CPCE Practice Test Exam UPDATED
ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS
The NBCC Code of Ethics and Ethical Standards of the American Counseling Association (ACA) do
not include a statement reflecting the principle that
A) counselors have a right to protect clients from themselves if the clients give evidence of being self-
injurious.
B) revelation of a counselor's notes on a client should not be made to other professional unless the
client has provided written permission to do so or the information has been subpoenaed by a court of
law.
C) counselors should receive appropriate fees for services rendered regardless of the situations or
settings in which the services were rendered.
D) improvement of the profession through a variety of professional involvements is a responsibility of
all counselors. - CORRECT ANSWER CORRECT ANSWER: C) counselors should receive
appropriate fees for services rendered regardless of the situations or settings in which the services
were rendered.
The state in which you reside does not yet have counselor licensure, so a local civic club has asked
you to address their members by presenting an overview of counselor licensure and its benefits to the
public. In your presentation to the group you note that
A) licensure automatically entitles counselors to receive third- party payments from insurance
companies.
B) some professional groups (e.g., psychologists) have opposed counselor licensure although the need
for mental health services for the public has increased steadily.
C) state-level counselor licensure laws have existed for over 40 years although it is only recently that
a majority of the states have counselor licensure laws.
,D) one of the ways that counselor licensure laws protect the public's general welfare is through
restriction of the use of the term "counselor" to those persons who have graduated from counselor
education programs. - CORRECT ANSWER CORRECT ANSWER:
B) some professional groups (e.g., psychologists) have opposed counselor licensure although the need
for mental health services for the public has increased steadily.
A client has concluded a series of counseling sessions with another counselor and has now come to
you for counseling. According to the NBCC ethical standards, you should
A) proceed as you would with any other new client.
B) contact the other counselor and find out if it is appropriate for you to counsel the client.
C) contact the other counselor to ensure that you do not cover the same topic areas with the client.
D) advise the client to continue with the other counselor. - CORRECT ANSWER CORRECT
ANSWER:
A) proceed as you would with any other new client.
Your employer has a policy which necessitates that you report all instances of child abuse to state
authorities. A client alludes (in your judgment) to the possibility of (the client) being a child abuser.
As a counselor you should
A) contact your lawyer; the policy is a violation of the "fair trade" laws.
B) refer the person elsewhere; receipt of a salary constitutes voluntary agreement with the employer's
policies.
C) inform the client of the policy and let the client decide how to proceed.
D) contact a consultant; then do as the consultant suggests. - CORRECT ANSWER CORRECT
ANSWER:
C) inform the client of the policy and let the client decide how to proceed.
,A married couple comes to you, as a counselor in private practice and tells you that they are having
marital difficulties and have sought counseling for resolution of them. In the course of an initial
session with them, one of the spouses reports being a new and active member of the local Alcoholics
Anonymous (AA~) group. You should
A) investigate the nature of the local AA's activities and continue counseling if those activities do not
include accepted definitions of counseling.
B) terminate counseling with the one spouse but continue to work with the spouse who is not an AA
participant.
C) offer to co-counsel with the staff of the local AA.
D) refer both spouses to the local AA. - CORRECT ANSWER CORRECT ANSWER:
A) investigate the nature of the local AA's activities and continue counseling if those activities do not
include accepted definitions of counseling.
A member of the local clergy telephones and asks for your evaluation of the spiritual values of a
person whom the caller knows was one of your clients. The caller wants your opinion because the
former client is an applicant to a theological institution for which the caller is the local applicant
evaluator. You should
a. respond orally but require that no records be made of the conversation and that no comments be
attributed to you.
b. inform the caller that under no circumstances are you ethically permitted to divulge whether a
person is or has been a client or any information about a client without the client's permission.
c. inform the caller that you need to call the former client and obtain the client's permission before
you can express your opinions.
d. seek the counsel of your supervisor to determine what types of information it would be permissible
to divulge. - CORRECT ANSWER b. inform the caller that under no circumstances are you
ethically permitted to divulge whether a person is or has been a client or any information about a
client without the client's permission.
You have been providing career counseling to a client who is seeking employment. Concurrent to the
counseling, and with your knowledge, the client has made application for employment with several
employers. A potential employer calls you and asks for your opinion as to your client's suitability for
the employer's job opening. Under which of the following conditions are you free (i.e., not in
violation of professional ethics) to provide the information requested?
, a. when it is clear that the client will not get the job unless the information is given
b. when you are certain that the information you would provide would assure that the client would get
the job
c. when in your best judgment you believe the information would enhance the client's chances for
getting the job
d. none of the above - CORRECT ANSWER d. none of the above
As applied to professional licensure of counselors. the term "reciprocity" means that
a. one licensing agency agrees to accept the licensing standards of another as sufficient for its own.
b. a licensed counselor may legally perform the functions of a licensed psychologist.
c. certification is synonymous with licensure.
d. graduation from a fully accredited counselor education program automatically constitutes
eligibility for licensure - CORRECT ANSWER a. one licensing agency agrees to accept the
licensing standards of another as sufficient for its own.
The publication that is likely to average the largest number of current research articles on the
counseling process is the
a. Journal of Counseling Psychology.
b. Review of Educational Research.
c. Journal of Consulting and Abnormal Psychology.
d. Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases. - CORRECT ANSWER a. Journal of Counseling
Psychology.
According to the NBCC Code of Ethics and the ACA Code of Ethics. when should a counselor try to
persuade the client to report knowledge of a crime to the appropriate law enforcement authorities?
a. when there is imminent danger to others
b. when there is a crime in progress
c. after the crime
d. never - CORRECT ANSWER a. when there is imminent danger to others
Third party reimbursement is a term pertinent to
a. transactional analysis.
b. behavioral therapy.
ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS
The NBCC Code of Ethics and Ethical Standards of the American Counseling Association (ACA) do
not include a statement reflecting the principle that
A) counselors have a right to protect clients from themselves if the clients give evidence of being self-
injurious.
B) revelation of a counselor's notes on a client should not be made to other professional unless the
client has provided written permission to do so or the information has been subpoenaed by a court of
law.
C) counselors should receive appropriate fees for services rendered regardless of the situations or
settings in which the services were rendered.
D) improvement of the profession through a variety of professional involvements is a responsibility of
all counselors. - CORRECT ANSWER CORRECT ANSWER: C) counselors should receive
appropriate fees for services rendered regardless of the situations or settings in which the services
were rendered.
The state in which you reside does not yet have counselor licensure, so a local civic club has asked
you to address their members by presenting an overview of counselor licensure and its benefits to the
public. In your presentation to the group you note that
A) licensure automatically entitles counselors to receive third- party payments from insurance
companies.
B) some professional groups (e.g., psychologists) have opposed counselor licensure although the need
for mental health services for the public has increased steadily.
C) state-level counselor licensure laws have existed for over 40 years although it is only recently that
a majority of the states have counselor licensure laws.
,D) one of the ways that counselor licensure laws protect the public's general welfare is through
restriction of the use of the term "counselor" to those persons who have graduated from counselor
education programs. - CORRECT ANSWER CORRECT ANSWER:
B) some professional groups (e.g., psychologists) have opposed counselor licensure although the need
for mental health services for the public has increased steadily.
A client has concluded a series of counseling sessions with another counselor and has now come to
you for counseling. According to the NBCC ethical standards, you should
A) proceed as you would with any other new client.
B) contact the other counselor and find out if it is appropriate for you to counsel the client.
C) contact the other counselor to ensure that you do not cover the same topic areas with the client.
D) advise the client to continue with the other counselor. - CORRECT ANSWER CORRECT
ANSWER:
A) proceed as you would with any other new client.
Your employer has a policy which necessitates that you report all instances of child abuse to state
authorities. A client alludes (in your judgment) to the possibility of (the client) being a child abuser.
As a counselor you should
A) contact your lawyer; the policy is a violation of the "fair trade" laws.
B) refer the person elsewhere; receipt of a salary constitutes voluntary agreement with the employer's
policies.
C) inform the client of the policy and let the client decide how to proceed.
D) contact a consultant; then do as the consultant suggests. - CORRECT ANSWER CORRECT
ANSWER:
C) inform the client of the policy and let the client decide how to proceed.
,A married couple comes to you, as a counselor in private practice and tells you that they are having
marital difficulties and have sought counseling for resolution of them. In the course of an initial
session with them, one of the spouses reports being a new and active member of the local Alcoholics
Anonymous (AA~) group. You should
A) investigate the nature of the local AA's activities and continue counseling if those activities do not
include accepted definitions of counseling.
B) terminate counseling with the one spouse but continue to work with the spouse who is not an AA
participant.
C) offer to co-counsel with the staff of the local AA.
D) refer both spouses to the local AA. - CORRECT ANSWER CORRECT ANSWER:
A) investigate the nature of the local AA's activities and continue counseling if those activities do not
include accepted definitions of counseling.
A member of the local clergy telephones and asks for your evaluation of the spiritual values of a
person whom the caller knows was one of your clients. The caller wants your opinion because the
former client is an applicant to a theological institution for which the caller is the local applicant
evaluator. You should
a. respond orally but require that no records be made of the conversation and that no comments be
attributed to you.
b. inform the caller that under no circumstances are you ethically permitted to divulge whether a
person is or has been a client or any information about a client without the client's permission.
c. inform the caller that you need to call the former client and obtain the client's permission before
you can express your opinions.
d. seek the counsel of your supervisor to determine what types of information it would be permissible
to divulge. - CORRECT ANSWER b. inform the caller that under no circumstances are you
ethically permitted to divulge whether a person is or has been a client or any information about a
client without the client's permission.
You have been providing career counseling to a client who is seeking employment. Concurrent to the
counseling, and with your knowledge, the client has made application for employment with several
employers. A potential employer calls you and asks for your opinion as to your client's suitability for
the employer's job opening. Under which of the following conditions are you free (i.e., not in
violation of professional ethics) to provide the information requested?
, a. when it is clear that the client will not get the job unless the information is given
b. when you are certain that the information you would provide would assure that the client would get
the job
c. when in your best judgment you believe the information would enhance the client's chances for
getting the job
d. none of the above - CORRECT ANSWER d. none of the above
As applied to professional licensure of counselors. the term "reciprocity" means that
a. one licensing agency agrees to accept the licensing standards of another as sufficient for its own.
b. a licensed counselor may legally perform the functions of a licensed psychologist.
c. certification is synonymous with licensure.
d. graduation from a fully accredited counselor education program automatically constitutes
eligibility for licensure - CORRECT ANSWER a. one licensing agency agrees to accept the
licensing standards of another as sufficient for its own.
The publication that is likely to average the largest number of current research articles on the
counseling process is the
a. Journal of Counseling Psychology.
b. Review of Educational Research.
c. Journal of Consulting and Abnormal Psychology.
d. Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases. - CORRECT ANSWER a. Journal of Counseling
Psychology.
According to the NBCC Code of Ethics and the ACA Code of Ethics. when should a counselor try to
persuade the client to report knowledge of a crime to the appropriate law enforcement authorities?
a. when there is imminent danger to others
b. when there is a crime in progress
c. after the crime
d. never - CORRECT ANSWER a. when there is imminent danger to others
Third party reimbursement is a term pertinent to
a. transactional analysis.
b. behavioral therapy.
