NCE Study Guide

Case Study Module 007: Devon, the College Student in Crisis

This case study module presents a fictional scenario designed to prepare you for the NCE by examining key clinical competencies: ethical considerations, appropriate diagnoses, applicable modalities and interventions, and core exam content areas. Each module ends with an NCE-style quiz to reinforce your understanding and retention.

Case Overview:
Devon, a 19-year-old non-binary student, presents with depression, academic stress, and identity confusion. This case explores Affirmative Therapy, Person-Centered, and Narrative approaches while integrating suicide risk assessment, multicultural ethics, and LGBTQIA+ inclusive practice in a college setting.

Case Study Module : Brian, the Career Crosser

This case study module presents a fictional scenario designed to prepare you for the NCE by examining key clinical competencies: ethical considerations, appropriate diagnoses, applicable modalities and interventions, and core exam content areas. Each module ends with an NCE-style quiz to reinforce your understanding and retention.

Case Overview:
Brian, a 45-year-old man, experiences depression and loss of purpose after being laid off. This midlife case focuses on career counseling integration, adult developmental transitions, and identity reconstruction using Career Construction Theory, CBT, and Existential Therapy. Ethical considerations include dual-focus care, scope, and career assessment tool interpretation.

This case study module presents a fictional scenario designed to prepare you for the NCE by examining key clinical competencies: ethical considerations, appropriate diagnoses, applicable modalities and interventions, and core exam content areas. Each module ends with an NCE-style quiz to reinforce your understanding and retention.

Case Overview:
Elena, a 24-year-old Latina woman, seeks therapy after surviving sexual assault. This trauma-informed case explores PTSD diagnosis, cultural stigma, and safety-centered care using EMDR, TF-CBT, and multicultural counseling practices. Ethical concerns include pacing, informed consent, and culturally responsive practice for survivors of interpersonal violence.

Lights In: An Open Invitation to Meditate on the Value of Human Experience (and Soothe Your Nervous System Big Time While You're At It)

I’d like to invite you into a space I’ve been creating for my own wellness—Lights In, a free guided meditation series that blends sound and reflection to explore the nature of existence and the value of life itself.

This series is inspired by Lights On: How Understanding Consciousness Helps Us Understand the Universe, the new Audible docuseries by Annaka Harris.

In Lights In, I reflect on that question—not just how consciousness helps us understand the universe, but how it helps us understand ourselves: our internal balance, our mental health, and the pathways to deeper well-being.

Each meditation is designed to support your parasympathetic nervous system—the body’s natural mode for rest, repair, and restoration. Using binaural beats, Solfeggio frequencies, and neural entrainment, the series gently guides you through calming brainwave states while inviting a more intimate connection with your own felt experience.

I often like to think of it as an audio Rorschach inkblot, carefully designed to encourage you to reflect upon the kaleidoscopic imprint of life upon the fabric of your mind.

What I’m doing is not trying to convince people to see things my way—

I’m trying to create this audio space for you to really engage with your own thoughts, reactions, and responses…

To have this be a tool for healing and self-discovery.

That’s how I use it for myself.

You can explore it here:

https://lights-in.transistor.fm/

It’s a free resource. Something I made for myself. And something I’d love to share with you.

Case Study Module 4: Sofia and Jake, the Anxious Couple

This case study module presents a fictional scenario designed to prepare you for the NCE by examining key clinical competencies: ethical considerations, appropriate diagnoses, applicable modalities and interventions, and core exam content areas. Each module ends with an NCE-style quiz to reinforce your understanding and retention.

Case Overview:
Sofia and Jake, an engaged couple in their early 30s, present with emotional distance and communication breakdown. Through Emotionally Focused Therapy, the Gottman Method, and Structural Family Therapy, this case explores attachment wounds, relational anxiety, and therapist neutrality. Learn to navigate dual alliance ethics, relational dynamics, and psychoeducational tools for couples.

Episode Description:

Welcome to NCE Study Guide Case Study Module 1 of 10. In this episode, we dive into the fictional case study of James, the Overwhelmed Teacher—a high-achieving high school English teacher grappling with anxiety, insomnia, and emotional burnout.

Through James’s story, you’ll explore key themes you’re likely to encounter on the National Counselor Examination (NCE), including diagnostic decision-making, ethical considerations, and treatment planning. We’ll examine how theoretical approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Person-Centered Therapy, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy can guide interventions, and we’ll discuss tools like the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 for accurate assessment.

This episode is part of a creative, research-backed series developed by Glenn Ostlund—counselor, folklorist, and recent NCE passer—who blends science, narrative, and AI collaboration into a unique study experience he calls an “AI Puppet Show.” You’ll also hear sample NCE-style multiple-choice questions to help you test your knowledge and deepen your clinical reasoning.

Whether you’re prepping solo or considering joining the NCE Study Guide weekly group, this episode is your invitation to engage in practical, case-based learning that brings theory to life.

To connect with Glenn or suggest future case study topics, email: [email protected].

Let’s begin.

Module 10: Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions

Albert Ellis, William Glasser, Donald Meichenbaum (CBT, REBT, and Reality Therapy – Thought Patterns, Choice, and Cognitive Change)

Module 9: Family and Systemic Therapy

Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir, Salvador Minuchin (Gestalt and Family Systems – Self-Awareness, Communication, and Structure in Relationships)