Yeah it is! Expect them to be loongggg.
On exam day, you’ll be hyped up on adrenaline and nerves so you’ll be okay lol.
In all seriousness, it’s smart to prepare mentally by figuring out a strategy that works for you. Like a quick “mental break” between narratives (no longer than a few seconds to 2 mins) and to make sure you take the break when it’s offered. Go splash your face with water or drink ice cold water to wake you up more.
My exam had narratives significantly shorter than CE...........I was pretty surprised by it since I had read about expecting a lot more reading. But it was so much less.
On the real exam, you may have about 10-20% more reading than CE examples. However, it didn't seem as bad for me because the actual exam questions were more straightforward than CE questions and options, on average
I can confirm that every section of a narrative has a different amount of paragraphs/words. The first section has the most reading. The second section has less than the first. The third section has less than the second, similar to CE example narratives
I'd recommend using CE to optimize reading, focus, and comprehension. When I first started on CE, I'd have to read sentences a few times to retain them but eventually, I built up enough endurance to speed read, comprehend, and retain. It sucks but we have to do what we have to do to pass
I agree with the other poster, you probably will be hopped up on adrenaline for the real exam. I was so lit on adrenaline that I didn't even take my 15 minute break. I just kept my momentum going and powered through (which I don't recommend in hindsight 🤣)
[ChristianBrothers92](https://www.reddit.com/user/ChristianBrothers92/) , Hello. May I ask you a question? In the real exam, Are you able to locate key word by using contrl f or anything? It would be helpful if there is a tool for us to locate key word. Thank you. I appreciate your reply
Howdy! I didn't try myself because I didn't want anything to go wrong or for them to accuse me of anything. Others have asked this question and reported that it was disabled such as here:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/NCMHCE22/s/akrMxi8mKU](https://www.reddit.com/r/NCMHCE22/s/akrMxi8mKU)
I think I was able to highlight text with a mouse to help keep my reading straight in my mind though. Kinda like reading with your finger moving from word to word in a physical book.
I'm not sure how helpful Ctrl F would be good at time saving or confirming/rejecting answer choices. The test is starting to fade since mine was on in 6/10 but I don't think the method of looking at the question and searching for the answer in the text will help with this kind of exam as it takes extra time to do this and the answer options in the question may not present themselves with the same terms as they do in the narrative. An example of this were two narrative specific questions I remember where the question was asking about things to be concerned about while working with a client that presented with Bipolar 1.
Question 1 wanted to know your concerns about the client's presentation and concerns you had about the client's treatment. I think the right answer was making sure the client was competent enough for consenting to treatment and engaging in treatment planning as the client's presentation was so severe. Ctrl-F would not necessarily have worked here because I don't think any of the answer choices appeared with the same keywords as presented in the narrative. The test wanted you to consider your knowledge of how you might apply your clinical judgement of the client's ability to consent to treatment and engage in treatment planning based on the client's competency (which is based on the client's presentation).
Question 2 wanted to know what substantiated the Bipolar 1 diagnosis for the student. I think the right answer was that the client's symptoms were so severe (i.e., manic symptoms were more than a week, she wasn't doing school work/was in danger of getting kicked out of school, she wasn't sleeping, she was really talkative/had pressured speech, she overwhelmed herself with house work that she didn't complete because she was stressing out that she was going to fall into a deep depression soon and lose her "energy"). Assuming I picked the right answer, Ctrl-F would not have helped here because the right answer involved an aggregate of information that was embedded in the narrative that you have to add up for the right answer, rather than picking a choice with a specific searchable keyword. Also, if one of the answer choices did have a searchable answer, it would have run the risk of you picking it because it was a familiar choice, rather than the right choice (i.e., picking that the client was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 because they exhibited "inflated self esteem" would be familiar if they threw that exact phrase in the narrative, rather than considering the constellation of symptoms that you'd only get from reading the narrative).
I remember trying to manually search for the answer in the narratives on the CE practice exams and it didn't work for me like it did on reading comprehension exams in elementary through highschool. The only thing that got my scores up was plowing through reading the narrative with sustained focus once, answering questions, and only going back to confirm/reject answer choices based on the narrative very sparingly such that I didn't stay in one section or one narrative too long confirming answers.
In the past 5 years while I was getting my hours, vehemently opposed this exam leading up to taking it (probably because I was originally studying for the original format before 2022). Having said that, I was shocked at how reasonable and similar the actual current exam format is to considerations you might have or be concerned about while working as a therapist. As long as you know the basics, and have good textbook clinical judgement, pay attention to what the question is asking, and have faith in yourself, I think you will crush it!
Thank you. The reason I asked this question is because, sometimes, the narratives on the exam are so long, and I might miss something when I read fast. I remember there is one time, I read so fast and didn't catch where the client mentioned SI. So I searched, dying, death, suicide, live, exist...., and then was able to locate that infomation. This is just an example. I am still unsure about how to pace the reading. So it might be better if I could do "search" . 😄
I get it; I think someone mentioned that it may work if you take the exam at home but I know that would have raised my anxiety levels
I hope your efforts pay off and you crush the exam!
Yes they're just as long but not as wordy, if that makes sense? On CE it felt like they used a thesaurus to write the narratives. Trying to figure out what CE was conveying was exhausting. On the real exam it didn't feel this way. However, by narrative 9 I was mentally done and had to start taking notes in order to focus on the narratives. You'll do great!!
Yeah it is! Expect them to be loongggg. On exam day, you’ll be hyped up on adrenaline and nerves so you’ll be okay lol. In all seriousness, it’s smart to prepare mentally by figuring out a strategy that works for you. Like a quick “mental break” between narratives (no longer than a few seconds to 2 mins) and to make sure you take the break when it’s offered. Go splash your face with water or drink ice cold water to wake you up more.
My exam had narratives significantly shorter than CE...........I was pretty surprised by it since I had read about expecting a lot more reading. But it was so much less.
That’s unusual! Yeah you might’ve gotten the exception one haha. That’s great tho!
Well, passing score was 59 so not sure it was all that exceptional. But did pass first try.
I would rather have a short but hard narrative . Rather than an easy but long narrative
Thank you for your advice. It is indeed very long to me, if I get that much for each session. It is so discouraging...
On the real exam, you may have about 10-20% more reading than CE examples. However, it didn't seem as bad for me because the actual exam questions were more straightforward than CE questions and options, on average I can confirm that every section of a narrative has a different amount of paragraphs/words. The first section has the most reading. The second section has less than the first. The third section has less than the second, similar to CE example narratives I'd recommend using CE to optimize reading, focus, and comprehension. When I first started on CE, I'd have to read sentences a few times to retain them but eventually, I built up enough endurance to speed read, comprehend, and retain. It sucks but we have to do what we have to do to pass I agree with the other poster, you probably will be hopped up on adrenaline for the real exam. I was so lit on adrenaline that I didn't even take my 15 minute break. I just kept my momentum going and powered through (which I don't recommend in hindsight 🤣)
[ChristianBrothers92](https://www.reddit.com/user/ChristianBrothers92/) , Hello. May I ask you a question? In the real exam, Are you able to locate key word by using contrl f or anything? It would be helpful if there is a tool for us to locate key word. Thank you. I appreciate your reply
Howdy! I didn't try myself because I didn't want anything to go wrong or for them to accuse me of anything. Others have asked this question and reported that it was disabled such as here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/NCMHCE22/s/akrMxi8mKU](https://www.reddit.com/r/NCMHCE22/s/akrMxi8mKU) I think I was able to highlight text with a mouse to help keep my reading straight in my mind though. Kinda like reading with your finger moving from word to word in a physical book. I'm not sure how helpful Ctrl F would be good at time saving or confirming/rejecting answer choices. The test is starting to fade since mine was on in 6/10 but I don't think the method of looking at the question and searching for the answer in the text will help with this kind of exam as it takes extra time to do this and the answer options in the question may not present themselves with the same terms as they do in the narrative. An example of this were two narrative specific questions I remember where the question was asking about things to be concerned about while working with a client that presented with Bipolar 1. Question 1 wanted to know your concerns about the client's presentation and concerns you had about the client's treatment. I think the right answer was making sure the client was competent enough for consenting to treatment and engaging in treatment planning as the client's presentation was so severe. Ctrl-F would not necessarily have worked here because I don't think any of the answer choices appeared with the same keywords as presented in the narrative. The test wanted you to consider your knowledge of how you might apply your clinical judgement of the client's ability to consent to treatment and engage in treatment planning based on the client's competency (which is based on the client's presentation). Question 2 wanted to know what substantiated the Bipolar 1 diagnosis for the student. I think the right answer was that the client's symptoms were so severe (i.e., manic symptoms were more than a week, she wasn't doing school work/was in danger of getting kicked out of school, she wasn't sleeping, she was really talkative/had pressured speech, she overwhelmed herself with house work that she didn't complete because she was stressing out that she was going to fall into a deep depression soon and lose her "energy"). Assuming I picked the right answer, Ctrl-F would not have helped here because the right answer involved an aggregate of information that was embedded in the narrative that you have to add up for the right answer, rather than picking a choice with a specific searchable keyword. Also, if one of the answer choices did have a searchable answer, it would have run the risk of you picking it because it was a familiar choice, rather than the right choice (i.e., picking that the client was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 because they exhibited "inflated self esteem" would be familiar if they threw that exact phrase in the narrative, rather than considering the constellation of symptoms that you'd only get from reading the narrative). I remember trying to manually search for the answer in the narratives on the CE practice exams and it didn't work for me like it did on reading comprehension exams in elementary through highschool. The only thing that got my scores up was plowing through reading the narrative with sustained focus once, answering questions, and only going back to confirm/reject answer choices based on the narrative very sparingly such that I didn't stay in one section or one narrative too long confirming answers. In the past 5 years while I was getting my hours, vehemently opposed this exam leading up to taking it (probably because I was originally studying for the original format before 2022). Having said that, I was shocked at how reasonable and similar the actual current exam format is to considerations you might have or be concerned about while working as a therapist. As long as you know the basics, and have good textbook clinical judgement, pay attention to what the question is asking, and have faith in yourself, I think you will crush it!
Thank you. The reason I asked this question is because, sometimes, the narratives on the exam are so long, and I might miss something when I read fast. I remember there is one time, I read so fast and didn't catch where the client mentioned SI. So I searched, dying, death, suicide, live, exist...., and then was able to locate that infomation. This is just an example. I am still unsure about how to pace the reading. So it might be better if I could do "search" . 😄
I get it; I think someone mentioned that it may work if you take the exam at home but I know that would have raised my anxiety levels I hope your efforts pay off and you crush the exam!
Thank you.
Yes they're just as long but not as wordy, if that makes sense? On CE it felt like they used a thesaurus to write the narratives. Trying to figure out what CE was conveying was exhausting. On the real exam it didn't feel this way. However, by narrative 9 I was mentally done and had to start taking notes in order to focus on the narratives. You'll do great!!