Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical Practice
12-13%of exam
Social and Cultural Diversity
12-13%of exam
Human Growth and Development
12-13%of exam
Career Development
12-13%of exam
Counseling and Helping Relationships
12-13%of exam
Group Counseling and Group Work
12-13%of exam
Assessment and Testing
12-13%of exam
Research and Program Evaluation
12-13%of exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- CPCE
- Owner
- CCE
- Format
- 160 MCQ
- Scored
- 136 items
- Pretest
- 24 items
- Time
- 4 hr 15 min
- Pass
- Program sets
- Delivery
- APB/CBT/OnVUE
Ethics Six
Do good, avoid harm, honor choice.
Ethics Picker
- Client danger→Protect safety(Duty first)
- Abuse suspected→Report legally(Mandated)
- Consent unclear→Clarify rights(Ongoing)
- Boundary concern→Consult supervisor(Document)
- Culture cue→Explore meaning(Avoid assumptions)
- Competence gap→Refer/consult(Scope)
- Records request→Check law(Confidentiality)
- Technology session→Review risks(Telehealth)
Exam Logistics
- Total items
- 160 MCQ
- Scored items
- 136 total
- Per domain
- 17 scored
- Pretest items
- 24 unscored
- Time limit
- 4 hr 15 min
- Cut score
- Institution set
- Score report
- Domain scores
- Retakes
- Program authorized
Ethics Core
- Beneficence
- Promote welfare
- Nonmaleficence
- Avoid harm
- Autonomy
- Respect choice
- Justice
- Fair access
- Fidelity
- Keep trust
- Veracity
- Tell truth
- Consent
- Ongoing process
- Consultation
- Use expertise
Competence vs Humility
Competence
- Knowledge skills
- Cultural patterns
- Practice ability
Humility
- Lifelong learning
- Self-reflection
- Power awareness
Skill plus stance
Diversity Cues
- Culture
- Shared meanings
- Identity
- Multiple memberships
- Privilege
- Unearned advantage
- Oppression
- Systemic barriers
- Microaggression
- Subtle invalidation
- Encapsulation
- Single worldview
- Acculturation
- Cultural adaptation
- Advocacy
- Barrier removal
Development Theories
- Piaget
- Cognitive stages
- Erikson
- Psychosocial crises
- Kohlberg
- Moral reasoning
- Bowlby
- Attachment bonds
- Maslow
- Needs hierarchy
- Bandura
- Social learning
- Vygotsky
- Social cognition
- Bronfenbrenner
- Ecological systems
RIASEC
Real people investigate artistic social enterprise conventions.
Interest vs Aptitude
Interest
- Likes
- Preferences
- Strong inventory
Aptitude
- Ability
- Potential skill
- Performance predictor
Want vs can
Career Theories
- Holland
- RIASEC fit
- Super
- Self-concept lifespan
- Parsons
- Trait-factor match
- Krumboltz
- Learning happenstance
- SCCT
- Efficacy outcomes
- Savickas
- Career construction
- O*NET
- Occupation data
- Strong
- Interest inventory
WDEP
Want, do, evaluate, plan.
Theory Picker
- Need empathy→Person-centered(Core conditions)
- Distorted thoughts→CBT(Restructure)
- Irrational beliefs→REBT(Dispute)
- Avoided fear→Exposure(Gradual)
- Values stuck→ACT(Flexibility)
- Family pattern→Systems(Context)
- Choice focus→Reality therapy(WDEP)
- Awareness gap→Gestalt(Here-now)
Helping Theories
- Person-centered
- Core conditions
- CBT
- Thought-behavior link
- REBT
- Dispute beliefs
- Gestalt
- Here-now awareness
- Adlerian
- Lifestyle goals
- Reality
- Choices needs
- ACT
- Values flexibility
- Family systems
- Relational patterns
Task vs Counseling Group
Task
- Work product
- Decision focus
- Agenda driven
Counseling
- Personal change
- Process focus
- Therapeutic factors
Product vs process
Group Work
- Screening
- Fit and readiness
- Orientation
- Norms and consent
- Storming
- Conflict testing
- Cohesion
- Trust building
- Universality
- Not alone
- Altruism
- Helping others
- Scapegoating
- Unfair blame
- Blocking
- Stop harm
Reliability vs Validity
Reliability
- Consistent scores
- Less error
- Repeatable results
Validity
- Correct meaning
- Proper use
- Supported inference
Consistent vs accurate
Assessment Picker
- Compare peers→Norm-referenced(Percentile)
- Check standard→Criterion-referenced(Mastery)
- Need consistency→Reliability(Repeatability)
- Need accuracy→Validity(Meaning)
- Immediate danger→Risk assessment(Safety)
- Program gap→Needs assessment(Planning)
Assessment Basics
- Reliability
- Score consistency
- Validity
- Measures intended
- Norm-referenced
- Compares people
- Criterion-referenced
- Compares standard
- Mean
- Arithmetic average
- Median
- Middle score
- Mode
- Most frequent
- SD
- Score spread
Norm vs Criterion
Norm
- Compares people
- Percentiles
- Standard scores
Criterion
- Compares standard
- Mastery
- Cut scores
Others vs standard
Risk Assessment
- Suicide risk
- Ideation plan means
- Homicide risk
- Threat target means
- Abuse
- Mandated reporting
- Trauma
- Safety first
- MSE
- Current functioning
- Diagnosis
- Pattern plus impairment
- Observation
- Behavioral evidence
- Referral
- Outside scope
Error Types
One sees ghosts; two misses signals.
Formative vs Summative
Formative
- During program
- Improve process
- Early feedback
Summative
- After program
- Judge outcome
- Final impact
Improve vs judge
Research Basics
- Quantitative
- Numbers testing
- Qualitative
- Meaning themes
- Mixed methods
- Numbers plus themes
- Internal validity
- Causal confidence
- External validity
- Generalizability
- Type I
- False positive
- Type II
- False negative
- Power
- Detect true effect
Common Traps
Confidentiality Exceptions
Privacy promise ≠ Safety/legal exceptions
Familiar Theory Term
Recognized label ≠ Stem-specific action
Culture Shortcut
Group stereotype ≠ Client meaning
Score Confusion
Raw domain score ≠ Program pass rule
Reliability Trap
Consistent measure ≠ Valid interpretation
Research Error Trap
Reject true null ≠ Miss false null
Last Minute
- 1.Each domain equals 12.5%
- 2.160 items; 136 scored
- 3.Program sets passing score
- 4.Safety overrides confidentiality
- 5.Consent is ongoing process
- 6.Reliability before validity
- 7.Norm compares people
- 8.Criterion compares standard
- 9.Super means self-concept
- 10.Holland means RIASEC
- 11.Formative improves; summative judges
- 12.Answer every pretest item
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