CPCE Exam Prep: Professional Orientation & Ethical Practice

Use our CPCE practice test to test your skills and review key concepts before exam day for your CCE Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination certification.

CPCE Test 01: Key Themes

This exam focuses on Professional Identity, Ethical Standards, and Legal Responsibilities.

Confidentiality: You must protect client privacy while following legal duties to prevent harm, such as managing safety risks or fulfilling duty-to-warn obligations under current guidelines.

Scope of Practice: Counselors must operate strictly within their trained competence levels and refer clients when clinical needs exceed their specific professional training.

Credentialing: State licensure grants the legal right to practice, while national certifications like the NCC validate professional competency and specialized standards.

Test 02 »

Edited by: Test-Questions.com Editorial Team

Last Updated: July 21, 2026

Q:1Which professional group has historically been most instrumental in opposing counselor licensure?

AAMFT members.

Psychiatrists.

Psychologists.

Social workers.

Q:2In the late 1970s, the American Association for Counseling and Development (AACD), now known as ACA, began to focus heavily on professional credentialing. This led to the formation of the:

NBCC.

CACREP.

CCMHC.

APGA.

Q:3By passing the National Counselor Examination (NCE), a counselor can attain which of the following credentials, issued by the NBCC?

NCC, a generic certification for counselors.

MAC, master addictions counselor.

NCC, a specialty mental health certification for counselors.

NCC, national certification for school counselors.

Q:4Which of the following scenarios would most likely violate the ethical principle of scope of practice?

A masters level counselor providing supportive counseling to a client.

A certified addiction counselor offering addiction counseling to a client and their partner.

A school counselor providing individual therapy for a student and severe anxiety issues.

A licensed professional counselor diagnosing a client with a recognized mental health disorder.

Q:5Professional ethical codes for counselors primarily serve to describe:

Aspirational standards of conduct for professional members.

The specific therapeutic techniques a counselor must use.

Mandatory legal requirements for practice.

Universal principles that apply to all helping professions.

Q:6Most ethical dilemmas for professional counselors are related to which of the following?

Research.

Testing.

Confidentiality.

Diagnosis.

Q:7The landmark legal case of Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California established the counselors legal duty to:

Warn a potential victim of a clients specific threat.

Protect a client from self-harm.

Maintain absolute client confidentiality.

Report all instances of child abuse or neglect.

Q:8A counselor reveals private information that is extremely damaging to a clients reputation. This counselor could be accused of:

Defamation.

Beneficence.

Nonmaleficence.

Justice.

Q:9State laws can govern title usage and practice for counselors. Which of the following is typically NOT governed by state licensure laws?

Counselor licensure.

Involuntary commitment to state psychiatric facilities.

Accreditation of a counseling program.

Psychologist licensure.

Q:10An exception to confidentiality occurs when a client is suicidal. Suicidal warning signs can include all of the following EXCEPT:

A previous suicide attempt and a very detailed future plan.

A sudden and unexplained increase in appetite and weight gain.

Giving away prized possessions after a long period of depression.

Repeatedly joking about killing oneself.

Q:11A counselor with a graduate degree wishes to become a licensed psychologist. Which statement most accurately depicts the current situation?

A counselor can easily become a psychologist by passing the EPPP.

A counselor with a doctorate in counseling could be licensed as a counseling psychologist if their degree is from a recognized department of counseling.

A counselor can become a licensed psychologist by taking three graduate credit hours in physiological psychology and passing the EPPP.

Individuals trained in counseling departments would not be allowed to sit for the EPPP and thus could not become licensed psychologists.

Q:12A professional who advertises herself as a licensed counseling psychologist generally means that:

She has a degree in counseling but is trained in projective testing.

She has a doctorate from a counselor education program.

She has a graduate degree from a psychology department.

She has a degree from a CACREP program.

Q:13One major difference between the psychology and counseling professions is that:

Psychology boards are made up primarily of psychiatrists.

Counselors are working to give up tests for licensure.

Psychologists are working to eliminate practitioners with less than a doctorate, while counselors are not.

In most states, psychologists do not need to take an exam.

Q:14APA is to a psychologist as ACA is to a:

NCC.

APGA.

Certified clinical mental health counselor.

Counselor.

Q:15If the NBCC feels you have violated professional ethics, what can they NOT do?

Remove your name from the list of NCCs in the country.

Revoke your state counseling license.

Revoke your NCC status.

Note in their newsletter that your NCC status has been revoked.

Q:16A counselor who is struggling with substance abuse and is suffering from burnout is best described as:

A paraprofessional.

A mesomorph.

An impaired professional.

A counselor who is wise enough to use their own experiences to help others.

Q:17Counselor certification, such as the NCC, is a process that:

Recognizes that you have reached a given level of competence and thus are authorized to use a title.

Is primarily a legal process.

Is synonymous with licensure.

Is synonymous with program accreditation.

Q:18A client comes to you for help with an eating disorder. You have no experience or training in this area. Ethically, you should:

Refer this client to a colleague who is indeed trained and experienced with this type of client.

Tell the client you will do a comprehensive Internet search on the topic and then begin seeing her.

Explain to the client that her eating disorder is a symptom, and counseling will focus on real underlying issues.

Keep the client and work on her general lack of self-esteem.

Q:19The APGA division most instrumental in the push for counselor licensure was the:

Association for Specialists in Group Work.

American School Counselor Association.

American College Personnel Association.

Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.

Q:20A potential problem with using income-sensitive or sliding fee scales based on the clients ability to pay is that:

Scales of this nature are illegal.

It can be difficult to administer them in a fair and consistent manner.

Scales of this kind are unethical.

Scales like this are unethical and illegal.

Test 02 »

Test 01 Study Summary

1. Ethical Standards Professional codes provide aspirational guidelines and mandatory rules to protect clients and maintain accountability across the counseling profession.

2. Duty to Warn Therapists must breach confidentiality to notify intended victims and authorities when a client communicates a serious and imminent threat of harm.

3. Professional Advocacy Organizations like the American Counseling Association and regional divisions work continuously to secure title protection and legislative recognition for counselors.

4. Impaired Practice Counselors experiencing personal challenges or substance issues must suspend or limit practice to protect clients from potential harm.

About This Practice Module

This test contains 20 practice questions covering key topics in Professional Orientation & Ethical Practice. Use our CPCE practice test to assess your knowledge and prepare for your official certification exam for your CCE Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination. Immediate scoring and answer rationales are provided for every question.