ASWB Practice Question

The NASW has recently released changes to the Code of Ethics inspired in large part by the need to address the ethics of technology use, both personally and professionally. While these changes to the Code of Ethics are not yet reflected on the exam, we decided to make this week’s practice question about the use of technology and social media. From our TDC Social Work Exam Facebook Study Group, to our public Facebook page, and the blog itself, we saw people choose a variety of answer options. We are excited to share the answer and rationale with you today!

With rapidly increasing usage of social media for purposes of networking, marketing, professional development, and formal and informal communications, we are living in interesting (and challenging) times as mental health professionals. As social workers, these are some murky waters we have to figure out how to navigate through, and until recently, our Code of Ethics provided little instruction on how to go about this successfully (and ethically). Fifteen years ago, identifying how to ethically traverse the Facebook world was not something we as social workers had to consider, but now, it is a very real task we face.

Did you know? The Department of Veterans Affairs employs more than 12,000 social workers, marriage family therapists and professional clinical counselors. The services these professionals provide are integral to helping veterans and their families. As part of Therapist Development Center’s (TDC) ongoing efforts to support our country’s veterans, and those who assist them, we are happy to announceTDC is now an approved vendor with the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and here at TDC we’ve been using our blog to begin conversations around this often-taboo topic. On both the social work and MFT licensing exams, this topic is sure to show up in several forms. We have focused our free practice questions this month on suicide and today we explore the topic of self-injury. These topics are highlighted on licensing exams because our licensing organizations want to ensure that we are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to recognize the signs and symptoms of risk to self, distinguish between life threatening and non life threatening behaviors, and take the appropriate steps based on the level of risk.

Yesterday we posted the following question about suicidal clients, and today we have the answer and rationale for you!

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.

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: