MFT Exam Prep

In this month’s MFT FREE practice question we are talking about suicide. This is an important and relevant topic, not only because you are guaranteed to see it on the exam, but also because it is a major public health concern and something every therapist will deal with in the course of their clinical practice. Unfortunately, as significant as this topic is, most therapists do not receive adequate training on how to assess and manage suicide. Amanda Rowan noticed this gap in training and decided to do something about it. She created the Edge of Life Model, a humanistic approach to treating

In this month’s MFT FREE practice question we will revisit a topic that has recently received attention in the national media: mental health conservatorships. If you keep up with pop culture, you’ve likely heard about, if not watched, Framing Britney Spears. A diverse group of people including musicians, tv personalities, and others have spoken out against her conservatorship. Most express outrage regarding the consequences of her father’s control over her finances and even health care. Her father became her conservator/guardian in 2008 when the court deemed her unfit to care for herself

This month’s blog will focus on human diversity, a topic that is at the forefront of public discourse. Whether you are taking the California MFT Clinical or the National AMFTRB exam, you can definitely expect to see questions that test your understanding and ability to navigate issues related to human diversity. There are several ways this topic can appear on your exam and it’s important to be familiar with them. Human diversity could present in questions related to: Clinical evaluation/assessment Development of a diagnostic impression Case conceptualization and treatment planning Treatment

This month’s blog focuses on a lesser known diagnostic category, which could appear on both the California MFT Clinical or AMFTRB exams; paraphilic disorders. While these disorders may not be seen frequently in clinical practice, they can show up on the exam. The 8 types of paraphilic disorders in the DSM 5 are: Voyeuristic: watching unsuspecting people who are naked, undressing, or engaging in sexual activities Exhibitionistic: exposing genitalia to unsuspecting people Frotteuristic: touching or rubbing non-consenting people Sexual masochism: engaging in acts meant to cause self pain or

This month’s blog will focus on Freud’s theory of psychosexual development. Whether you are taking the MFT California Clinical Written Exam or the AMFTRB exam, you could see questions that test your knowledge on this topic. With that in mind, let’s do a quick review of Freud’s theory of psychosexual development and see how you do on our FREE practice question. As you may recall from grad school, Freud believed that personality development occurred in childhood. In brief, Freud’s theory of psychosexual development proposed that children moved through a series of five stages, each focused on a

This month’s blog will focus on the topic of case conceptualization. The ability of an MFT to conceptualize their client’s presenting issues and use that to inform their treatment plan has a direct relationship to the effectiveness of therapy. Case conceptualization is an integral part of our therapeutic work, and your understanding of it will be tested on the California MFT written clinical exam. What is case conceptualization? In short, it is the process used to understand our client’s presenting issues and offers a roadmap to guide the therapeutic process. We’ve written a more thorough

The prevalence of telehealth for mental health counseling has been on the rise in recent years. However, since COVID-19 stay-at-home orders were implemented in early 2020, telehealth services have grown exponentially. As a consequence, the number of questions I receive on this topic are higher than ever before. These questions fall into two general categories. First, test-takers seek to better understand our legal and ethical obligations related to telehealth. Second, test-takers are concerned about the COVID-related waivers and how they could appear on the California MFT licensing exams. In

Case management is a concept more commonly associated with social work than marriage and family therapy. In more recent times, however, there has been an increased emphasis on MFTs engaging in case management with their clients. As a result, the BBS expects you to know about this topic and you can definitely see questions related to it appear on your MFT California Clinical exam. This month’s blog will provide a brief overview of case management and test your ability to navigate a FREE practice question on the topic. Whether you have experience with case management and resource coordination or

The field of Marriage and Family Therapy distinguishes itself from other branches of psychology and counseling by its focus on systems and the interplay of relationships between self and others. MFTs are expected to think systemically. This systemic approach holds true whether you are working with an individual client, a family, a couple, or even a group. It is for this reason that you can expect to see questions related to systems theory appear on your California MFT Clinical Exam or your AMFTRB exam. So, what do you need to know about systems theory for the California MFT Clinical Exam or

This month, our FREE practice question for the MFT Clinical exam will test your knowledge of Humanistic Existential therapy. Specifically, you will be required to apply your knowledge of this theory to a treatment planning question. Treatment planning questions account for ⅕ of the scored questions on the California MFT Clinical Exam and a similar portion of the overall questions on the National AMFTRB exam. It’s important you familiarize yourself with this theory and its concepts. Regardless of which of these exams you are preparing for, this FREE MFT practice question can help you as you