NBCC Updated NCE-ABE Exam Questions and Answers by keyaan

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

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

A case analysis that organizes this information into a coherent understanding

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

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

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

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

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

In Counseling and Helping Relationships, especially in systemic and family counseling, Minuchin’s structural family therapy focuses on:

Family structure (patterns of interaction),

Subsystems,

Boundaries,

Rules and norms that govern behavior.

The “standards that govern behavior” in a family—what is acceptable, expected, or prohibited—are best described as family norms (Option B). These norms shape how members interact, how power is distributed, and how roles are carried out.

Family hierarchy (D) is one important aspect of structure (who has authority over whom), but the broader phrase “standards that govern behavior” aligns more directly with norms and rules across the whole family system.

Genetics (A) and socioeconomic status (C) may influence the family, but they are not Minuchin’s primary explanatory construct for behavioral standards.

Thus, B. Family norms is the best answer.

In the Human Growth and Development core area, counselors study major developmental and personality theories, including humanistic and existential approaches.

Abraham Maslow proposed the hierarchy of needs, a motivational model in which human needs are arranged from basic physiological needs to safety, love/belonging, esteem, and finally self-actualization at the top.

In Maslow’s framework, self-actualization is the realization of one’s full potential and is explicitly presented as a central goal of personal development.

Carl Rogers (Option C) also discussed an actualizing tendency and the movement toward becoming a “fully functioning person,” but the classic concept of self-actualization as the pinnacle of a hierarchy of needs is most directly associated with Maslow.

Fritz Perls (Option B) is associated with Gestalt therapy, focusing on awareness, here-and-now experience, and integration of the self, but not primarily on the hierarchical notion of self-actualization.

William Glasser (Option D) developed Reality Therapy and Choice Theory, emphasizing responsibility and needs satisfaction (love/belonging, power, freedom, fun, survival), but again, not self-actualization as framed in Maslow’s model.

Because self-actualization as a specific, named goal in development is most strongly and classically linked with Abraham Maslow, the correct answer is A (Maslow).

Within Group Counseling and Group Work, CACREP emphasizes that group leaders should:

Attend to here-and-now interactions,

Acknowledge and name feelings expressed in the group,

Promote safety and constructive processing of conflict.

Client B’s response shows clear anger, defensiveness, and possible threat of confrontation outside the group. The group leader’s first responsibility is to contain and process the emotional intensity in the moment.

Option D, acknowledging the anger response (e.g., “I see you’re really angry about what was just said”), aligns with core group leadership skills: recognizing and reflecting affect, de-escalating potential conflict, and opening space to explore what is happening between members.

The other options are less appropriate:

A (telling B to apologize) is prematurely directive and may escalate defensiveness rather than explore the underlying issue.

B (pressuring A to provide “evidence”) can intensify conflict and shift the group into a debate rather than a therapeutic exploration.

C (remaining silent) neglects the leader’s responsibility for group safety and guidance, especially when a verbal threat is implied.

Therefore, D is the most appropriate leader intervention.