Exam Prep Blog: October 2012

One of the most important strategies you can use when you take your social work exam or MFT exam is to be aware of the ROLE that the therapist is in -- is the therapist providing therapy? Working in a hospital? Providing case management? This week's topic is School Social Work, which we can extend to MFT's, since they also provide school-based therapeutic services. Let's look at one way this might come up on the social work exam: Sample: A school therapist is asked to evaluate an 8 year-old student who has recently started having behavioral issues in the classroom. The teacher reports that the

I must admit that this week's topic was always one I struggled with while in graduate school. However, it's one that's really important, and something that you will see on the LMSW exam. Research studies inform our professional practice and it is important to know the up-to-date research so that we can ethically and competently work with clients. Qualitative research is a specific type of research design, and a term that is good to know for the LMSW exam. Let's get started with a sample question. Sample Question: All of the following are aspects of qualitative research EXCEPT: A. It

Changes to LCSW and MFT Exams in California are coming in 2016. Please note that this information has been updated at the following blog: LCSW and MFT Exam Changes Won't Happen until 2016. Think our straightforward, sensible approach could help you PASS your social work or MFT exam? If you're preparing for a social work exam, check out our Social Work Study Materials. If you're preparing for an MFT exam, check out our MFT Study Materials. Learn more about our offerings at The Therapist Development Center. Looking for more practice questions and some study tips? Check out our new Social Work

We're leaving the land of logistics and headed back into what will probably feel like more familiar (and interesting) territory to most of us -- the different roles that a social worker or therapist can occupy. It's important when you're studying for and taking your LCSW exam or MFT exam that you know what role the hypothetical therapist is in so that you can answer the question appropriately. For social workers in particular, assuming that the social worker is in the role of "therapist" can lead to incorrect answers. This week, we're looking at Group Treatment; here's a sample test item to

The best part of my job coaching people for the California MFT Exam is receiving the emails from people in the afterglow of their success. I just got this one a few days ago and felt compelled to share it through our blog because Wendy Labov-Dunne does such a wonderful job articulating her experience of using the TDC approach compared to one of the other MFT Exam Prep companies. If you are deciding whether to trust TDC with you test prep, I hope her words will help you see that there is a better, saner, more supportive way to prepare and pass. "I passed my MFT Exam - yesterday at 4 pm!!! Still

What do you need to know about prevention when preparing for the LMSW exam? This week's LMSW exam prep term, prevention, is an important one and great to know while you're studying. Prevention plays a large role in social work by working to prevent problems that affect the lives of many of our clients. Let's take a better look at this term so you are better prepared if it shows up on the LMSW exam. Sample Question: Which of the following BEST defines prevention? A. Actions taken to minimize and eliminate social, psychological and other problematic conditions B. The act of directly representing

If you're preparing for the LCSW or LMSW social work exams or the MFT exam, what exactly do you need to know about privilege? Like most of our topics, this one is bound to come up, not only on the social work exam, but in real life -- and it's important to understand what privilege is in the legal context, who holds it, and when it's waived. Social Work Exam Prep Programs MFT Exam Prep Programs Let's look at one way this might come up on your exam: Sample: A client and therapist work together for 6 months, at which time the client leaves treatment with no explanation. Several weeks later, the

One of the things that I've always loved about social work is that there are so many different roles we can perform in this field. For the LMSW exam it's important to know the essential functions and responsibilities of these various roles. One of the roles that may show up on the LMSW exam is that of a community social worker. As a community social worker it is important use outreach as a means of helping individuals in the community. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at the term outreach. Sample Question: Which of the following BEST defines outreach? A. The act of directly

Here at the Therapist Development Center, nothing makes us happier than hearing about our clients' success. For those of you gearing up to take you MFT exams, we want to share with you some of the inspiring feedback from those who have gone before you. Our goal in doing this is to take some of the stress out of this process. In fact, our overall philosophy is about getting you grounded and confident in your skills and abilities. As soon as you get started with our program, you are going to see what we are talking about. But if you want to hear it from someone else, check out this email we got

On the surface, insurance doesn't always sound like an exciting topic...it conjures up images of salespeople and paperwork and endless phone calls during which actually reaching a human being seems like a holy miracle. But if you're preparing for the LCSW exam or MFT exam, there are concepts related to insurance that can help you PASS the test and prepare yourself for the next step in your career. Let's take a look at a sample test item. Sample: A therapist in private practice completes an assessment for a 42 year-old man and gives him a provisional diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

We know that it can be stressful and daunting preparing to pass the ASWB exam. That's why we've decided to share success stories so that you can see that PASSING is not as difficult as you may think when you use the TDC Study System. "I had almost given up hope after failing the ASWB LCSW exam for the second time by only 1 point! I had used LEAP twice and didn’t understand why I didn’t pass after I spent 3 months studying for the exam. I was devastated, I didn’t know where to turn or where to go. I just knew that I needed to pass. I put my career on hold for almost three years because of this

This week's LMSW exam prep topic is one that I've found is easy to confuse: negative reinforcement. We have B.F. Skinner to thanks for this term as he was the researcher who developed operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is a form of learning where a person's behavior is modified through both positive and negative consequences by using either reinforcement or punishment. Let's get started with a sample question. Negative Reinforcement Examples When I was studying for the LMSW exam, I found that an easy way to remember a lot of these terms was by thinking of not only the definition of the