Connecticut licenses professional counselors through its Department of Public Health, not a stand-alone counseling board. Applicants qualify with either NBCC exam: the National Counselor Examination (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE). After graduate school you complete 3,000 hours of supervised postgraduate experience, spread over at least two years.
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Yes. The Department of Public Health requires applicants to have passed either the NCE or the NCMHCE, both administered by the National Board for Certified Counselors. Either exam satisfies the requirement.
How much supervised experience does Connecticut require?
3,000 hours of postgraduate experience in professional counseling under professional supervision, including at least 100 hours of direct professional supervision, performed over a period of not less than two years. The department’s requirements page does not set a separate direct-client-hours figure.
What degree does Connecticut require?
For students who matriculated after July 1, 2017, either a graduate degree in clinical mental health counseling from a CACREP-accredited program, or at least 60 graduate semester hours in counseling or a related mental health field covering the required subject areas — together with a graduate degree in counseling, social work, marriage and family therapy or psychology, a 100-hour counseling practicum and a 600-hour clinical mental health counseling internship.
I started my program before July 2017 — which rules apply?
The Department of Public Health publishes a separate set of requirements for applicants who matriculated before July 1, 2017. The exam requirement is the same on both: the NCE or the NCMHCE.
How do I apply in Connecticut?
Online only — the department states that applications are only accepted online, through its eLicense system. Confirm the current application fee there when you apply, and pay the exam fee to NBCC separately.
Test yourself: 3 NCMHCE practice questions
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Question 1
After last week's 'maybe you'd all be better off' comment, with no current plan reported but the rifles still at home, what is the most appropriate step?
▸ Why A is the answer
A collaborative written safety plan matches this level of risk: it names his warning signs, the coping steps and people he can turn to, and how to reach help, and it restricts access to lethal means by getting the firearms out of the house for now. Made with him, it is something he can actually use in a dark moment, and the means-safety piece is one of the most protective steps available.
Question 2
Terry has partially responded, better sleep and appetite, some activity, but persistent low mood and last week's suicidal spike, and he asks whether he can stop. What is the best treatment-planning move?
▸ Why B is the answer
Reviewing and revising means looking honestly at the plan against the goals: crediting the genuine gains in sleep, appetite, and activity, naming the mood and the suicidal thinking that persist, and adjusting so you keep what helps and add to what is incomplete. Deepening the cognitive and behavioral work and talking with his physician about the medication answers the partial response without abandoning a recovery that is still fragile.
Question 3
Terry says quietly, 'I still feel like half the man I was.' Which response best uses core listening and reflecting skills?
▸ Why C is the answer
Foundational reflecting means catching both the feeling and the meaning and handing them back so the person feels understood. 'Half the man' is grief for who he was and uncertainty about who he is now, and reflecting exactly that, then staying in it, meets him before any intervention. Feeling heard in this tender moment is what lets the rest of the work continue.
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