Exam Prep Blog: April 2023

The way psychotherapy concludes with a client can be a vital aspect of healing. This final stage of counseling, clinically referred to as “termination,” typically indicates when a client will transition to another clinician, take a prolonged break, or no longer receive therapy. An ideal termination phase is often viewed as a time to consolidate client goals and achievements, highlight strengths, anticipate future obstacles, and review coping mechanisms to maintain growth. When done well, a termination centers the client’s wellbeing, preserves therapeutic integrity, and can even provide a

Last month’s ASWB exam prep blog for the LMSW and LCSW exams covered the topic of parenting styles. We reviewed the characteristics of the four main parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out last month’s blog for the factual information on this topic. We wrapped up with a reasoning based question, but want to circle back to offer a question testing your factual knowledge. Today’s free ASWB practice question is an application question on parenting styles. ASWB Exam Parenting Styles Application Question: A social

This month’s FREE ASWB practice question for the LCSW and LMSW exams covers the topic of parenting styles. Parenting styles refer to the standard strategies, behaviors, attitudes, and emotional climate parents use in their child rearing. There are four main parenting styles we will cover today. The four most common parenting styles are: authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved. Four Parenting styles Authoritarian parenting can be thought of as strict and controlling. With authoritarian parenting, parents exert control through power. They believe strongly in stated rules and if

Is it legal for therapists to accept gifts from clients? Is it ethical? At what point is a gift considered too valuable? These are just a few of the questions we receive from associates who struggle with the nuance of gift-giving within the therapeutic relationship. The short answer is that there are no legal or ethical prohibitions against giving or receiving gifts between therapists and clients. And there’s no set guidelines for the monetary value of gifts. However, depending on the situation, ethical dilemmas (like dual relationships) and legal ramifications can arise when a potential gift

The past two months, our LMSW and LCSW blogs focused on the ASWB exam changes that began in January of this year. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the first and second blogs in this series. This will be our third and final month focusing on these changes. We didn’t plan on doing a third blog on this topic. But we had so much positive customer feedback on how helpful it was to see how a 4 answer option question changes to a 3 answer option question that we decided to do one more! So today will be a final set of practice question that first has 4 answer options and then changes to

Last month we wrote about the ASWB Exam Changes for the LMSW and LCSW exams for 2023. (If you haven’t already, we encourage you to check it out! Additionally, here is a direct link to the ASWB's announcement: https://www.aswb.org/testing-enhancements/). We had really positive feedback about the practice questions we put in last month's blog. Test takers shared it was helpful to see how a question would look changing it from 4 answer options to 3 answer options. So we decided to offer another example of that change this month! We will give you a free practice question that is a traditional 4

We’re writing today to share an important update coming to the ASWB exams. This change impacts both the masters level LMSW exam and the clinical level LCSW exams. The ASWB announced: "In January 2023, test-takers will begin seeing a mix of three- and four-option questions. Before that time, all exams include only four-option questions.” Additionally, test takers now have access to food! Test-takers will be allowed to get a snack from their lockers and consume it in the waiting room during the exam. Do keep in mind the timer for the exam does not stop during this time. Why the change to 3

One of the most fundamental aspects of navigating a new career as a psychotherapist is learning the business practices and policies that protect you and your clients. For many pre-licensed associates, this can feel like a daunting task. It’s no secret that these rules and regulations are extensive and include quite a few moving parts. This month’s blog cannot address every policy-related issue, but our MFT and LCSW exam prep programs will help you learn what you need to know to succeed. Below, we provide a brief overview of the specific business categories the BBS wants you to be proficient in