NCE-ABE National Counselor Examination Question and Answers

Within Counseling and Helping Relationships, CACREP emphasizes knowledge of counseling theories, including cognitive and cognitive-behavioral approaches.

In cognitive theory of depression (commonly associated with Aaron Beck):

Depression is understood as being driven primarily by maladaptive cognitions, such as negative automatic thoughts, faulty assumptions, and dysfunctional core beliefs.

These cognitive distortions (e.g., all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralization, catastrophizing) shape how clients interpret events, leading to depressive feelings and behaviors.

While factors like biochemical changes and neuropathology (Options B and D) can play a role in depression from a medical or biological perspective, cognitive theory specifically emphasizes that it is the patterns of distorted thinking that are central to the development and maintenance of depressive symptoms.

Conditioned reactions (Option A) are more strongly associated with behavioral and learning theories, not the core principle of cognitive theory.

Therefore, in cognitive theory of depression, symptoms are primarily viewed as the result of distortions in thinking, making C the correct answer.

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.

In Group Counseling and Group Work, one of the classic group formats covered is the encounter group (closely related to sensitivity or T-groups). Encounter groups typically:

Emphasize personal growth and here-and-now interpersonal awareness,

Aim to decrease inhibitions and increase authenticity and emotional expression,

Often use intensive or “marathon” sessions to facilitate deep exploration of interpersonal issues.

This description matches encounter groups (A) exactly.

Psychoanalytic groups (B) emphasize insight into unconscious processes, using interpretation and transference analysis.

Psychoeducational groups (C) focus on structured teaching of skills or information (e.g., health, coping skills).

Humanistic (D) is a broader theoretical orientation; many encounter groups are humanistic, but the specific term used for this kind of intensive, awareness-focused marathon group is “encounter group.”

Within the Assessment and Testing core area, counselors are expected to understand and correctly use basic statistical concepts, including measures of central tendency and variability.

The median is defined as the score that divides a distribution into two equal halves, with 50% of the scores falling above it and 50% below it. This is exactly what the question is asking: the value that separates the top half of the scores from the bottom half.

The mode is the most frequently occurring score in a distribution and does not necessarily divide the distribution into equal halves.

The mean is the arithmetic average of the scores and can be influenced by extreme scores; it does not, by definition, guarantee that half the scores are above and half below.

The semi-interquartile range is a measure of variability (spread), not a measure of central tendency. It represents half the distance between the first and third quartiles.

Because the median is the statistic that separates the upper 50% of scores from the lower 50%, A (Median) is the correct answer.

This question draws on both Social and Cultural Diversity and Counseling and Helping Relationships core areas. Counselors are expected to:

Demonstrate cultural sensitivity and responsiveness with clients from marginalized groups, including transgender clients.

Respond to potential bias, discrimination, or microaggressions in ways that prioritize the client’s safety, dignity, and emotional experience.

Use empathic, client-centered responses to explore feelings before problem-solving or taking action.

Option analysis:

A. “I’ll help you file a complaint…” – Advocacy and support may be appropriate later, but jumping straight to action skips the crucial step of understanding the client’s internal experience.

B. “What feelings came up for you when your advisor told you that?” – This response is client-centered and explores the student’s emotional reaction to a potentially discriminatory event. It aligns with core counseling skills and multicultural competence, making it the best initial response.

C. “How do you think that being transgender would negatively impact your career choice?” – This subtly assumes that being transgender is a negative factor and risks reinforcing stigma, which is contrary to multicultural and ethical principles.

D. “You need to do what is best for you regardless of what your advisor says.” – This is advice-giving and bypasses exploration of feelings, context, and potential systemic issues.

Because the first task in a counseling relationship—especially around identity and discrimination—is to understand and validate the client’s emotional experience, Option B is the most appropriate initial response.

Within the Group Counseling and Group Work and Counseling and Helping Relationships core areas, counselor training includes knowledge of experiential theories such as Gestalt. Gestalt group counseling emphasizes:

Integration of the self (bringing together fragmented parts of the personality into a more unified whole) – this supports Option A as a valid goal.

Personal responsibility and maturation, often described as helping clients move toward more adult, authentic ways of being – this is consistent with “helping group members grow up” in Option B.

Awareness and acceptance of feelings, including anxiety, as a natural part of life and growth, rather than something to eliminate – this supports Option C.

By contrast, extinguishing maladaptive behavior (Option D) is language more closely associated with behavioral and learning theories, which focus on reinforcement, punishment, and extinction of specific behaviors. Gestalt work is less about directly extinguishing behaviors and more about awareness, experiencing, and integration in the here-and-now.

Therefore, Option D is not a primary goal of Gestalt counseling groups.

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 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.

Under Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical Practice, CACREP-aligned ethics stress that:

Counselors have a clear duty to protect confidentiality,

But in group counseling, the leader cannot ethically guarantee that other members will maintain confidentiality.

The counselor must explain the limits of confidentiality and encourage members to honor group privacy.

Therefore, the group leader’s ethical obligation is to strongly encourage members not to share group discussions outside the group and to educate them about the importance and rationale for confidentiality. This is captured by Option B.

Option A is unethical because no counselor can guarantee that other members will keep information confidential.

Option C incorrectly suggests members should limit sharing only to non-counseling details, which is not how confidentiality is framed; the focus is on not sharing other members’ counseling-related disclosures.

Option D weakens the standard by suggesting that some sharing is acceptable if “discreet,” which conflicts with the usual ethical guidance to avoid sharing group members’ personal information at all.

Thus, B best reflects the ethical obligation of a group leader regarding confidentiality.

In the Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical Practice core area, counselors are trained to understand their roles in prevention, advocacy, and outreach within schools and communities. A rape prevention workshop at a college:

Is aimed at the general student population, not only those who have already experienced trauma.

Focuses on preventing sexual violence rather than treating its aftermath.

Represents the counselor taking services out to the community, rather than waiting for students to present individually for counseling.

This aligns directly with the concept of community outreach and primary prevention.

Option B (tertiary prevention) would involve intervening after the problem has occurred, such as counseling rape survivors to reduce long-term consequences.

Option C (gender-specific group) is not supported because the item does not specify that the group is only for one gender.

Option D (solution-focused technique) refers to a specific counseling approach, not the format or purpose of a prevention workshop.

Therefore, the best description is A. A community outreach effort.

Within the Assessment and Testing core area, counselors are expected to understand the principles of diagnosis, including that mental disorder diagnoses (such as ADHD) are based not only on the presence of symptoms but also on clinically significant impairment in social, academic, or occupational functioning across settings.

Diagnostic criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder specify that symptoms must cause clear evidence of interference with, or reduction in quality of, social, academic, or occupational functioning, and must be present in two or more settings (e.g., home and school). Therefore, a diagnosis is justified primarily when functioning is impaired, which matches Option D.

ADHD is more commonly diagnosed in males than females, particularly in childhood; thus, Option A is incorrect.

Although symptoms often begin in early childhood, ADHD is commonly identified after increased demands in school; it is not typically diagnosed before formal schooling, so Option B is incorrect.

ADHD is associated with a familial pattern of ADHD and related conditions, not specifically with family members having personality disorders, so Option C is incorrect.

Therefore, D is the correct answer because diagnosis must be tied to meaningful impairment in functioning, not just the presence of symptoms.

Within the Counseling and Helping Relationships core area, CACREP emphasizes knowledge of psychoanalytic concepts such as resistance, transference, catharsis, and regression.

In classical psychoanalytic theory, resistance refers to any behavior that impedes the counseling process or avoids threatening, unconscious material. This can include joking, changing the subject, talking about trivial or nonpersonal matters, being late, or intellectualizing instead of addressing feelings.

In this vignette, the adolescent repeatedly tells inappropriate jokes and shifts to unrelated, nonpersonal topics, which function to avoid deeper, emotionally charged material—a textbook example of resistance.

Why the others are not best:

Transference (A): This is when clients unconsciously transfer feelings from earlier significant relationships onto the counselor. That’s about who the feelings are directed toward, not joking and avoiding content.

Catharsis (C): This is an emotional release that comes from expressing previously repressed feelings, usually leading to relief, not avoidance.

Regression (D): This is a return to earlier developmental behaviors in response to stress (e.g., acting childlike), not primarily joking and talking about unrelated topics to avoid personal material.

Thus, the behavior is best understood as B. Resistance.

Within the CACREP core area Counseling and Helping Relationships, counselors are expected to understand major counseling theories, including cognitive-behavioral approaches. Cognitive-behavioral counseling is based on the assumption that thoughts and behaviors are learned and therefore can be changed through structured interventions. It is:

Problem-focused and goal-oriented

Time-limited and highly structured

Emphasizes specific techniques that directly target the client’s presenting issue

This matches the description in the question: the counselor believes (1) most thoughts and behaviors are learned and changeable, and (2) specific procedures can be designed to help solve a particular problem.

Existential counseling (B) focuses on meaning, freedom, choice, and responsibility, not mainly on learned behaviors and structured techniques.

Person-centered counseling (C) emphasizes unconditional positive regard, empathy, and congruence, with a non-directive stance rather than specifically designed problem-solving procedures.

Trait-and-factor counseling (D) is associated with career counseling, focusing on matching traits to occupational factors, not on changing learned thoughts and behaviors.

Thus, the orientation described is cognitive behavioral counseling (A).

The Social and Cultural Diversity core area requires counselors to:

Develop multicultural counseling competence,

Recognize their limitations and biases, and

Engage in ongoing professional development specifically in multicultural issues.

Ethical and training standards emphasize that when counselors recognize gaps in their cultural knowledge or skills, they should:

Seek supervision, consultation, or training to improve their competence with those populations.

Looking at the options:

A. Focus on global concepts and ideas.This can make counseling more abstract and may overlook specific cultural contexts and lived experiences.

B. Disclose any lack of knowledge or awareness to the client.Limited, thoughtful self-disclosure may sometimes be appropriate, but it is not, by itself, sufficient or the most helpful global strategy.

C. Seek supervision and training on multicultural issues.This aligns directly with CACREP’s expectation of ongoing multicultural competence development and is the best answer.

D. Work to assimilate clients who are culturally dissimilar.This is contrary to multicultural principles; counselors should honor and respect clients’ cultural identities, not pressure them to assimilate.

Therefore, the most appropriate and CACREP-consistent action is C (seek supervision and training on multicultural issues).

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.

The Career Development core area includes knowledge of career assessment instruments that help clients clarify interests, values, and career options, especially for decisions such as choosing a college major.

The Self-Directed Search (SDS) is based on Holland’s theory (RIASEC) and helps individuals identify their interest patterns and match them with career fields and college majors consistent with those interests. It is specifically designed for career exploration and educational planning, making it highly appropriate for an 18-year-old choosing a major.

The House-Tree-Person Test is a projective personality assessment and is not designed for career or major selection.

The Adjective Checklist is typically used for personality description or self-perception, not directly for choosing majors or careers.

The Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT) assesses implicit biases or attitudes, not vocational interests or educational choices.

Because the SDS directly links interests to college majors and occupations, the most helpful tool for this student’s decision-making is B. Self-Directed Search.

In the Assessment and Testing core area, CACREP expects counselors to distinguish between different categories of instruments, including interest inventories, personality tests, aptitude tests, and self-concept measures.

Interest inventories are designed to assess a person’s likes and dislikes regarding activities, subjects, and occupations. They are widely used in career counseling to help people explore suitable fields based on what they enjoy.

They directly ask about preferences—which is exactly what the question describes.

Why the others are not best:

Likert-type scale (B): This is a response format (e.g., strongly agree to strongly disagree), not a type of test by itself. It can be used in many kinds of instruments (attitudes, beliefs, etc.).

Self-concept inventory (C): Focuses on how people see themselves (self-image, self-worth), not primarily on their likes and dislikes about activities or careers.

Projective technique (D): Uses ambiguous stimuli (inkblots, drawings, etc.) to explore personality dynamics, not straightforward preference ratings.

Therefore, an instrument that indicates likes and dislikes is A. An interest inventory.

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.

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.

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.

Within the Assessment and Testing core area, counselors are expected to recognize commonly used clinical descriptors and how they relate to patterns of behavior, including social withdrawal and self-absorption.

Historically and in clinical usage, the term “autistic” (from the Greek root for “self”) has been used to describe individuals who are pathologically self-focused, withdrawn from social interaction, and unresponsive to others. While modern practice emphasizes person-first language (e.g., “a person with autism”), exam items may still refer to the historical descriptor.

Neurotic (B) refers more broadly to anxiety-related or maladaptive emotional functioning, not specifically to extreme withdrawal and unresponsiveness.

Lethargic (C) describes low energy or fatigue, not the pervasive social withdrawal and self-focus implied in the question.

Neurasthenic (D) is an outdated term describing general nervous exhaustion and weakness, not specifically social withdrawal or self-focus.

Thus, the descriptor that best fits “pathologically self-focused, withdrawn, and unresponsive” is autistic (A) in the sense used in diagnostic and psychopathology contexts covered in NCE preparation.

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 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.

The Counseling and Helping Relationships core area includes person-centered (client-centered) theory, originating with Carl Rogers. A central concept in this approach is unconditional positive regard—warm acceptance, respect, and valuing of the person without conditions of worth.

Applied to the parent–child relationship, a client-centered perspective emphasizes that:

Children should experience consistent acceptance and respect,

Love and regard are not contingent on performance, behavior, or meeting parental conditions,

This environment supports healthy self-concept and growth.

Thus, Option C (unconditional positive regard) directly reflects the client-centered approach.

The other options come from different theoretical frameworks:

A. Authoritarianism conflicts with client-centered values and reflects a rigid, controlling style.

B. Natural and logical consequences are features of Adlerian / Dreikursian parenting approaches.

D. Behavior-shaping is rooted in behavioral/operant conditioning, not client-centered theory.

Therefore, C is the correct answer.

Within the Assessment and Testing core area, counselors are expected to understand measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode) and how they relate to the shape of a distribution. When the mode is higher than the mean (mode = 115, mean = 110), this suggests a negatively skewed distribution, meaning that:

There are some relatively low scores pulling the mean downward.

The most frequent score (mode) is higher than the average score.

From this pattern, it is reasonable to infer that a few very low scores are present, which is reflected in option A.

Option B (“most students scored below the mean”) is not necessarily true; in skewed distributions, many scores may actually be above the mean.

Option C (calculation error) is not supported by the information; mean and mode do not have to be equal.

Option D (high reliability) cannot be inferred from central tendency measures; reliability relates to consistency of measurement (e.g., test–retest, internal consistency), not mean vs. mode relationships.

Thus, the best conclusion consistent with assessment principles is A. A few students showed very low intelligence scores.

The Group Counseling and Group Work core area highlights the importance of group norms, ground rules, and structure in promoting effective group functioning. When group rules are clear and explicit:

Members know what behavior is expected and what is inappropriate,

There is a shared understanding of participation, confidentiality, respect, and attendance, and

Members can self-regulate and hold each other accountable, rather than relying solely on the leader.

Thus, Option A is correct: clearly stated rules increase the likelihood that members will follow the group guidelines in their participation.

Why the other options are less accurate:

B. Move through stages more slowly – Having explicit rules generally supports smoother movement through group stages by reducing confusion and conflict, not slowing development.

C. More work for the leader – Explicit rules typically reduce the leader’s enforcement burden because expectations are shared and can be maintained by the group.

D. Increased reliance on the leader – Clear, agreed-upon rules foster greater group autonomy, not greater dependence on the leader.

Therefore, consistent with CACREP’s emphasis on understanding and facilitating group norms, A is the best answer.

Within Human Growth and Development, counselors are trained to understand how individuals adapt and sometimes grow in response to trauma. Post-traumatic growth is conceptualized not merely as “positive thinking,” but as a process and outcome in which people:

Engage in adaptive coping after trauma,

Do meaning making about what happened,

Experience personal growth (e.g., deeper relationships, new life priorities, greater appreciation of life).

Option B captures this standard definition: it emphasizes both process (coping and meaning making) and outcome (personal growth) following traumatic experiences.

Options A, C, and D are incomplete or overly simplistic—focusing on theory labels or “positivity” rather than the well-established process/outcome framework used in counseling literature and CACREP-aligned training.

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.

Career construction counseling (Savickas) is a narrative, meaning-based approach to career development. Its central activity is helping clients tell, explore, and organize their life stories in a way that reveals recurring life themes and preferred ways of being in the world. These themes then guide career choices and roles that feel coherent and meaningful.

Thus, option C. Identifying life themes is correct, as it captures the core narrative task of career construction counseling.

A. Analyzing temperament fits more with trait-based or psychometric approaches.

B. Documenting experience may occur, but it is secondary to making sense of those experiences through themes.

D. Practicing interview skills is a useful career skill-building task but is not the central activity of career construction counseling.

NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas expect counselors to understand major career theories and approaches, including narrative and constructivist models that emphasize life themes, meaning-making, and storytelling in career development.

Counselors are expected to understand group development processes and respond therapeutically rather than pathologizing normal group phenomena.

During the transition stage of group development, members often experience:

Anxiety and uncertainty

Testing of the leader

Conflict and disagreement

Possible formation of subgroups as members seek safety and alignment

The formation of subgroups in response to early intragroup conflict is a common and expected phenomenon in group counseling, not automatically a sign of poor leadership or failure.

B. Should be prevented by the counselor – trying to suppress all subgrouping can interfere with authentic expression and working through conflict.

C. Indicates need for change in leadership style – subgroup formation alone does not automatically mean the leader is ineffective.

D. Indicator of counseling effectiveness – subgrouping is developmental, not inherently a sign of success or failure.

Recognizing this as an expected part of group development (A) allows the counselor to facilitate movement toward cohesion and productive work rather than overreacting to normal dynamics.

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.

Career development theories (e.g., trait-factor, developmental, social-cognitive, constructivist) are tools that help counselors organize information about clients and their career concerns. They reduce the complexity of career issues by offering frameworks for understanding interests, abilities, values, developmental tasks, and contextual influences. This enables the counselor to select appropriate helping strategies, interventions, and assessments—making Option C correct.

Option A (increase job satisfaction and productivity) may be an indirect, long-term outcome of effective career counseling but is not the direct reason theories are useful to the counselor.

Option B implies theories “predict” a specific occupation; in reality, theories guide exploration rather than dictate a single occupational choice.

Option D suggests theories tell us what type of counselor is needed; career theories focus on client development and decision-making, not counselor classification.

NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas state that counselors should use theoretical models in their clinical focus to structure case conceptualization and intervention planning, and career development theories are precisely such frameworks in the career counseling domain.

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.

Feminist counseling emphasizes how social, political, and cultural structures contribute to client distress, especially for women and other marginalized groups. A core idea is that personal problems are often rooted in systemic oppression, and therefore counseling is not only about individual change but also about social transformation.

Option C reflects this: feminist counselors view individual counseling as a potential tool of social change by helping clients recognize oppressive systems, develop critical consciousness, and become empowered to challenge inequities in their lives and communities.

A focuses narrowly on the mother relationship, which is more aligned with psychodynamic approaches, not feminist theory.

B is incorrect because feminist counseling explicitly recognizes that women do not have full social equality.

D conflicts with feminist principles, which stress self-empowerment and mutual empowerment, rather than empowerment being bestowed by a more powerful group (e.g., men).

This fits within Areas of Clinical Focus, where counselors must understand theoretical orientations that address power, oppression, gender roles, and social justice in clinical work.

When there is a significant lack of bonding or secure attachment between a caregiver and a child, one major consequence is often low levels of stimulation, interaction, and responsive caregiving. This can lead to:

Inhibited cognitive growth (e.g., delayed language, problem-solving, and conceptual skills).

Inhibited emotional growth, including difficulty regulating emotions and forming relationships.

These developmental limitations directly affect school readiness and academic performance, making A the best answer.

The other options describe possible effects of attachment problems but are less directly and broadly tied to academic underperformance:

B. Indiscriminate attachments to adults – seen in some severe attachment disturbances, but this focuses more on social behaviors than academic performance per se.

C. Decreased experience with attending behaviors – could play a role but is more narrow and not the primary developmental factor emphasized in research.

D. Decreased practice with delaying gratifications – relates more to impulse control and behavior, which can affect school, but the core academic underperformance is more strongly linked to global cognitive and emotional inhibition due to low early stimulation.

Within Areas of Clinical Focus, counselors are expected to understand how early attachment and caregiving environments influence later functioning, including academic achievement, and to recognize how disruptions in bonding can affect a child’s cognitive and emotional development.

When a client being treated for anxiety suddenly begins a new weight loss plan, the counselor’s next step should be assessment, not immediate endorsement or direction. Because changes in eating, exercise, and weight focus can be early signs of eating disorders, body image disturbance, or compulsive behaviors, the counselor should:

Explore the client’s motives, beliefs, behaviors, and emotions related to the weight loss plan

Screen for eating disorder symptoms, body dissatisfaction, compulsive exercise, and related concerns

Approach the topic from a weight-neutral, nonjudgmental stance, focusing on overall well-being rather than on body size or “good” vs. “bad” weights

That is exactly what Option C describes and aligns with the NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas for intake and assessment, where counselors are expected to gather sufficient, unbiased information before deciding on interventions.

Why the other options are less appropriate:

A. Affirm the client’s body size and health goals to meet the client where they are.While affirming the client and being supportive is important, automatically endorsing “health goals” framed as weight loss may inadvertently reinforce problematic or disordered patterns without adequate assessment.

B. Utilize behavior therapy to support the client in achieving new goals.Jumping into behavior-change techniques without clarification and assessment can miss a co-occurring or emerging eating disorder, which would be a serious clinical oversight.

D. Determine if weight loss is needed before responding.Deciding whether weight loss is “needed” is a medical determination and can reflect weight bias. Counselors are not charged with deciding if a client should lose weight; they are responsible for assessing psychological functioning and potential risk.

NBCC-aligned work behaviors emphasize ethical, non-pathologizing assessment, avoidance of bias (including weight bias), and careful screening for co-occurring disorders such as eating disorders.

Counselors using assessments must understand basic statistics, including correlation, to interpret test data appropriately. A correlation coefficient (r) ranges from −1.00 to +1.00 and reflects the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two variables.

A correlation of 0 (option A) indicates no linear relationship between the variables—knowing one gives no information about predicting the other in a straight-line fashion.

−1.00 (B) indicates a perfect negative linear relationship: as one variable increases, the other decreases in a perfectly predictable way.

+1.00 (C) indicates a perfect positive linear relationship: as one variable increases, the other also increases in a perfectly predictable way.

Unable to determine (D) is incorrect because the coefficient itself does provide this information.

Therefore, 0 represents a complete lack of linear relationship, making A the correct answer.

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.

Empathy develops in levels:

Basic empathy often involves accurate reflection of content and primary feelings.

Advanced (or additive) empathy goes further by identifying and reflecting underlying, implied, or conflicting feelings, including ambivalence or feelings the client has not yet clearly expressed.

Option D. Reflecting conflicting feelings captures this advanced level of empathy because the counselor:

Recognizes that the client may feel two or more emotions at the same time (e.g., anger and love, fear and excitement).

Helps the client gain deeper self-awareness by naming these tensions or contradictions.

The other options are less specific to advanced empathy:

A. Asking questions – can facilitate exploration but is not, by itself, empathy.

B. Demonstrating interest – important for rapport but too general to qualify as advanced empathy.

C. Reflecting content – is a helpful basic skill but focuses on the story or facts rather than deeper emotional complexity.

In the Core Counseling Attributes domain, advanced empathy is a key indicator of a counselor’s ability to accurately perceive and articulate the client’s inner experience at a deeper level, thereby facilitating insight and emotional integration.

The techniques listed come from different theoretical orientations:

Relaxation training – commonly associated with behavioral and cognitive-behavioral approaches.

Covert modeling – a behavioral technique using imagined models.

Mental imagery – used in both cognitive and experiential/affective approaches.

Interpretation – often associated with psychodynamic and insight-oriented therapies.

Empty chair – a hallmark of Gestalt and other affective/experiential approaches.

Because this list spans multiple theoretical orientations, the best match is D. Eclectic, where counselors intentionally draw techniques from different theories and apply them in an integrated manner based on client need rather than allegiance to a single model.

NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas describe effective counselors as able to:

Select and apply a variety of interventions.

Match techniques to client goals, problems, and preferences.

Integrate methods from different orientations when appropriate.

This is the essence of an eclectic approach, making D the correct answer.

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.

With retired and older adults, group counseling often benefits from life review and reminiscence, where members share and process past experiences, roles, accomplishments, regrets, and transitions. This helps with identity integration, meaning-making, grief, and adjustment to retirement, so a primary focus on personal reminiscences is particularly appropriate. Thus, Option D is correct.

Option A (more structured activities) can be useful, but structure alone is not the central developmental task for retired individuals; the question asks what the counselor should do, pointing to primary focus, not just a technique.

Option B is contrary to good practice: pre-group screening is recommended for most counseling groups, including those with older adults, to ensure appropriate membership and fit.

Option C (developing new humanistic coping skills) is not wrong in spirit, but it is overly vague and does not highlight the unique value of life review and reminiscence in later-life group counseling.

NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas emphasize that effective group interventions are adapted to the developmental stage and life tasks of the population served. For retired persons, structured reminiscence and life review are evidence-based, developmentally appropriate group foci.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy views the mind as composed of multiple “parts” (such as protectors and exiles) and a core Self that is calm, compassionate, and centered. Even when working with an individual (rather than an actual family), the counselor:

Helps the client identify and get to know different internal parts,

Notices which parts become activated or “take over” in specific contexts, such as relationships,

Supports the client in unblending from these parts and relating to them from Self-leadership.

Option B best captures this process: the counselor facilitates identification and visualization of parts that are taking over in the relationship, so the client can understand how these parts influence their reactions and choices with others.

A is more aligned with traditional family-of-origin or Bowenian/systemic exploration and is less specific to IFS’s internal “parts” model.

C is not required in IFS; the “family” being worked with is the internal system, not necessarily the external family.

D is partially true in a broad sense (IFS does recognize internal conflicts and wounds), but it is too general and does not specify the key IFS intervention of working explicitly with “parts.”

This question falls under Counseling Skills and Interventions, since it focuses on how a counselor would apply a specific therapeutic model in practice with a client experiencing relational difficulties.

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.

In the Counseling Skills and Interventions domain, counselors are expected to know and apply core cognitive-behavioral strategies, including how to help clients and families learn and practice new behaviors.

Modeling (B) is a technique in which the counselor (or another family member) demonstrates a desired behavior, allowing others to observe and then imitate it. This approach is rooted in social learning principles: people learn new behaviors by watching others perform them and seeing the positive outcomes that follow. In family counseling, modeling can be used to teach communication skills, problem-solving, emotional expression, or conflict-resolution behaviors.

The other options are related but not as directly focused on teaching new behaviors through demonstration:

Intensification (A) is more associated with structural family therapy, where the therapist heightens or intensifies interactions to promote change in family structure.

Reinforcement of incompatible behaviors (C) is a behavior modification method that increases behaviors that cannot occur simultaneously with the unwanted behavior. It shapes behavior but does not inherently rely on demonstration.

Extinction (D) reduces a behavior by removing the reinforcement that maintains it.

While several behavioral techniques can support change, modeling is specifically designed to help family members develop and learn new behaviors by observing them in action.

In many residential treatment settings, groups are typically:

Open-ended, with clients entering and leaving treatment at different times.

Characterized by fluctuating membership and inconsistent attendance due to admissions, discharges, medical issues, or program requirements.

Therefore, leaders can expect open groups with inconsistent attendance (D).

Why the others are less accurate in this context:

A. Treatment team members to specify the goals for the group – although treatment teams may offer input, group leaders are generally responsible for defining and managing group goals within the program structure.

B. Use of screening – in residential facilities, group membership is often driven by who is currently admitted, so there is typically limited ability to screen out members.

C. Consistent and stable membership – this is more typical of closed groups, not residential settings with rolling admissions and discharges.

NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas expect counselors to understand how setting characteristics (like residential care) shape group structure, membership, and how leaders plan and intervene.

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.

In the Counseling Skills and Interventions domain, family counselors are expected to explore interactional patterns and multigenerational influences to understand how families function as systems. Discussing extended family behaviors helps the counselor and family members:

Identify repeated patterns of interaction and expectations across generations.

Understand implicit rules, roles, and norms that guide behavior in the family system.

Recognize how these norms influence current conflicts, alliances, and communication styles.

This directly aligns with:

D. clarify familial behavior norms.

Why the other options are less accurate:

A. trace the origins of inappropriate behaviors – while understanding patterns over time may shed light on how certain behaviors developed, the primary systemic focus is on current norms and patterns, not on blaming or pinpointing an “origin.”

B. determine who else should be in counseling – extended family discussions may occasionally inform decisions about including others, but this is not the primary goal.

C. identify model family members – the purpose is not to label some members as “models” but to understand the overall system and its norms.

NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas emphasize that effective family counseling interventions involve examining family structure, patterns, and norms, including those influenced by extended family systems, to guide intervention planning.

In assessment and testing, counselors must understand how different standardized scoring systems relate to one another in a normal distribution so they can interpret results accurately for clients.

A z score of 1 is one standard deviation above the mean. In a normal distribution, this corresponds to about the 84th percentile.

A T score typically has a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. One standard deviation above the mean (z = 1) equals a T score of 60.

A percentile rank of 84 also corresponds to being about one standard deviation above the mean in a normal distribution.

So options A, B, and C all describe roughly the same relative position in the distribution: one standard deviation above the mean.

A stanine scale ranges from 1 to 9, with a mean of 5 and a standard deviation of about 2. A stanine of 5 represents the average range (around the mean), not one standard deviation above it. A score one standard deviation above the mean would fall closer to stanine 7, not 5.

Therefore, stanine of 5 (D) is not equivalent to the other three scores and is the correct answer.

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.

The question highlights two contextual details:

The client grew up in an urban neighborhood.

The client is currently unemployed.

These details point strongly toward socioeconomic conditions, access to resources, exposure to systemic barriers, and the impact of poverty or underemployment—all of which are captured in economic and class experiences.

Therefore, Option C is the most salient factor for treatment planning in this scenario. Understanding economic and class realities helps the counselor:

Conceptualize stressors such as financial strain, housing instability, neighborhood safety, and limited opportunity.

Avoid pathologizing reactions that may be understandable responses to systemic and structural inequities.

Integrate advocacy, resource referral, and practical support into the plan when appropriate.4

Why the other options are less salient given the specific prompt:

A. Cultural identity – Always important, but the question specifically emphasizes urban upbringing and unemployment, which more directly point to class and economic context. Cultural identity may or may not be the central driver in this particular description.

B. Family background and history – Relevant to any case conceptualization, but not as clearly tied to the urban and unemployed descriptors given in the stem.

D. Psychological maturity and development – Also important, but the vignette does not supply information about developmental maturity; instead, it highlights environmental and economic context.

In the Treatment Planning work behavior area, NBCC emphasizes integrating contextual, socioeconomic, and environmental factors into goals and interventions, particularly when clients are affected by unemployment, neighborhood conditions, or social class pressures.4

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

In the intake, assessment, and diagnosis domain, counselors must distinguish among common mental disorders based on symptom patterns. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by:

Excessive anxiety and worry occurring more days than not

Worry that is difficult to control

Concerns that are broad and diffuse, often about everyday events or activities

Associated symptoms such as restlessness, fatigue, muscle tension, irritability, and sleep disturbance

This is captured by Option D: continual yet diffuse and overly-intense reactions to day-to-day stress.

The other options describe different clinical patterns:

A: A persistent lack of enthusiasm with fatigue is more characteristic of depressive disorders.

B: Overconcern with bodily functioning and possible ailments fits somatic symptom–related or illness anxiety presentations, not classic GAD.

C: Repetitive thoughts and ritualistic actions are typical of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Thus, the symptom pattern most consistent with generalized anxiety disorder is D.

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.

In the Counseling Skills and Interventions work behavior area, counselors must understand major counseling theories and their associated assessment and intervention methods.

Individual psychology, developed by Alfred Adler, is an approach that emphasizes the holistic understanding of the person, including goals, social interest, family constellation, and life themes. A central tool in Adlerian/individual psychology is the lifestyle assessment, which explores:

Early recollections

Family constellation and birth order

Private logic and core beliefs

Patterns of behavior and goals of behavior

The purpose of lifestyle assessment is to understand the client’s unique way of viewing self, others, and the world, and to identify themes that influence current functioning and problems.

Gestalt (A) focuses on present awareness, unfinished business, and experiential techniques such as role-playing and empty-chair work, not lifestyle assessment.

Psychoanalytic (B) emphasizes unconscious processes, early childhood conflicts, and defense mechanisms, using tools such as free association and dream analysis.

Reality therapy (D) focuses on present choices, responsibility, and meeting basic needs, often using tools like the WDEP system (Wants, Doing, Evaluation, Planning), not lifestyle assessment.

Because lifestyle assessment is a hallmark of Adlerian/individual psychology, the correct answer is C.

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.

In the Professional Practice and Ethics domain, counselors are expected to understand basic research concepts so they can evaluate the quality of studies and apply findings responsibly. When a researcher examines factors such as:

History (events occurring between pretest and posttest),

Differential mortality (attrition of participants from groups),

Pretesting procedures (testing effects),

Statistical regression (regression toward the mean),

they are evaluating threats to internal validity.

Internal validity (Option C) refers to the degree to which changes in the dependent variable can confidently be attributed to the independent variable, rather than to extraneous or confounding factors. Examining these threats is central to determining how well the experimental design supports cause-and-effect conclusions.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. Content validity – Concerns whether a measure adequately samples the domain of content it is supposed to cover (e.g., whether a test of math skills adequately represents the math curriculum), not the design’s vulnerability to history or mortality threats.

B. External validity – Involves the generalizability of findings to other populations, settings, and times, not the internal threats listed.

D. Construct validity – Refers to whether a test or procedure actually measures the theoretical construct it purports to measure, not the impact of history, testing effects, or attrition on experimental outcomes.

NBCC-aligned counselor work behaviors emphasize that ethically responsible practitioners must be able to critically evaluate research methods, including recognition of internal validity threats, to determine how much confidence to place in study results they might use to inform practice.

In family and systems counseling, NBCC Counselor Work Behavior Areas highlight the importance of understanding circular causality—the idea that behavior in a system is both a cause and an effect of other members’ behaviors, forming interactional patterns rather than simple “A causes B” chains.

Option B best reflects this systemic, circular view: an older sibling’s rebellious behavior has drawn parental attention and shaped the family pattern; the younger sibling then steals to impress the older sibling and participate in that same pattern of rebelliousness and attention. The younger sibling’s behavior is influenced by the existing family dynamic, and in turn, that behavior will further affect the family’s interactions, reinforcing or modifying the pattern. This mutual, looping influence exemplifies circular causality.

Option A describes a largely linear chain: personal anxiety → yoga and avoidance. The interaction pattern within a system is not clearly illustrated.

Option C is also linear: cheating → improved chances of passing → college admission; it does not show reciprocal influence between people in a system.

Option D reflects ambivalence and a complex relationship, but it does not clearly illustrate a pattern of mutual, cyclical influence among system members.

NBCC’s expectations for counseling skills and interventions in systemic work include recognizing and working with these circular patterns, rather than focusing solely on linear “cause–effect” explanations for a single individual’s behavior.