role-play would involve acting out the situation, usually live or via video, rather than writing a response.

Knowledge of different assessment and screening methods, including work samples, fits within Intake, Assessment and Diagnosis competencies, since counselors must understand assessment strategies used in both clinical and organizational contexts.

The Counselor Work Behavior Areas emphasize that counselors must be able to address grief, loss, and existential concerns, including how clients make meaning of life events and their own existence. When a client says they are trying to make sense of their purpose in life after a loss, the counselor’s primary focus should be on the existential and meaning-making issues the client is directly raising.

Option A, the purpose of human existence, most closely represents exploring the client’s deeper questions about:

Meaning, purpose, and significance in life.

How the loss affects his understanding of why he is here and what his life is about.

His beliefs, values, and worldview related to life, death, and purpose.

This kind of exploration is consistent with clinical expectations that counselors help clients process existential themes (such as meaning, isolation, freedom, mortality) that often emerge following significant loss.

Why the other options are not the best choice:

B. Different denominations within the church – Focusing on denominational differences is more about institutional structures and doctrine than the client’s personal questions about purpose and meaning.

C. The client's history of volunteer experiences – This could be relevant later (e.g., to explore where he has found meaning), but it is secondary to directly exploring the core existential question he is already asking.

D. The number of deaths within the client's family – This is factual and may be relevant in assessment, but it does not directly address his expressed need to understand his purpose in life.

This approach reflects the NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Area that calls for sensitivity to loss, spirituality, and meaning-making and encourages counselors to meet clients at the level of the concerns they present.