Exam Prep Blog: January 2018

Self-care is a term we hear all of the time in our profession; we discuss it with our clients, we encourage them to engage in it, we talk about it in supervision, and we generally understand the importance of self-care in our lives. However, as much as therapists talk about self-care, we don’t always practice it ourselves. I often find myself talking with clinicians studying for their licensing exams who, for one reason or another, are not regularly engaging in this process. While it most certainly can be challenging to integrate self-care into your study plan, especially when there are so many competing demands for your time and energy, it is a key component to preparing for your exam. In this month’s anxiety management blog, my goal is to help you build an understanding of what self-care really looks like and help you identify effective ways to integrate it into your study process.

Negative Reinforcement vs. Positive Reinforcment In yesterday’s blog, we explored the topic of behavioral reinforcement, differentiating between negative reinforcement, positive reinforcement, and punishment. If you haven’t had a chance to check out yesterday’s blog, we encourage you to do so! Did you get yesterday’s question correct? Read on to find out!

Negative Reinforcement vs. Positive Reinforcement Reinforcement is a topic that could very well show up on your LMSW or LCSW exam and is one that tends to trip many of us up. Because of our strong associations with the words negative (bad) and positive (good), it is all too easy to be thrown off by these otherwise straightforward questions on the LCSW and LMSW exams. When it comes to reinforcement, it is crucial to keep in mind that negative does not mean bad and positive does not mean good. Let me repeat that: when it comes to reinforcement on the LCSW and LMSW exams, negative does not mean bad and positive does not mean good. In the context of this term, negative reinforcement refers to taking something away and positive reinforcement refers to adding something. Negative=taking something away; Positive=adding something. Because of these associations, people often confuse negative reinforcement and punishment on the exam, despite the fact that these are two very different concepts. Let’s spend a little time looking at these three concepts.

On January 1st, an important change occurred for pre-licensed Marriage Family Therapists and Professional Clinical Counselors. Rather than being referred to as interns, these individuals will now be titled “Associate Marriage and Family Therapist” or “Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist” and “Associate Professional Clinical Counselor” or “Registered Associate Professional Clinical Counselor.”

In yesterday's Law and Ethics blog, we explored the topic of scope of practice and looked at how this topic could show up on your licensing exams. Today, we discuss the correct answer and rationale for the practice question we posed. Did you get this one right?

Today’s Law and Ethics blog and practice question explores the topic of scope of practice. Scope of practice is the definition provided in law that delineates what the profession does and places limits upon (or confines the breadth of functions) that persons within a profession may lawfully perform. It is basically the license that we obtain, such as LCSW or LMFT, together with what that license allows us to do. For instance, as MFTs our license allows us to talk about current family relationships, but does not allow us to give our clients a deep tissue massage. Legally, social workers can talk about ways in which family of origin dynamics have influenced the client, but they may not legally write up a will for the client, as that is something that lies outside of the scope of the social work profession. On the exam, you will likely be tested on what does and does not fall within the scope of practice for your license. Let us take a look at a scenario you could see on the test.

Meet and Connect with our MFT Coaches One of the best things about TDC is our coaches! Asya Mourraille and Robin Gluck have helped thousands of interns pass their MFT licensing exams and look forward to providing you with support as you prepare to PASS WITH CONFIDENCE! Robin and Asya are committed to supporting you every step of the way and will be with you until you pass!

Yesterday we posted a question on approaching questions asking about the middle phase of treatment for the MFT exams. Today we have the answer and rationale for you. Did you get this question right?

For this week's MFT practice question, we continue our focus on treatment, shifting from the initial phase to the middle phase of treatment. On the exam, you can expect to see a large number of questions on this subject; some will ask about general interventions, while others will focus on interventions linked to specific theories. So what should we be looking for when it comes to middle phase questions?

In our FREE ASWB practice question blog yesterday, we explored the topic of couples counseling, specifically looking at what to do when domestic violence is disclosed. Did you answer this practice question correctly? Find out below as we share the answer and rationale!

Couples therapy is a topic the ASWB loves to put on their licensing exams. This can be a challenging area for many people preparing to test, as a lot of us do not have any experience engaging in couples work. One of the areas within couples therapy they like to assess your knowledge and skill on is what you would do if a couple divulges physical or emotional abuse to you. Do you know what to do when this occurs? This is important subject matter for both the exam and your practice should you ever encounter it. Here’s a sample question to see if you are ready to successfully approach this topic on the exam!