CPCE CCE Global Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE) Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

Repression is a defense mechanism described by Freud in which unacceptable impulses, thoughts, or memories are unconsciously pushed out of conscious awareness into the unconscious mind. Unlike suppression, which is a conscious process, repression happens automatically. “Repression is the primary defense mechanism; unacceptable desires or impulses are banished to the unconscious so they are not consciously experienced.”

The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is a widely used self-report instrument for screening, diagnosing, monitoring, and measuring the severity of depression. It is brief, validated, and frequently used in both clinical and research settings for identifying depressive symptoms.

When an assessment or test gathers psychological information about an individual without their knowledge or informed consent, it raises the ethical issue of invasion of privacy. This consideration requires professionals to ensure that individuals are aware of and have agreed to the assessment process.

Reliability refers to the consistency or stability of scores produced by a formal assessment instrument over time, across raters, or across forms. A reliable test yields similar results under consistent conditions, indicating measurement precision.

The principal researcher (also known as the principal investigator) holds the ultimate responsibility for ensuring the ethical conduct of research. This includes obtaining informed consent, protecting participants, ensuring confidentiality, and following ethical and legal guidelines. While others may play supporting roles, it is the principal researcher who is accountable for all aspects of research ethics.

Treating all clients exactly the same, without consideration for their unique cultural backgrounds, is not culturally competent and is considered unethical according to professional codes of ethics. Counselors are ethically bound to provide culturally responsive services. “A universal or color-blind approach fails to recognize individual and cultural differences, and such practice is considered unethical.”

A here-and-now focus in group counseling encourages members to interact directly with one another about their present experiences in the group. Counselors guide members to talk to, rather than about, each other, fostering authentic communication, immediacy, and stronger group cohesion. “Here-and-now group leadership encourages members to address each other directly to process feelings and reactions in the present moment.”

As children mature cognitively, especially as described by Piaget and Kohlberg, effective discipline shifts from strict control and punishment to increased use of reasoning and explanation. Parents are encouraged to explain rules and consequences, fostering moral understanding and internalization of values, rather than relying on punitive measures. This approach is supported in the CPCE study literature: “As children develop cognitively, effective discipline relies more on reasoning and discussion than on punishment, supporting the growth of moral and logical thinking.”

A true experimental design is characterized by random assignment of participants to groups and the manipulation of an independent variable. Randomly assigned between-groups designs meet these criteria. Quasi-experimental designs lack random assignment, and single-subject designs focus on individuals rather than groups. “True experimental designs require random assignment and control over variables.”

Acculturation refers to the process by which individuals from one culture adjust to and adopt aspects of another culture, often when living in a new country. A therapist must be mindful of the acculturation process, as the student may experience challenges balancing their original cultural identity with the expectations and norms of the American family. “Acculturation is a central concern when individuals from one culture adapt to a new cultural environment, which can impact emotional adjustment and identity.”

TheAmerican Counseling Association (ACA)publishes the Code of Ethics used by professional counselors to guide ethical decision-making and practice standards.

Standardization refers to the uniform procedures used in the administration and scoring of a test, ensuring that test conditions are consistent for all test takers. This is essential for fairness and comparability of results.

The trait and factor theory is the oldest and most established career guidance theory, developed in the early 20th century by Frank Parsons. This approach is based on the idea that individuals have unique traits and that occupations require specific factors. Effective career guidance matches personal traits to job factors, making it the foundation for many subsequent career theories.

Constructivism is a theory of learning that emphasizes the active role of learners in constructing their own understanding through social interaction and dialogue. Knowledge is seen as co-constructed, particularly in the social constructivist tradition influenced by theorists like Vygotsky. “Constructivism posits that knowledge is created collaboratively and contextually through meaningful social interaction.”

Inferential statistics are a set of analyses that allow researchers to make generalizations or predictions about a population based on data collected from a sample. Unlike descriptive statistics, which summarize data, inferential statistics allow for hypothesis testing and estimation. “Inferential statistics provide the tools for making inferences or predictions about a population from sample data.”

An achievement test battery is designed to measure a range of academic skills and knowledge in specific subject areas. These tests are used to assess what a person has learned as a result of instruction, making them the best choice for determining academic skill levels across various domains. “Achievement test batteries measure a client’s proficiency in several academic areas and are commonly used to assess current skill levels.”

Chi Sigma Iota (CSI) was established in 1985 as the international honor society for professional counselors and counselor educators. Its mission is to promote academic and professional excellence in counseling.

Qualitative research involves gathering extensive narrative or textual data (such as interviews, observations, or open-ended questionnaires) to gain in-depth understanding of a situation, phenomenon, or experience. The focus is on meaning, patterns, and context rather than numerical data.

When counselors and clients collaboratively establish the criteria for ending the counseling relationship, they help prevent the development of dependency. This approach supports client autonomy, empowerment, and appropriate closure. “Establishing clear criteria for termination with the client’s input is a key strategy in reducing dependency on the counselor.”