Vital Information and Review Questions for the NCE, CPCE and State Counseling Exams: Special 15th Anniversary Edition

If you finish this entire CD set you will level up as a psychologist. I recommend this material even at the expensive price. I feel like it's a bit overpriced considering the dude just recorded himself reading his notes (there are some speech errors and bankground noises in the CDs). However, in all, I would say the CD is good. You'd be better off to read the wikipedia page for all your tests concepts (noted in your tests study guide). BUT when you don't have the time to read, you can listen to this in the car and it will help a tad. I used it for the school counselor tests and it helped, though, a lot of the information within isn't needed for the school counselor test. If there are concepts you need to memorize for recall on a test, this won't help you do that. You will have to do that independently OR listen to that part of the CD several times. For instance, a test might ask about a 14 year old having trouble with finding friends. You would recall that Erik Erikson's stages suggests 14 year olds are in the Identity vs. Role Confusion stage and that will give you some insight on answering the question. Hearing it once on the CD will not help you memorize what you need to recall in order to process all of Erik's stages for the test at hand - especially when you are on the spot and being timed for the test. Though, the CD does sometimes offer some Mnemonics and it does go over some content more than once throughout the CDs. I would say this CD is STILL worth your time.

Paper is thin

I found this audio set quite helpful for times when I could not be studying written material. It definitely helped me pass the test on the first try.

Great tool for passing the CPCE. I used the audio during any driving that I did and when on the train/bus (to give you a sense of time spent listening, I average about 25-30hrs weekly as a commuter). I read Dr. Rosenthal's encyclopedia of counseling for actual study sessions. With the exception of three particular sections mentioned below, this audio review and the encyclopedia are the bulk of where my CPCE review came from. I am very happy with the results (passed the CPCE with 11 points shy of the maximum score). I studied for about a month and a half. To be honest, I wasn't too sure if the audio review would work for me, but I found it really easy to listen and retain much of the information being passed on. There were three sections which I did find to be a little weak (the multicultural section review seemed very outdated, with some of the material coming across as if from an MC lecture taking place in the 90's). I also felt somewhat similar about the group counseling section (though not as extreme). For these, I just made sure to review my own class notes/textbooks a little deeper than for the other sections. To be fair, however, my program places a large emphasis on multicultural practice, so this may also be the reason why I found that particular section as "ehh..." I was also a bit concerned about the ethics section because of the recent ACA code of ethics changes, but found it to be informative nonetheless (nothing stood out which would make me ignore that section's audio). Just consider that some stuff may no longer be accurate because of changes made in 2014. These three sections aside, I highly recommend this to anyone studying for the CPCE. Hope this review helps!

Extremly helpful in studying for the NCE. I used it in conjuction with Mr. Rosenthal's Encyclopedia and passed the exam the first time I took it. I did not use any other materials.I just listened to all of the disc two times-more if I need extra help in a certain area- and took notes. I read the book version once and used it to quiz myself-again,I repeated areas I was weak in. I studied an average of a couple of hours most days for a month and a half.I only needed a 94(in the two main areas) to pass but got a score of 133 in both areas on the version of my exam!Information is clear and pretty detailed. The discs and book include test info as well as helpful hints about how it is constructed. It is especially helpful for those of us who have been out of college for the past several years.You may not need to know all of the material but it is good to have more than less as it is impossible to know what might be included in your version of the NCE. I will be keeping as a reference in the future as I actually learned alot and it was a great refresher. I definitely recommend!

Great for general studying materials at a cheaper price, the only concern was that in my order the CD's are copyrighted 2009 so the cds do not contain material reflecting changes in the DSM 5 and ACA Ethical Codes , questions that focus on Axises and out of date information may be confusing

I relocated last year and was informed that I had to take the NCE as part of the state's licensure requirement. This would not have been a problem had I not been out of school for at least 20 years. I had three months to study and 2 weeks into it I discovered that I was drowning. I decided to purchase the Purple Book AND the DVD's, as I spend 2 hours per day in my car commuting to and from work, to give me a jump start. Between reading the book during my down time and listening to the DVD's while riding I was guaranteed at least 4 hours of study time per day. Well I am happy to say that I passed on my first attempt. Yes, as some of the reviewers have already stated, some of the material is outdated (i.e. Ethics, social and cultural), but in the materials he constantly urges you to read alternative literature for updates.