Yesterday we discussed Piaget’s Preoperational stage of development, including a FREE ASWB practice question to help you get prepared for your LMSW and LCSW exams. Did you get it right? ASWB Practice Question: Each of the following is characteristic of the preoperational stage of development EXCEPT: A. The child develops object permanence B. The child uses symbolic function C. The child can solve problems mentally D. The child engages in symbolic play The correct answer is A. By the time children reach the Preoperational stage, they have already developed permanence. Children develop object

Whether you are preparing for your master’s ASWB exam or clinical ASWB exam, you are bound to get at least a few questions on the various developmental stages - are you ready to successfully answer them? Within Erickson’s, Piaget’s, and Freud’s developmental stages, there is a lot to learn, and trying to learn it all can feel downright daunting. Amanda Rowan has done an excellent job identifying the most commonly tested information across these developmental stages and has created a user-friendly quick study on the developmental stages for anyone using one of TDC’s LMSW or LCSW ASWB exam prep

In last month’s blog, we focused on the importance of integrating self-care into your studies. This month, we are going to focus on an essential aspect of self-care, developing and maintaining healthy boundaries as you prepare for your LCSW or LMFT exam. Similar to the concept of self-care, ”healthy boundaries” is another popular concept in the world of psychotherapy and counseling. As clinicians, we know that healthy boundaries are important and we constantly assist our clients in developing and maintaining them in their personal lives. And, as is the case with self-care, we sometimes fall

Yesterday we explored the topic of scope of competence, including a free practice question. Today we have the answer and a discussion of the rationale for you. Did you get it right?

Scope of Competence Last month we have discussed the concept of scope of practice. This month, we talk about the concept of scope of competence. If scope of practice is a legal issue, scope of competence is an ethical one. If scope of practice is what we are permitted to do, then the scope of competence is what we are good at doing.

Yesterday we explored the differences between the defense mechanisms introjection/internalization and identification. These can be difficult ones to distinguish, so if you haven’t already, we encourage you to check out yesterday’s blog post! Today we have a discussion of the answer and rationale for yesterday’s practice question.

Introjection/Internalization and Identification As an LCSW and LMSW exam coach, there are no defense mechanisms I get more emails and questions about than introjection/internalization and identification. Introjection and internaization are used pretty interchangeably on the exam, so going forward in this blog I will just use ‘identification’ for the sake of simplicity. There is a lot of confusion out there regarding the differences between these defense mechanisms, and our hope is that today’s blog will help you distinguish between these as you prepare for your LCSW and LMSW exams!

Self-care is a term we hear all of the time in our profession; we discuss it with our clients, we encourage them to engage in it, we talk about it in supervision, and we generally understand the importance of self-care in our lives. However, as much as therapists talk about self-care, we don’t always practice it ourselves. I often find myself talking with clinicians studying for their licensing exams who, for one reason or another, are not regularly engaging in this process. While it most certainly can be challenging to integrate self-care into your study plan, especially when there are so many competing demands for your time and energy, it is a key component to preparing for your exam. In this month’s anxiety management blog, my goal is to help you build an understanding of what self-care really looks like and help you identify effective ways to integrate it into your study process.

Negative Reinforcement vs. Positive Reinforcment In yesterday’s blog, we explored the topic of behavioral reinforcement, differentiating between negative reinforcement, positive reinforcement, and punishment. If you haven’t had a chance to check out yesterday’s blog, we encourage you to do so! Did you get yesterday’s question correct? Read on to find out!

Negative Reinforcement vs. Positive Reinforcement Reinforcement is a topic that could very well show up on your LMSW or LCSW exam and is one that tends to trip many of us up. Because of our strong associations with the words negative (bad) and positive (good), it is all too easy to be thrown off by these otherwise straightforward questions on the LCSW and LMSW exams. When it comes to reinforcement, it is crucial to keep in mind that negative does not mean bad and positive does not mean good. Let me repeat that: when it comes to reinforcement on the LCSW and LMSW exams, negative does not mean bad and positive does not mean good. In the context of this term, negative reinforcement refers to taking something away and positive reinforcement refers to adding something. Negative=taking something away; Positive=adding something. Because of these associations, people often confuse negative reinforcement and punishment on the exam, despite the fact that these are two very different concepts. Let’s spend a little time looking at these three concepts.