CPCE Study Guide
Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination Review of the CACREP Core Areas, with Practice Tests and Detailed Answer Explanations
What is inside
- 1,548 practice questions, each with the reason every wrong choice is wrong
- Four full-length practice forms, each with 160 three-choice questions
- A 40-question diagnostic test that sends each missed question to the chapter that teaches it
- Eight area drills, one at the end of each part of the book
- 59 content chapters on ethics, diversity, development, career, helping relationships, groups, assessment, and research
- Quick reference, confused terms, glossary, outline coverage map, answer key at a glance, score tracker, and wrong-answer log
For the 2026–2027 testing year: the CPCE taught area by area, with practice in the three-choice format the exam uses.
The Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE) asks 160 multiple-choice questions, 20 in each of the eight CACREP core areas, in 225 minutes with a 15-minute break after question 80. Each question has three answer choices, A, B, or C, and no calculator is allowed. Your own counseling program sets the passing score. This book teaches every lettered topic in the CCE content outline and gives you the practice to go with it.
The chapters follow the CCE outline in order. Professional orientation and the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics, section by section; social and cultural diversity; human growth and development; career development; counseling and helping relationships; group counseling and group work; assessment and testing; research and program evaluation. Theorists, stages, and test statistics are set out in tables you can review in a few minutes, and every content chapter ends with 12 practice questions.
What is inside
- 1,548 practice questions, each explained, with the reason every wrong choice is wrong
- Four full-length practice forms of 160 questions, 20 per area, all with three answer choices
- A 40-question diagnostic test that sends each missed question to the chapter that teaches it
- Eight area drills, one at the end of each part, to check an area before you move on
- The law in its official text: duty to warn and duty to protect after Tarasoff, privilege, HIPAA, FERPA, and 42 CFR Part 2
- Review tools: a quick reference of stage models and standard scores, commonly confused terms, a glossary, an outline coverage map, an answer key at a glance, a score tracker, and a wrong-answer log
Why three choices matter. CCE's handbook says the answer choices are labeled A, B, or C, and every sample item in the content outline has three. Practicing on that layout builds the pace the exam asks for, about 84 seconds a question, and the habit of weighing two wrong choices instead of three.
Checked at the source. The eight areas, the 17 scored and 3 pretest items in each area, the three answer choices, the timing and break, the $75 and $150 fees, and the retake rules were read from the CCE Candidate Handbook, the CPCE Content Outline, and the CCE website in October 2026.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by CCE or NBCC. CPCE and Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination are marks of the Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE), which does not sponsor or endorse this product.
