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STUDY GUIDE FOR THE 8 CORE CONTENT AREAS COVERED BY THE COUNSELOR PREPARATION COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (CPCE) AND THE NATIONAL COUNSELOR EXAMINATION (NCE)
1. HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Human Development:
Nature-nurture controversy; Cognitive development theories; Language development theories;
Personality development theories; Moral development theories
Abnormal Psychology:
Psychopharmacology; DSM multiaxial assessment system; Disorders of infancy, childhood, or adolescence; Cognitive disorders; Substance related disorders; Psychotic disorders; Mood disorders; Anxiety disorders; Somataform and dissociative disorders; Sexual and gender identity disorders; Eating disorders; Impulse control disorders; Adjustment disorders; Personality disorders; V codes
Learning Theory:
Classical conditioning; Operant Conditioning; Cognitive learning theories; Memory and forgetting
2. THE HELPING RELATIONSHIP
Counseling Theories:
Psychodynamic theories; Cognitive theories; Behavioral theories; Humanistic theories
Counseling Theories for Families:
Psychodynamic family therapy; Communication/interaction family therapy; Extended family systems therapy; Structural family therapy; Strategic family therapy
Crisis Intervention and Family Violence:
Legal and ethical issues in crisis intervention; Suicide assessment; Dangerousness assessment;
Victims of spouse abuse; Victims of child physical abuse; Victims of incest; Victims of rape;
Characteristics of the abused child; Characteristics of the abusive parent; Characteristics of the child abusing family; Sexual abuse and incest; Cycle of spousal abuse; Characteristics of batterers and battered women; Barriers to the treatment of spouse abuse
Consultation Theories:
Consultation process;
Models of consultation;
*Mental health or psychodynamic models
*Behavioral or educational models
*Systems or process models
Interviewing and counseling skills:
Basic counseling techniques; Advanced counseling techniques
3. SOCIAL AND CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS
Counseling Specific Populations:
Specific racial/cultural groups;
*Native-Americans
*African-Americans
*Asian-Americans
*Latino-Americans
Elderly clients; Clients with disabilities; Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clients; Clients with HIV or AIDS; Gender issues in counseling; Barriers to Cross-Cultural and Cross-Class Counseling; Research on Racism in Counseling Research on Classism in Counseling;
Cultural Values
Substance Abuse and Dependence:
Definitions of drug abuse; Description of the addict; Etiology of drug abuse; Treatment of drug abuse; Commonly abused drugs; Family therapy for treating drug abuse
4. GROUP WORK
Group Dynamics and Counseling:
Group development; Group leader's role and responsibilities; Group intervention techniques and processes; Group theories
Group Processes in Organizations:
Types of groups in organizations; Structure of groups in organizations; Effects of groups on group members; Group cohesion; Group decision making and problem solving; Group communication structures; Group conflict; Organizational development
Social and Organizational Behavior:
Impression formation and management; Social influence; Attitudes and attitude change; Affiliation and attraction; Aggression; Prosocial behavior; Sex role behaviors; Social ecology
5. RESEARCH AND EVALUATION
Research:
Sampling; Research strategies; Experimental Variance; Extraneous variance; Error variance; Internal validity; External validity; Group designs; Single-subject designs; Descriptive statistics;
Inferential statistics; Hypothesis testing; Statistical tests; Correlation techniques; Computer analysis; Evaluation research
6. APPRAISAL
Appraisal of Individuals:
Role of testing; Behavioral observation; Educational and interest assessment; Test construction;
Reliability; Validity; Interpretation of test scores
7. LIFESTYLE AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Psychological Assessment:
Intelligence tests; Specific abilities and aptitude tests; Personality tests; Interest tests; Career maturity and work values assessment
Lifestyle and Career Development:
Theories of career development; Models of career decision-making; Career placement; Career Education; Career life planning; Information systems; Approaches to career counseling; Career counseling with special populations
8. PROFESSIONAL ORIENTATION
Professional Orientation:
History of the helping profession; Professional roles and functions; Professional Organizations;
Professional credentialing
Legal and Ethical Standards:
Development of ethical codes; Rationale for ethical codes; Ethics and the law; Confidentiality; Competence; Continuing education; Client's welfare and rights; Guidelines for responding to ethical questions; Standards for professional practice
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