NCMHCE Study Guide

 

NCMHCE Study Guide, Ariadne Blaine, 2023

Are you interested in becoming a mental health counselor? Do you want to assist people with ADHD, anorexia or PTSD? This book is here to help.

Be very sure of the requirements to be a mental health counselor in your state. Some states may require the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Exam, while other states may just recommend it. 

It is very difficult for any counselor to accurately diagnose a patient based on, for instance, one personal observation. There are many tools available (CBT, MRI, Rorschach test, etc.). The book also looks at professional ethics and what to do in an emergency. Aside from knowing the right answers, the test taker also has to interpret the situation and use the appropriate counseling method. Of course, there is a practice test in the back of the book, with answers and explanations.

This is a very good review of the information needed for the license exam. It is very much worth the money.

LMSW Exam Prep 2024-2025

 LMSW Exam Prep 2024-2025, Ariadne Blaine, 2023

 

Do you want to become a licensed social worker? This book is here to help.

 

Be very sure of the requirements to become a social worker in your state. Every state has different requirements. Taking the ASWB exam is a good idea, but not mandatory. Be aware that it is reputed to be a very difficult exam; nearly half of all test takers fail the exam. If you fail, you have to wait six months to take it again, and pay the several hundred dollar test fee.

 

This book covers areas like human growth and development, self-care and burnout prevention, assessment and intervention planning and advanced ethical dilemmas. There are practice tests in the back of the book (with answers and explanations).

 

Knowing nothing about the social worker field, this book feels very comprehensive and straightforward. For anyone looking to become a social worker, this book is very much worth the time (and money).

Gynocracy

Gynocracy, K.J. Blaine, Amazon Digital Services, 2012

This near future science fiction story is about a young man who suddenly finds himself in a very dangerous situation.

Steve Kowalski is a teenaged crew member on the "Phoenix," an interplanetary space ship that is the flagship of the International Space Alliance. He is spending a few days leave in Miami, helping to design a new star drive. Next thing he knows, Steve finds himself in a tiny jail cell in a very special place called Juno Colony. It's on the far side of the Moon, and does not recognize ISA authority. The "special" part is that not only do women rule the colony, but men have no rights at all; they are lower than slaves. There are some men who, emotionally, want to be treated like that; Steve is not one of them.

Learning of Steve's plight, the rest of the crew is not going to just leave him there. A bold and daring plan is conceived, which involves several crew members visiting Juno dressed and acting like dominatrices (plural of "dominatrix") and their slaves. Steve was forced to sign papers making him the property of an arrogant, manipulative little you-know-what named Gianna, who is not going to give him up very easily. The male members are forced to enter the colony's gladiatorial games. Officially, the contests are not to the death, but if a contestant dies in the ring; oh, well. As an added complication, the losing male slave automatically becomes the property of the winner's Mistress. To make things look as legitimate as possible, the male members of the rescue mission signed the same ownership papers. Is Steve saved from a lifetime of slavery? Do all the members of the rescue mission make it out in one piece?

This one is surprisingly good. There is one mild bit of S&M, and no actual sex. What it does have is heart, emotion and good writing. Yes, it's worth reading.