Encyclopedia of Counseling: Master Review and Tutorial for the National Counselor Examination, State Counseling Exams, and the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination

Edit* Someone asked about what app I used as there are quite a few. I can't find it on my phone anymore, but the app tile was purple and I believe it looked like the book and had Howard Rosenthal's name in the app tile as well. I have looked on the play store and I don't see it and I don't see it anymore, so there is the change it has been removed since this review. I'm not sure about apple. So it might be located somewhere else.To start off with, I purchased this book to study for the NCE and used it in conjunction with Rosenthal's app and the end result was that I passed!A short summary of the App:The app goes over almost all the information the book does. It has two modes: a study mode (Multiple choice for each section with instant correct/incorrect responses and a feedback tab to explain why), and a exam mode (you can take each section 3 times) (Multiple choice for each section in one uninterrupted sitting, with percentage scoring and reporting at the end of the last question, and view a stats page that has a bar graph of your scores). Its all the same questions, but I found that even though the questions were all the same, it helped instill those concepts, which in turn helped me to better answer questions on the exam.The book:Rosenthal goes over a wealth of information in the book that covers each section of the exam, a final overview, and tables for the stats section to give a better visual. I hope it goes without saying that the exact questions are not going to show up on the exam. However, there were questions that were very similar to many he went over and while other questions were different, I had adequate enough information from the review that I could still answer them with better judgement and narrow down my answers. Again like the app, the questions and review of answers, helped instill the concepts and information so I could better answer the exam questions. His questions are also set up in the same style as you will see on the exam, which is something I really liked about this book. I wasn't surprised when going into the test and it felt familiar (make no mistake, the exam will be hard, but you will have a good idea how it is structured and the kinds of questions you will see). When taking the exam, if you come across questions that make you go "Um, this wasn't covered even vaguely at all by Rosenthal", then you might have come across some of the 40 experimental questions that are tossed and not scored at the end of the exam. Again his book is a review, so he can't account for everything, but he does thoroughly go over the key concepts that will most likely show up on an exam.How I used the book and app together:I used the app first to test my overall performance and to create a baseline of my scores in each section ( I personally recommend this method so you don't go in blindly studying and feeling like you're getting nowhere). I then started the process of going through the book and reviewing the sections I scored lowest in and worked my way up. After I finished each section, I would go back to the app on study mode and take that section again. I would go through the study mode multiple times too. I had the app on two devices, so I had more opportunities to use the exam mode. You may wonder "well weren't you just remembering your answer each time after you took the practice exam?" Well, yes and no. While I did remember some, going over the review also helped to solidify in my mind why that answer was the correct answer (remember on the exam while some answers are technically correct, the exam is looking for the best correct answer). I also studied for about a month, but had good solid studying for a week before the exam.Things to take into consideration:There are going to be different factors as to how well you do on the NCE (and other exams) though not limited to this list:1. For myself, my graduate program yields the highest passing rate on the NCE for its graduates in my state (so how well your program has done in your education, and how well you learned/retained info could affect your score)2. How well you study3. The length of time you prepare before the examWell that all I have to say, best of luck on your exams!

Got a 136/160. Easy pass. Granted I have a bachelors in psyche, masters in counseling, have worked as a school counselor for years, and taught some college so I knew this info but man this is a great comprehensive guide. Everything was in it. I’m keeping it as a reference. I decided to take the test 9 days after getting this book to get it over with and read the 700 pages in those 9 days. Some of the extra commentary could have been trimmed for my cramming purposes but overall this is an excellent, excellent review.

if you havent heard by now that this is the book you need in order to pass the NCE idk what to tell you! i took this exam after nearly ten years of being out of grad school and i passed it with flying colors. I used mastering the national counselor examination by erford first and really dug into the details of straight forward definitions of stuff, but then kept putting this book off because when i first opened it the style of how it was composed scared me. i thought i wont learn the stuff this way. what helped me is digging into erfords book first and then doing this one where rosenthal uses the good ol method of repetition with his questioning to really solidify what you are learning. i really think all study guides should use this method, its genius! there is no way in hell you are walking away with not knowing this stuff after youre through with this book- the easy way he explains things, the memory devices he gives, and the repetition all marry each other so well to provide the best learning experience. thank you, sir!

I was told by countless professors and colleagues that this was the book to buy for preparing for the NCMHCE and they were right. This book gives great insights, examples, and great exam prep questions. If you are studying for the NCMHCE, or even the CPCE, get this book! Forget the others (I tried them all).

As a graduate student I am always looking for a great value on a textbook, Amazon always has great prices for the textbooks. The text was kind of dry, but it was required for school.

I take my NCE next month, so maybe I'll update how helpful this actually is after, but so far I have enjoyed working through this book and have learned a lot. However, I've found several typos and my copy was bound with some pages repeated and out of order. I have not found any missing pages, though!I think this is definitely worth getting as it touches on topics that may appear on the test but you were not taught in your program. I also enjoy the personable writing style.Edit: I passed my first try and think the book was helpful. The questions are not similar to the ones in the book for the most part, but the information is applicable so I would recommend using it to study. Additionally you can use Tests.com for 800 NCE questions which was also very useful.

Very thorough.

I graduated 26 years ago and did not test for my LPC until a month ago. I passed on first try and this is the book I used to study with and I did rosenthall review on Quizlet. Amazing book with lots of information. 🎉🎉🎉

This most important book used for preparation has errors such as the one spelled wrong “Ghandi” for Mahatma Gandhi. Saddened to know Rosenthal’s book spells him this way!