The Licensure Professor · Free NCMHCE study plan

Twelve weeks to the NCMHCE.

One domain at a time, in the order a case unfolds: intake, diagnosis, plan, intervention, ethics. Two floating weeks so life can happen. Each week pairs a lesson with the free cases and flashcards on the site, and names the NCE lessons that carry the knowledge the case will test.

Weekly shapeOne lesson session (the week's NCMHCE lesson, or the NCE lessons it draws on). One retrieval session: flashcards, then rebuild the week's table on a blank page. One case session: two cases in study mode, every explanation read. Ten minutes of due cards daily.

HoursAbout 30 minutes a day, most days, plus one longer case block on the weekend. A case takes 25 to 35 minutes with its explanations; finish one in a sitting rather than splitting it across days.

RuleAnswer each section's questions before reading the next section, every time. The exam does not let you go back; practice the way it is given. Log what you did, not what you intended.

Week	Focus	On the site
01	Set the baselineRead the current NBCC NCMHCE handbook and content outline. Read Lesson 1, how to read a case. Work two cases untimed, reading every explanation, including the ones you got right. Note which of the five domains your misses fell in.	Course: Lesson 1. Practice: 2 cases, study mode. Flashcards: none yet.
02	Intake, mental status and riskLesson 2. Knowledge: the NCE lessons on the biopsychosocial intake and on risk and substance screening. Write the risk card from memory: ideation, plan, means, intent, history, protective factors. Learn the PHQ-9, GAD-7, AUDIT, C-SSRS and MoCA ranges.	Course: Lesson 2 + two NCE assessment lessons. Flashcards: Assessment, first pass. Practice: 2 cases.
03	Diagnosis I: mood, anxiety, trauma, griefLesson 3. Knowledge: the NCE lessons on depressive and bipolar disorders; anxiety, OCD and trauma-related disorders; grief and loss. Write the duration table from memory: two weeks, four days, one week, one month, three months, six months, twelve months, two years.	Course: Lesson 3 + three NCE clinical lessons. Flashcards: Clinical focus, first pass. Practice: 2 cases. Guide: DSM-5-TR durations and differentials.
04	Diagnosis II: substance, psychosis, personality, children and older adultsKnowledge week. The NCE lessons on substance use; psychotic, personality and neurodevelopmental disorders; children and adolescents; adult development and aging. Remission specifiers. The two rule-out clauses: not a substance or medical condition, not better explained by another disorder.	Course: four NCE clinical lessons. Flashcards: Clinical focus, due. Practice: 2 cases.
05	Treatment planningLesson 4. Knowledge: the NCE lessons from formulation to treatment plan; barriers, revision and referral; termination and relapse prevention. Levels of care. Write one measurable objective for every case you have worked so far.	Course: Lesson 4 + three NCE treatment lessons. Flashcards: Treatment, first pass. Practice: 2 cases. Guide: Treatment planning and levels of care.
06	Catch-up weekFloating week. Use it if you fell behind. If you are on schedule: the daily case every day, all due cards, and one block of three cases back to back with the clock running, about seventy minutes.	Practice: daily case, or a 3-case timed block. Flashcards: all areas, due.
07	Interventions I: the response in the roomLesson 5. Knowledge: the NCE lessons on microskills, cognitive behavioral therapy, behavioral techniques, and motivational interviewing, solution-focused and narrative work. For every skills question you miss, write down what the keyed response did that yours did not.	Course: Lesson 5 + four NCE skills lessons. Flashcards: Skills, first pass. Practice: 2 cases.
08	Interventions II: crisis, families, substance use, groupsKnowledge week. The NCE lessons on crisis, trauma and suicide assessment; family systems; substance use; group stages. Ruptures, setbacks and relapse, and what to do when eight sessions have produced no change.	Course: four NCE skills lessons. Flashcards: Skills, due. Practice: 2 cases. Guide: Theorists and techniques.
09	Ethics and core attributes in a caseLesson 6. Knowledge: the NCE lessons on confidentiality and duty to warn; informed consent; boundaries; technology and records; ethical decision-making; multicultural competencies. The order of operations: assess safety, consult, take the least intrusive step, document.	Course: Lesson 6 + NCE ethics and attributes lessons. Flashcards: Ethics and Attributes. Practice: 2 cases. Guide: Ethics code and decision rules.
10	Full timed examTake the full timed exam under real conditions: the same start time as your appointment, phone off, no notes, the clock running. Review every miss the next day, not the same day, and sort the misses by domain.	Practice: the full timed exam. Flashcards: due only.
11	Weak domainsSecond floating week. Re-read the lesson for your two weakest domains from Week 10. Rework the cases you missed most, reading the explanation for every option, not just the keyed one. Rebuild the duration table and the risk card on a blank page.	Course: two lessons, reread. Flashcards: weakest two areas, due. Practice: 3 cases, study mode.
12	TaperNo new cases. The daily case on two midweek days. Due cards only. Two full nights of sleep before the exam. Arrive early, and read every intake all the way through before you look at the first question.	Practice: daily case, twice. Flashcards: due only.

Week

Focus

On the site

Set the baselineRead the current NBCC NCMHCE handbook and content outline. Read Lesson 1, how to read a case. Work two cases untimed, reading every explanation, including the ones you got right. Note which of the five domains your misses fell in.

Course: Lesson 1. Practice: 2 cases, study mode. Flashcards: none yet.

Intake, mental status and riskLesson 2. Knowledge: the NCE lessons on the biopsychosocial intake and on risk and substance screening. Write the risk card from memory: ideation, plan, means, intent, history, protective factors. Learn the PHQ-9, GAD-7, AUDIT, C-SSRS and MoCA ranges.

Course: Lesson 2 + two NCE assessment lessons. Flashcards: Assessment, first pass. Practice: 2 cases.

Diagnosis I: mood, anxiety, trauma, griefLesson 3. Knowledge: the NCE lessons on depressive and bipolar disorders; anxiety, OCD and trauma-related disorders; grief and loss. Write the duration table from memory: two weeks, four days, one week, one month, three months, six months, twelve months, two years.

Course: Lesson 3 + three NCE clinical lessons. Flashcards: Clinical focus, first pass. Practice: 2 cases. Guide: DSM-5-TR durations and differentials.

Diagnosis II: substance, psychosis, personality, children and older adultsKnowledge week. The NCE lessons on substance use; psychotic, personality and neurodevelopmental disorders; children and adolescents; adult development and aging. Remission specifiers. The two rule-out clauses: not a substance or medical condition, not better explained by another disorder.

Course: four NCE clinical lessons. Flashcards: Clinical focus, due. Practice: 2 cases.

Treatment planningLesson 4. Knowledge: the NCE lessons from formulation to treatment plan; barriers, revision and referral; termination and relapse prevention. Levels of care. Write one measurable objective for every case you have worked so far.

Course: Lesson 4 + three NCE treatment lessons. Flashcards: Treatment, first pass. Practice: 2 cases. Guide: Treatment planning and levels of care.

Catch-up weekFloating week. Use it if you fell behind. If you are on schedule: the daily case every day, all due cards, and one block of three cases back to back with the clock running, about seventy minutes.

Practice: daily case, or a 3-case timed block. Flashcards: all areas, due.

Interventions I: the response in the roomLesson 5. Knowledge: the NCE lessons on microskills, cognitive behavioral therapy, behavioral techniques, and motivational interviewing, solution-focused and narrative work. For every skills question you miss, write down what the keyed response did that yours did not.

Course: Lesson 5 + four NCE skills lessons. Flashcards: Skills, first pass. Practice: 2 cases.

Interventions II: crisis, families, substance use, groupsKnowledge week. The NCE lessons on crisis, trauma and suicide assessment; family systems; substance use; group stages. Ruptures, setbacks and relapse, and what to do when eight sessions have produced no change.

Course: four NCE skills lessons. Flashcards: Skills, due. Practice: 2 cases. Guide: Theorists and techniques.

Ethics and core attributes in a caseLesson 6. Knowledge: the NCE lessons on confidentiality and duty to warn; informed consent; boundaries; technology and records; ethical decision-making; multicultural competencies. The order of operations: assess safety, consult, take the least intrusive step, document.

Course: Lesson 6 + NCE ethics and attributes lessons. Flashcards: Ethics and Attributes. Practice: 2 cases. Guide: Ethics code and decision rules.

Full timed examTake the full timed exam under real conditions: the same start time as your appointment, phone off, no notes, the clock running. Review every miss the next day, not the same day, and sort the misses by domain.

Practice: the full timed exam. Flashcards: due only.

Weak domainsSecond floating week. Re-read the lesson for your two weakest domains from Week 10. Rework the cases you missed most, reading the explanation for every option, not just the keyed one. Rebuild the duration table and the risk card on a blank page.

Course: two lessons, reread. Flashcards: weakest two areas, due. Practice: 3 cases, study mode.

TaperNo new cases. The daily case on two midweek days. Due cards only. Two full nights of sleep before the exam. Arrive early, and read every intake all the way through before you look at the first question.

Practice: daily case, twice. Flashcards: due only.

How the exam is weightedCounseling Skills and Interventions and Intake, Assessment and Diagnosis carry the most questions; Treatment Planning, Professional Practice and Ethics, and Core Counseling Attributes carry the rest. Areas of Clinical Focus is not scored on its own; it is the diagnoses the cases are built around, which is why weeks 3 and 4 are knowledge weeks. NBCC publishes the exact counts in the current handbook.

Your toolsThe six-lesson NCMHCE course, 22 case studies with an explanation after every answer, the full timed exam and the 458-card clinical deck are free with a member account at thelicensureprofessor.com/join. Missed cards come back on a schedule; case results are scored by domain. The NCE lessons named each week are at thelicensureprofessor.com/course.