Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:10] Speaker B: Hello and welcome to the NCE Success Stories podcast where we ask a counselor who's recently passed the national Counseling exam all the burning questions that you have as you wonder how to pass with confidence. My name is Josh Keller. I'm the owner of NCE Exam Prep and today I have with me Ashley. Ashley serves humans through the hills and valleys of life as a camp program manager, ordained minister, and now an lpc. Woohoo.
[00:00:37] Speaker A: Yay.
[00:00:38] Speaker B: She never plans to pursue a master's program while working 50 plus hour weeks, but she beat anxiety and is excited to tell you that you can too. So Ashley, I'm so glad that you're here. Thanks for being here.
[00:00:50] Speaker A: Thanks so much for inviting me. I'm happy to help as we all are.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Yeah. Awesome. It is so great to hear from people who have put in the hard work and, and gotten that passing score. So I'm sure that people listening to this are just going to be like really, really excited to hear. So tell us a little bit about your NCE experience. When did you pass and how. How did you find out that you passed? Just kind of walk us through it.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: Yeah, so I did back up a little bit. My master's program I did in five years instead of the classic three years because I did part time because I was working full time job.
So I actually graduated that in May of 2023 and I knew like a, a lot of my classmates were going to like take the NCE right away and so they were like itching for their paperwork from the school. But I knew that I was burnt out and so I said I don't want to go into this test being burnout. That won't be good for me. I don't think I'll pass. I don't think it'll be a good situation. So gave myself permission to wait to take the test.
So that was May of 2023. I applied in early 2024 and then it took, you know, eight months to actually get scheduled and the whole process with the state and everything. So I finally took the NCE on November 18th and I passed. So. So that was my first attempt and I got to pass it.
[00:02:26] Speaker B: Awesome. One and done.
[00:02:28] Speaker A: Yes. I'm so thankful.
[00:02:30] Speaker B: So great. So great. I love hearing that people are able to do that. So, so encouraging. And so did you take it at an actual testing center? Did you take it at home?
[00:02:41] Speaker A: I went into a testing center just because I knew that I would get distracted if I was at home. So I chose to go into a testing center that is about an hour away.
[00:02:52] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: An hour away from my home.
[00:02:54] Speaker B: Gotcha. And so did you find out right away that you passed?
[00:02:59] Speaker A: I did. So when I walked out of the.
So when I walked out of the testing center, I went to the front desk and they, you know, ask for your name and your information again, just to clarify. And then she said, hold, please. And I just waited. And then she said, here you go. Hope you have a great day. So she gave me a piece of paper, and I didn't look at it right away because I had been warned from a friend of mine who had just taken it, saying, like, they give it to you right away on a piece of paper. So I was like, okay, I can't. Gotta be in a good place to look at this. So I walked out of the office. It was an empty hallway, and so I looked, and it said pass. So it either tells you, like, it just has a word pass or it has fail. And so mine said pass. So I was, like, really shocked for a second.
[00:03:52] Speaker B: Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. So what did you. What did you do, like, when you saw that? Like, did you, like, just, like, relief? Did you jump up and down? Did you scream, start crying? Like, what. What was it like for you?
[00:04:03] Speaker A: So I. It was a really rainy day, and so I saw the rain in front of me, but as I looked as like, pass, Right? It says pass, Right? Like, my eyes aren't deceiving me. It really does say pass.
I texted a picture to that friend who had kind of warned me about the process. And another friend, I was like, okay, they'll be able to tell me yes or no. And they both texted back, congratulations. So I was like, okay, I must be seeing this, right?
[00:04:34] Speaker B: Awesome. You had your. Your cheer squad on standby?
[00:04:38] Speaker A: Yes, yes. And I had, like, about 20 people. So what I did was after I saw that, I got in my car and then I texted all of them, and I just sat there in my car for, like, 45 minutes. Just check. Checking with people and all the things.
[00:04:52] Speaker B: Finally, relief.
[00:04:54] Speaker A: Yes. There was relief for sure because I did not want to take the test again.
[00:05:00] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't blame you. Yeah. So did you. Did you celebrate in any way? Did you, like, do anything special?
[00:05:08] Speaker A: Yeah, so when I, like, going into the day, I mean, on our Monday calls, you had just asked, like, what are you going to do to celebrate? And I was like, I don't have anything planned.
And I was just so negative about it. I was like, okay, I'm going to schedule Pilates right afterwards so that if I don't Pass, then I at least have something that I can go do this and be okay at it.
[00:05:34] Speaker B: So.
[00:05:35] Speaker A: So I actually ended up skipping my Pilates class after I found out I passed. And then I met my mom for brunch at one of my favorite places. And so that's how I chose to celebrate.
Just pretty simple. And then I chose to rest. I came home and I slept because I did not sleep well the night before. So.
[00:06:01] Speaker B: Yeah, good. That sounds like you're. You're taking care of yourself, even in celebration. So.
So talk us through some of the strategies that you used as you were actually preparing and studying that that you felt helped you feel most successful on test day.
[00:06:20] Speaker A: Okay. So one thing that I used was throughout my program, my professors had said, like, this might be on the nce, it might not. So I had a. I used the OneNote Microsoft Notepad thing. And so I had had one section that was NCE Possibilities. And so I would read through that.
And then I had had friends who had been studying before me because they chose to take it right away, and they. Three out of five of them chose to use NCE Prep exam material. And so that's like, I had known that I was going to use this in preparation just because the friends who used it had passed and the friends who didn't had taken it two or three times. So I was like, well, of the people that I have asked, this is the way to go. So I. Let's see. I took the test in November.
I think I got nce. It was either August or September. And so I started going through the material, and really the only materials I used was the NCE Prep exam prep. That's within the system. I didn't choose to get any books or anything outside of that.
And it worked for me. So.
[00:07:42] Speaker B: Awesome. I'm so glad to hear that. Yeah. You know, there are some people who use my material and then they supplement it with other things, but there's some like you. And it sounds like your classmates, you know, were able to just stick with the plan.
Yeah. And that's. That's the same way that I passed in 2014 was with this material. I didn't own the business at the time, but. Yeah. Well, that's great. And so let's talk about more about test day. Like when you were. When you were showing up, it sounds like maybe the night before you were feeling a little bit anxious. And coming into the test today, how did you kind of navigate through and manage that stress and anxiety? You know, one, like getting ready. And when you were actually sitting there.
[00:08:24] Speaker A: Yeah. So I have known that I have struggled with anxiety for many, many years and I've been to counseling for many years. So because of that, I had a bunch of tools that just like ready that I didn't really have to think about to know to have with me.
But one thing for me is to be around people that I really feel safe with. And so my brother lives really close near the testing site. And so I chose to go and stay at his house the night before so that I wouldn't have a long drive in the morning, knowing that that would keep my mind fresher.
But then also throughout the night, I mean, I probably got two hours of sleep because I was just anxiety ridden. And I actually had one or two panic attacks at one point. Just nervous about test.
And so the things that I used was because I am a pastor and I am a Christian, I used worship music and prayer apps. LeftIO360, 365.
[00:09:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:37] Speaker A: And then Soul Space is an app I used. And then Soul Space also has a anxiety app that is specifically for panic attacks. Wow. And those really help me. And then the physical thing I do is it wasn't quite cold out that night. But what I did is I went to their freezer and I got an ice pack. And so I held that in my hand because I have found that that kind of stops my body from panicking when I know that I don't need to.
[00:10:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:08] Speaker A: And so that kind of helps me battle those physio.
[00:10:12] Speaker B: Is that kind of like a grounding strategy?
[00:10:15] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah.
So I use that. And then I also got this ring from Amazon. It's like $9 and it does like move. So it's a little bit of a fidget. But I use it for anxiety. So I did have that with me in the test so that I could go like this while I was thinking. But it also doesn't look anything other than just a ring. Right.
[00:10:37] Speaker B: So you can take it into the testing center and.
[00:10:39] Speaker A: Yes. So that is a sneak that I definitely did do. I brought that in with me.
[00:10:43] Speaker B: Okay. So for those. Because this isn't going to be videoed. You know, she's got a, like an actual ring that she's wearing on her finger and maybe I can get the link to that and I'll include it.
[00:10:52] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I can send it to you.
[00:10:54] Speaker B: That's an awesome fidget idea.
That doesn't look like a fidget spinner.
[00:11:01] Speaker A: Right. It's very. They did not look at it when I walked through the room. Of like, did you take everything off?
[00:11:07] Speaker B: I love that. So good. Okay, cool. And so you were able to kind of utilize some of that as you're actually, you know, sitting there taking the test when you're stumped by a question, you start spinning your ring.
[00:11:18] Speaker A: Right, right. Yeah. So. And I also had that the night before. So when I woke up in the morning, my brother and my sister in law prayed with me before they left for work and then before I left for the test. And I ended up actually getting. I was supposed to be at the testing site at 8. I ended up getting there at 7:30.
[00:11:35] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:11:35] Speaker A: And I actually went in for my exam at 7:45. So sometimes I guess if you get there early, they might send you in early. I was the first one to go in, but there was six other people at the same site for the same time frame.
[00:11:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:48] Speaker A: To take a test.
[00:11:49] Speaker B: Gotcha. And there's a chance that not all those people are taking the same test. That.
[00:11:55] Speaker A: No, but I actually, since I had been in the program so long, there were actually a few people from my program that I knew was taking the counseling test, but then there were a few that were not. Because we talked a little bit before we all went in.
[00:12:10] Speaker B: Yeah. And that's fine. You know, one thing that I encourage people to do is just to be aware of how they might be feeding off of the anxiety of others. And so in the, in the testing center, especially if you know, somebody else is taking the NCE and they're kind of in a, in a panicking spiral, don't want to absorb that. And like no anxiety. Maybe they don't have the fidget ring and that's.
[00:12:34] Speaker A: Maybe they don't. Yes.
[00:12:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:36] Speaker A: A few other things. So the testing site I was at had headphones and I don't usually need headphones, but I chose to put it on just so that I would not. I could help like block out anything else that someone might drop a pin or something like that. I wanted to block that out. And then I definitely took the 15 minute break in between. Yeah, I didn't necessarily like mentally feel like I needed to, but I went out in the waiting room and did some stretching, drink some water and just kind of did a few breathing exercises to just like calm my system back down before I went back in recenter.
[00:13:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Did they give you an option not to take the 15 minute break?
[00:13:17] Speaker A: Yes.
There was a pop up on the screen that said if you want to take your break now, it's something about like take a break, don't Take the break.
[00:13:27] Speaker B: It's interesting. I didn't realize that they giving options for that. I wonder, I wonder if you had not taken the break, if you would still have been able to go back and look at those first hundred questions.
[00:13:40] Speaker A: Well, the way it did it was the first hundred questions before I took the break, it had me go back through them.
[00:13:48] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:13:48] Speaker A: And then I couldn't go back through them after I had already submitted looking at it again.
[00:13:54] Speaker B: So even if, even if you had not taken a break, you probably wouldn't have been able to go back through those first hundred.
[00:14:00] Speaker A: Yeah. Correct.
[00:14:01] Speaker B: Okay. Well, yeah, I mean I would. I think it's up to each person how they decide to do that. But it's nice that you can take that break and not have it count against your time, so.
[00:14:12] Speaker A: Right. Yeah.
[00:14:13] Speaker B: Okay.
So you know you already talked about how you used the NCE exam prep program and you, you follow the guaranteed study package, right?
[00:14:24] Speaker A: I bought that, but I didn't necessarily follow it exactly. So I definitely wouldn't have got my money back.
So good thing I passed.
[00:14:35] Speaker B: But you had all those resources.
[00:14:36] Speaker A: But I had all the resources and I did go through. I think I just missed like there's six sections and I think I only went through four. So I, I still followed it just not exactly to a T. Yeah, yeah. As I maybe would have. I actually had a. I went to England for two weeks in October so that was kind of during that 90 day time. So it kind of throw off the schedule, but a little bit of a break. I definitely tried to follow it once I got back.
[00:15:05] Speaker B: Okay, good. Well, I'm excited that you still took your vacation even though that you were, you know, in the midst of test preparation. I think it's important to have those things that still energize you and make you feel great.
[00:15:20] Speaker A: And I did have the PDF on my iPad, so on the 8 hour flights I was able to look at the manual. So that was helpful to have.
[00:15:31] Speaker B: Good, good. Yeah, yeah, definitely wouldn't. Have, wouldn't wanted, wouldn't have wanted you to, to take the entire like 700 page study manual in your backpack and all?
[00:15:40] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that wouldn't have worked.
[00:15:41] Speaker B: Yeah. So is there anything that, you know, thinking back that you would have done differently about your, your planning as you were getting ready?
[00:15:53] Speaker A: I think I definitely would have followed the 90 day plan. I think I would. If I would have followed it exactly, I would have. It just. I don't know if I would have felt more prepared. But I think my anxiety, like as every Time I took a practice, like, stimuli.
[00:16:09] Speaker B: The simulation test.
[00:16:11] Speaker A: Simulation test. I felt less anxious every single time. And so I think maybe if I would have followed it exactly, it would have been a little lower going into the test state. Yeah, that's good.
Just because towards the end, I was like, okay, I got to get through all of this. I definitely felt like I was rushing myself through it. Okay.
So maybe that.
It maybe would have been helpful to have, like, someone else who was taking the test or a few of my friends offered to, like, you know, help me study and, like, speak it out, but I just didn't choose to have time for that, so maybe I would have done that, too, taking them up on their willingness to help me.
[00:16:53] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That. That seems like kind of like a. Like a personality choice. Right. Some people might really benefit from having that. I know some people love coming to the group tutoring, and then other people are like, no, I just can't. Can't do that. And they may watch the videos later, but, you know, everybody's kind of different when it comes to what makes them feel more prepared or not.
[00:17:16] Speaker A: So, yeah, I did find, like, when I did come to the tutoring, I didn't come every week, but when I did come and I would write notes down when I was going back through the stimulation, for me, I could remember. I have a little bit of, like, photographic memory, so if I saw it down on paper, I was able to remember it better.
[00:17:34] Speaker B: For questions, it sounds like you really know yourself well and. And how you benefit and, you know, can study well and what's going to work and not work for you.
[00:17:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:48] Speaker B: Seems like that's really beneficial for a lot of people.
[00:17:51] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, it is. And I mean, every new time I. Every time I see some new, like, test possibility of help, I try it out just to see.
[00:18:02] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:18:03] Speaker A: But, yeah, it's definitely helpful when you know what works for you and what doesn't.
[00:18:08] Speaker B: Yeah. Awesome. Okay, well, suppose you had 30 seconds to share with a test taker something valuable or encouraging or just kind of one last little bit, you know, Suppose they were listening to this, like, right before they went in, and you're like, all right, here's your final, like, pep talk going in. What. What would you have to say to them?
[00:18:34] Speaker A: Okay. The night before, remind yourself that this test does not define you. It may open some doors, but you are enough without it.
[00:18:42] Speaker B: Love that.
[00:18:43] Speaker A: Also realize that by that point, the best prep you can do is find rest and surround yourself with people or pets or messages that you have done everything you can. And your brain has the info, so just rest it so it can recall it.
[00:18:57] Speaker B: Well, that's so great, Ashley. Yes. I love everything that you just said. 100% gonna echo that. And I. And I love too, that you incorporated your. Your belief system and your faith into that. I know that's a huge source of. Of strength and comfort for a lot of people and, and definitely rely on those things that, that work for you. So. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining me today.
I wish you the best. What is next for you when it comes to your career?
[00:19:24] Speaker A: Oh, that is the number one question.
I currently I use the counseling degree in my job, but I don't necessarily need the licensure.
But I might start doing telehealth. I'm in a very rural area.
[00:19:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:43] Speaker A: And so telehealth allows me to start gaining those 2,000 hours without having to use a ton of gas money to get to a spot. So I might start doing that. But also I really enjoy my days off. So. Yeah, that might be next.
[00:20:00] Speaker B: Yeah. Awesome that we have telehealth that makes that. That accessible. So.
[00:20:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:05] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, thanks again so much for joining me today for this and, you know, I'm excited to. To hear how people just feel enc by what you had to say to them. So, again, thanks so much.
[00:20:17] Speaker A: You're so welcome. I hope it's helpful so that we can all succeed.
[00:20:21] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. All right.
NCE Exam Prep seeks to provide quality, reliable, and easy to use preparation material to help test takers confidently pass the National Counseling Exam. For more information, go to nceexamprep.
