Exam Prep Blog: May 2019

As clinicians, we often learn something new every day. Education comes from experience in the clinical setting and our quest for continued learning in the field. One area that many clinicians need to continue to grow is working with LGBTQIA+ clients. I use LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, plus) acronym because I feel like it is more inclusive. Often you will see LGBT, LGBTQ, LGBTQI, and other acronyms for the community. As a clinician, advocate, and ally, I wanted to share a few mistakes that some providers make when working with the community. Mistake

One of the subjects that could be tested on your California Law and Ethics Exam is the topic of Professional Will. This is a difficult topic to broach, as it speaks to our personal vulnerabilities. As a consequence, many therapists avoid it all together. However, it is a critically important part of client care and ethically required. If you have clients, you must have a clear plan in place for them in case of planned or unplanned absences. If a professional will is not in place, client’s can suffer greatly. Regardless of how much or how little you already know about the topic of professional

Negative reinforcement and positive reinforcement are two concepts from behavioral therapy that are likely to show up on the ASWB’s exams (both LMSW and LCSW). While we previously wrote a blog with a practice question and rationale on this topic, today we want to take a few minutes to hone in specifically on negative reinforcement examples, as this is one of the most misunderstood behavioral principles. Reinforcement In operant conditioning, the word ‘reinforcement’ refers to strengthening (increasing) a desired behavior. So if I want a child to complete his chores, do his homework, etc., I