u/Educational-Lunch720

Now that it’s fresh in my mind, I wanted to share a few takeaways for anyone getting ready to take it:

My practice exams were much harder than the actual NCE. I spent so much time preparing for complex, tricky questions that I was surprised by how straightforward many of the questions were. That said, read every question carefully!! don’t rush.

There are multiple versions of the exam. The version I received was heavily focused on:

* Group Counseling
* Family Counseling
* Career Development
* Ethics

I had very few questions on theories or assessment/testing. I also had several questions related to substance use and intellectual/developmental disabilities. Interestingly, I didn’t have a single research question.

Question styles vary. Some questions are short case scenarios asking what you would do as the counselor, while others are very direct definition-based questions (for example, identifying the definition of acculturation).

If you’ve been practicing in the field for a while, be careful. I noticed my brain wanted to answer based on real-life clinical experience and how I’d naturally respond to a client. Sometimes you have to pause and ask yourself, “What’s the textbook or teaching answer?”

The exam is divided into two sections of 100 questions. After the first 100, you have the option to take a break (you don’t have to if you don’t want to).

Use the flag feature! My strategy was to answer every question first, flag anything I wasn’t 100% confident about, and then go back before ending the section. I reviewed every flagged question and only changed answers when I had a solid reason to.

You have four hours to complete the exam, use the time!

Overall… it really wasn’t as bad as I built it up to be. I walked in expecting the worst and left thinking, “That’s it?” 😅

I’m happy to answer any questions while it’s still fresh in my mind. Good luck to everyone getting ready to take it!

Hi all —
First time dog momma. My little girl is 9 months. When will I know she is approaching heat/ time for neutering?

I’m hoping someone in this group may have experienced something similar or has advice.

Yesterday morning, our puppy Sophie was completely normal—happy, playful, and acting like herself. We took her on a walk, everything seemed fine, and when we got home she suddenly became very restless. Within minutes she started drooling excessively (almost foaming), began shaking, and then collapsed. She couldn’t stand, her eyes were rolling back, and she started having continuous seizures.

I rushed her to the emergency vet while she was actively seizing the entire drive. When we arrived, the staff immediately rushed her to the back. It was terrifying. Her heart rate had dropped dangerously low, and her blood pressure had skyrocketed to around 300. The veterinarian told me that if we had arrived any later, she likely would have had a stroke and died. They weren’t sure she was going to make it.

She was admitted to the ICU, where they worked to stabilize her, lower her blood pressure, and control the swelling they suspected was occurring in her brain. After bloodwork and evaluation, the veterinary team believes she most likely ingested something toxic during our walk—possibly a poisonous mushroom or some type of pesticide. Unfortunately, because she never vomited, they haven’t been able to identify exactly what it was.

The good news is that Sophie was discharged home this morning with a clean bill of health and is already back to her happy, playful puppy self! ❤️ We are incredibly grateful for the amazing team at the emergency hospital and feel so lucky that we trusted our instincts and got her there as quickly as we did. The veterinarian told us that if we had waited any longer, the outcome could have been very different.
I’m sharing this both as a warning to be extra cautious on walks and to ask if anyone has ever had something similar happen with their dog. If so, did you ever find out what caused it? We’d also love any tips for preventing this from happening again. Thank you all so much—we’re just so thankful to have our sweet girl home.

Started with a flare up on Saturday night. Got on augmentin on Monday: Pain subsided. Still bloating and tender to touch.
Threw up last night, lots of pain followed by a bowel movement.
Woke up this morning and I am very nauseous and feel on the verge of throwing up.

Time for ER or see if nausea passes?

I am really interested in getting into FBI work or some sort of forensics (not within prison system though). Anyone have any thoughts on some ideas of how to do so?
I will be licensed LPC next month.