Reviews

I took Dr. D's two-day class prior to my first LCSW exam attempt. The class was 8 hrs each day. A study booklet was provided and contained very relevant, critical information to know for the exam. So, the material within the booklet itself was very helpful for independent studying. However, the class preparation was significantly less helpful. There was very little contextual teaching. I would say the first day and half of the class the teaching consisted of how to take the test, tricks, with lots of interjection from other class members about how they had failed the exam, which to me created a negative tone and semi-intimidating atmosphere for those who had not yet taken it and just getting started in their preparation. The feedback I gave was just very point blank--actual context and material expected to be on the exam was only minimally mentioned the last few hours of the last day of the class. Certain things also emphasized within the class created slight fear, underlying negative tone in terms of being successful, and again, an intimidation factor-ie: "Dr. D's desperation theory" which suggests that you may very well not finish the exam, and if you run out of time, guess the same letter for every question you don't get to. Also strong emphasis on order of operations ie: acknowledge/validate, assess, explore, clarify, refer, as well as encouragement to "never" refer until you've assessed the patient. The class also states clearly the client owns records.

I did not pass my first attempt by 14 questions, which was semi-alarming because that's a miss by a lot, but I thought I did everything that was recommended from Dr. D's class so perhaps the intimidation factor that I sensed got the best of me. I took a month off and slowly began independently studying the material in the book provided by Dr. D and eventually re-took the exam a second time and missed again but by 4 questions, so certainty trending in the right direction.

After the second failed attempt, I clearly needed a different, more effective approach, so I did what a social worker should do (and probably should have done after the first failed attempt) consult with a colleague, who recommended this training course. This training course was extremely beneficial for various reasons. The first, is structure. The structure provided holds you accountable to progress from start to finish and allows for self-assessment with the quizzes and practice tests offered throughout. Second aspect that made a meaningful difference, was having actual context and having the context taught in a way that fully and clearly translated to how it would likely appear on the exam. Third, the very clear breakdown of how to best approach the first/next questions as well as the best/most/primary, etc questions. This was critical. This was a perspective that allowed me to really absorb and understand how to best answer these questions. Given the amount of these types of questions on the exam, this is truly what I think helped me pass. These are questions I can confidently say I got right this third time, which I probably missed a lot of the first two times (difference between truly understanding and applying knowledge vs going off an order of operations).

Furthermore, I reached out to a coach about a week out from my exam for any last recommendations or guidance (and probably a little reassurance). I received a very quick reply that was very thorough and personal to my question (s) and essentially reiterated how to approach the first/next questions and the best/most/primary, etc. questions. Having this in writing as well as what had been included in previous lectures, really cemented in how to tackle this exam. The last thing I did before going in to take my exam was re-read the e-mail from the coach and listen to the final pep-talk again. I needed 102 questions and I got 111.

Thank you for the ongoing support and accessibility throughout the course. Thank you for the positive tone and upbeat lectures. Thank you for instilling confidence that was continually emphasized from start to finish. Thank you for the guidance and helpful insight.

I started TDC after failing the exam for the second. At that point, I was not sure where to begin with altering my studying strategy. The content of TDC was so helpful. My main issue was not knowing why I got the questions wrong as this is never provided anywhere. Through the coaching feature, I was able to reach out and obtain strategies on how to answer the questions in a slow and concrete manner. I needed 103 and got 112 on my third attempt.

Excellent study material, practice tests, and audio covering all areas of social work. Amongst other things, the audio covered the practice test questions and provided explanations for the correct answers. I was able to do a lot of my studying while driving back and forth to work.

I just passed my LMSW clinical exam today. Originally, I had taken it about 4 months ago and failed by quite a a lot. I was extremely discouraged and felt incredibly disorganized with my study system. I began doing research on various systems and methods to study. There were a couple that seemed like they might be helpful, but all of the information still felt overwhelming. I brought up to my supervisor that I was going to have to re-take the exam. My supervisor recommended Therapist Development Center. I found the program to be incredily helpful in the way it was organized and set up. The most helpful part was having Bethany, Heidi and Amanda talk through their process of determining the correct answer. All of that and more helped me to go into the test feeling confident, poised, and ready to pass.

Super helpful! Thanks so much

This was my second time taking the exam. I had used this program at first as well but I realized that I wasn’t completely focused and I had skimmed over some of the material without truly absorbing it. This time around I did things differently by competing the full program as recommended and also used YouTube videos to increase my understanding of certain topics. I’m thankful for this program because I feel it prepared me pretty well to take the exam!

TDC most DEFINITELY prepared me for the exam. I am FULL of test anxiety, have NEVER tested well in my life, however with TDC I was the most prepared I have truly ever felt and with the layout and support of the course I was truly able to maintain my anxiety throughout the test. If you follow one hundred percent of the layout of this course, listen to all the audio teachings...again, truly follow EXACTLY how this course is laid out, I have confidence you can pass your very first time too!! I have a handful of colleagues who also used this course in which I was in supervision with and they too, passed their exam the very first time. I truly appreciate TDC, I support TDC and most importantly I thank TDC, the founder, the coaches, everyone! Thank you!! It is a HUGE relief to have passed the first time and I know without TDC I could not have done that. I absolutely recommend this program!!

TDC was incredibly helpful in passing my LCSW exam. I loved the overall set up of the program and enjoyed listening to the audio recordings, taking the quizzes, and studying the quick study sheets. It was great to know that I had the program support until I passed, and I ended up using several extensions when I rescheduled due to testing anxiety, which were granted immediately. I felt confident about how to approach the test on test day, and felt comfortable with how to answer many questions on the exam based on the mock exam rationals. Thank you, TDC!

This was my second time taking it and I did it! I used the strategys Bethany recommended through the program. It truly helped. The way the quick studies info is organized helped me to process the info easily. Thank you for being there the first time and the second time around. Will be promoting your program.

Thank you for the excellent study material and structure! This was extremely helpful in quelling anxiety, and helped me feel comfort that i could just focus all my energy on the material instead of worrying if i was covering the right subjects. I especially love the amount of audio included, as this fits my learning/study style immensely.