LPC Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield LPC facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. The ABC-X Model of family crisis, developed by Hill, identifies which of the following as the 'X' factor? → The resulting crisis
2. Which sampling method would be MOST appropriate when studying a rare population such as counselors who specialize in treating torture survivors? → Snowball sampling
3. A counselor who frequently discloses personal experiences to shift focus away from the client is demonstrating: → Countertransference
4. Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy for PTSD involves which two core components? → In vivo exposure to avoided situations and imaginal exposure to the trauma memory
5. When a counselor writes progress notes using the SOAP format, the 'A' section documents: → The counselor's assessment of the client's progress toward treatment goals
6. A client in crisis states, 'I have a plan, I have a gun at home, and I intend to use it tonight.' The counselor's immediate intervention should include: → Activating an emergency safety plan and initiating a 911 call or psychiatric hold
7. Which of the following best describes the use of 'behavioral experiments' in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)? → Structured activities designed to test the accuracy of a client's beliefs or predictions
8. A client repeatedly arrives late and then blames the counselor for 'not giving enough time.' Which counselor skill is MOST critical in this moment? → Confrontation of the pattern without defensiveness
9. A supervisee asks how to handle strong dislike of a client. The supervisor should FIRST recommend: → Exploring countertransference through personal reflection and supervision
10. Which of the following best describes the ethical concept of fidelity in counseling? → Being faithful and keeping commitments and promises
11. Which DSM-5 condition involves intentionally producing or feigning psychological or physical symptoms to assume the sick role, without external incentives? → Factitious Disorder
12. In SCCT, 'outcome expectations' are best defined as: → Beliefs about the consequences that will follow from a behavior
13. The Minnesota Importance Questionnaire (MIQ) was developed to measure which construct central to the Theory of Work Adjustment? → Work-related values and needs
14. A client with a disability expresses frustration that society views them as limited by their condition. This perspective aligns most closely with: → The social model of disability
15. A counselor who can tolerate sitting with a client's pain without rushing to fix it is demonstrating: → Tolerance of ambiguity and presence
16. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), developed by Marsha Linehan, was originally designed for the treatment of: → Borderline personality disorder and chronic suicidality
17. In therapy, as the connection develops over time, there will be a movement toward: → From external to internal ideas
18. The term 'working alliance' in counseling refers to: → The collaborative bond, goals, and tasks shared by client and counselor
19. Which of the following is an example of a projective assessment technique? → Rorschach Inkblot Test
20. When a counselor is working with a client who has a different cultural background, cultural humility requires the counselor to: → Continuously reflect on their own biases and remain open to learning from the client
21. A trauma survivor reports feeling as though they are watching themselves from outside their body during sessions. This experience is most consistent with: → Depersonalization
22. A client exhibits two or more distinct personality states, reports gaps in memory for everyday events, and experiences distress. DSM-5 diagnosis is: → Dissociative Identity Disorder
23. Which DSM-5 diagnostic principle requires that a disorder not be better explained by another medical condition or substance use? → Hierarchical exclusion rule
24. A client from a collectivist cultural background may view individual-focused counseling goals as: → Inconsistent with their cultural values around family and community
25. In Yalom's therapeutic factors, 'universality' refers to which group experience? → Members discovering their problems are shared by others
26. The 'minority stress model' developed by Meyer explains that LGBTQ+ individuals experience higher rates of mental health problems primarily due to: → Chronic stress arising from stigma, prejudice, and discrimination
27. A researcher wants to study whether childhood trauma predicts adult depression without manipulating any variables. The MOST appropriate design is: → Ex post facto (causal-comparative) research design
28. Which of the following is the PRIMARY purpose of an Institutional Review Board (IRB)? → Protecting the rights and welfare of human research participants
29. The biopsychosocial model of substance use disorders proposes that addiction results from: → The interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors
30. Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is specifically designed for use with which population? → Children and adolescents who have experienced trauma, and their caregivers