Tennessee has two professional counselor credentials, and only one involves the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE). The plain Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) needs the NCE and the Tennessee jurisprudence exam. The LPC with Mental Health Service Provider designation (LPC-MHSP), the clinical credential, requires all three exams and 3,000 supervised post-master’s hours.
4,000+
questions in the app
10+ yrs
exam-prep publishing
Free
on iOS & Android
Built to help you pass faster — by exam-prep publishers with 10+ years' experience
💡 Key Takeaways — the one transferable rule per question
🔍 Hint highlights — the decisive cue phrases in each stem
📖 Full rationales — why every option is right or wrong
Every NCMHCE question is written to the current exam outline for quick learning and a clear pass strategy.
Written and reviewed by the LexPort exam-prep team, led by our Founder & Exam-Prep Lead. LexPort builds certification practice questions — this is exam-preparation material, not medical advice. Last reviewed October 2026.
Practice the full NCMHCE simulator — free to start
4,000+ questions · timed mock exams · every answer explained — right in your browser
Only for the Mental Health Service Provider designation. The board’s rules require LPC-MHSP applicants to pass the National Counselor Examination, the NCMHCE and the Tennessee jurisprudence exam. The plain LPC requires the NCE and the jurisprudence exam only.
Can an existing LPC upgrade to the MHSP designation?
Yes. Tennessee’s board publishes an upgrade policy for LPCs seeking the MHSP designation, which also requires passing the NCE, the NCMHCE and the Tennessee jurisprudence exam.
How many supervised hours does the LPC-MHSP require?
3,000 hours of supervised post-master’s experience — 1,500 of face-to-face client contact and 1,500 of clinically related activities — plus 150 contact hours of supervision, no more than 50 of them in a group. The experience must be completed no sooner than two years and no later than four years after supervised clinical practice begins.
What degree does Tennessee require?
60 graduate semester hours with a major in counseling from an accredited institution, including at least nine semester hours specifically on the diagnosis, treatment, appraisal and assessment of mental disorders. The board warns that graduate counseling degrees under 60 hours will not qualify for any level of LPC licensure.
How do I apply in Tennessee?
Electronically, through the Department of Health’s LARS licensing system, which offers applications for the professional counselor licence, the MHSP designation and a temporary licence. Once approved, you find your licence number and expiration date in your LARS account. Check the current fees there before applying.
Test yourself: 3 NCMHCE practice questions
Tap an answer for instant feedback and the full rationale. The app has 4,000+, timed and scored.
Question 1
Terry has only partially responded to the antidepressant his physician started, with persistent low mood and recurring suicidal thoughts, and he is open to input. What is the most appropriate referral step?
▸ Why D is the answer
A partial response with ongoing suicidal thinking is exactly what warrants specialist medication input. With his consent you refer for a psychiatric evaluation to optimize the medication, keep doing the counseling that is helping, and coordinate so both providers share one picture. That concurrent arrangement gets him the expertise he needs without interrupting the work that is already underway.
Question 2
You are documenting Nikhil's mental status. He calls the images 'sick' and 'not me,' knows they are irrational, and is horrified by them. How do you best characterize these experiences in your mental status exam?
▸ Why B is the answer
The defining features are all here: the images are unwanted, repugnant, recognized as his own and as irrational, and they distress him. That combination, with reality testing intact, is the textbook picture of ego-dystonic obsessions and is exactly what belongs in the mental status note.
Question 3
Devon gives a guarded, fragmented account while his mother is anxious to describe everything she has seen. What is the most useful first assessment step to understand the presenting problem?
▸ Why D is the answer
With an emerging psychotic picture, the most discriminating information is the shape of the change over time: when the withdrawal, suspiciousness, and perceptions began, how they have evolved, and how far they sit from his usual self. That story lives partly with him and partly with his mother and roommate, so you gather both against his baseline. Establishing onset and course up front is what will later separate a brief disturbance from a longer illness and tells you how urgent this is.
Unlock all 4,005 NCMHCE practice questions
Timed, scored, with progress tracking and every answer explained. Free to start.