NCMHCE
National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Examination (NCMHCE)
General Information, format, and study guides
The National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) is used exclusively by state credentialing boards. Please click here for state board contact information in order to determine if your state board uses the NCMHCE.
The simulated cases on the NCMCHE are designed to sample a broad area of competencies, not merely the recall of isolated facts. Therefore, the problems assess clinical problem-solving ability, including identifying, analyzing, diagnosing, and treating clinical issues.
The examination consists of ten clinical mental health counseling cases. Each case is divided into approximately five to eight sections classified as either information gathering or decision-making. The areas covered by the exam include:
Evaluation & Assessment (including but not limited to):
- Identify precipitating problems or symptoms
- Conduct mental status exam
- Conduct comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment histories
- Identify individual and relationship functioning
Diagnosis & Treatment Planning:
- Integrate client assessment and observational data with clinical judgment to formulate a differential diagnosis
- Develop a treatment plan in collaboration with the client
- Coordinate treatment plan with other service providers
- Monitor client progress toward goal attainment
Clinical Practice:
- Determine if services meet client needs
- Discuss ethical and legal issues
- Understand scope of practice parameters
Scoring Procedures:
- There are ten clinical simulations on the NCMHCE.
- Each section of each simulation problem has been classified according to the examination content outline. Each content area is further divided into two sections: Information Gathering (IG) and Decision-Making (DM).
- IG sections assess the candidate's ability to gather appropriate clinical data required to evaluate a situation or to make a decision. DM sections assess the candidate's ability to solve clinical problems by utilizing data in rendering judgments and decisions.
- Each option on the NCMHCE is assigned a weight ranging from +3 to -3 based on the level of appropriateness for effective client care.
- A total score is calculated for each of the IG sections and DM sections on the examination. A candidate must obtain a total score equal to or greater than the passing total score for both the IG and DM sections in order to pass the exam.
Examination Results
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You can expect to receive your score reports via first class mail approximately six weeks after the exam date. No scores are released by telephone.
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NCMHCE's score report contains (1) three subscale scores for both the IG and DM sections and your total score in both sections and (2) minimum passing scores for the IG and DM sections.