ASWB Exam Study Guide

As you all know, September is Suicide Prevention Month, and here at TDC, we are using the month as a platform to begin conversations around this often-taboo topic. If you’re studying for your licensure exam, whether a social work exam OR a MFT exam, you’ve probably found that this topic is front and center. There’s a good reason for that: at some point in our professional lives we will almost certainly work with at least one client who wants to end his or her life. Our state boards and licensing organizations want to ensure that as competent professionals we can recognize the signs and symptoms of potential suicide, assess for it accurately, and take the necessary steps to help our client’s stay safe.

Five years ago, I hadn’t yet been introduced to the concept of mindfulness and the idea of creating a daily meditation practice was far from my radar. As I entered into my first practicum experience where mindfulness was central both to the office culture and the mode of therapy used (DBT), I was unaware how foundational this would become to my own clinical and personal practices.

The ASWB recently announced that they will be making changes to their licensing exams, to take effect January 2, 2018. First of all, don't panic! These changes are being implemented to ensure exam content is 1. relevant to current practice and 2. demonstrates both the opinions and the expertise of a diverse group of stakeholders (ASWB, 2017). We have already been getting a number of emails and calls from test takers anxious about these upcoming changes-and rightfully so, as the exam is daunting enough without the uncertainty of new material. The ASWB states, “the updates to the blueprints can generally be described as a touching up and refining of details, with only a few specific topics receiving more extensive adjustments” (ASWB, 2017). This is good news! The changes being made for the LMSW and LCSW exams are minor (the exam undergoing the greatest changes is the Advanced Generalist Exam-an exam you don’t have to worry about if you are on the path to clinical licensure!).

Last month we discussed the removal of the multiaxial system between the DSM-IV-TR and the DSM 5. This month we’ve decided to take on one of the most talked about changes to the DSM 5: the new Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis. This DSM 5 diagnosis represents one of the major shifts between the DSM-IV-TR and the DSM 5. The DSM 5’s Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis encompasses four separate DSM-IV-TR diagnoses that were previously under the category of Pervasive Developmental Disorders: Asperger’s Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Autism Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder NOS. These four disorders no longer exist independently and are all captured within the Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis. For the purposes of the exam, these changes make it a bit simpler as there are no longer four separate diagnoses to differentiate between. The change was made in hopes of greater reliability and consistency in the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and with general agreement that these four conditions all fall within one condition with varying levels of severity.

This week we address another topic that is likely to show up on any one of the licensing exams you are preparing for, whether you're getting ready to take the LCSW, LMSW, or BSW exam: Defense Mechanisms. In each of our exam preparation programs, Amanda Rowan does an excellent job of teaching you how to distinguish between the defense mechanisms and apply the knowledge to exam questions. Here is one such question:

Recently I was on an initial coaching call with someone preparing for her LMSW exam. Sharing that this would be her second time taking the exam and worried she was alone in this, she asked “Heidi, have you worked with anyone else who has failed the test before?” I responded with a resounding “YES.” I’ve worked with many individuals who have taken the test multiple times using other study materials, then made the decision to invest in TDC, and PASSED on their next attempt.

Hello! When Amanda Rowan helped me pass my licensing exams in California 8 years ago, I would never have dreamed that I would be writing this blog today. It’s been quite a journey! It all started with practice questions: Amanda helped me read them effectively, understand what the test and question were asking, and make sense of how to evaluate answer choices strategically. Good practice questions have always been our goal at TDC, and I’m excited to be using the blog to share some of that with you again.

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