Exam Prep Blog

Law and Ethics Exam Prep: Gifts

By Maria Denardo on April 25, 2023

Is it legal for therapists to accept gifts from clients? Is it ethical? At what point is a gift considered too valuable? These are just a few of the questions we receive from associates who struggle with the nuance of gift-giving within the therapeutic relationship. The short answer is that there

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2023 ASWB exam changes: Part 3

By Heidi Tobe on April 25, 2023

The past two months, our LMSW and LCSW blogs focused on the ASWB exam changes that began in January of this year. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the first and second blogs in this series. This will be our third and final month focusing on these changes. We didn’t plan on doing a third

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ASWB Exam Changes (Part 2)

By Heidi Tobe on April 25, 2023

Last month we wrote about the ASWB Exam Changes for the LMSW and LCSW exams for 2023. (If you haven’t already, we encourage you to check it out! Additionally, here is a direct link to the ASWB's announcement: https://www.aswb.org/testing-enhancements/). We had really positive feedback about the

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ASWB Exam Changes!

By Heidi Tobe on April 25, 2023

We’re writing today to share an important update coming to the ASWB exams. This change impacts both the masters level LMSW exam and the clinical level LCSW exams. The ASWB announced: "In January 2023, test-takers will begin seeing a mix of three- and four-option questions. Before that time, all

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Law and Ethics Exam Prep: Business Practices and Policies

By Maria Denardo on April 24, 2023

One of the most fundamental aspects of navigating a new career as a psychotherapist is learning the business practices and policies that protect you and your clients. For many pre-licensed associates, this can feel like a daunting task. It’s no secret that these rules and regulations are extensive

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ASWB Exam Prep: Structural Family Therapy

By Heidi Tobe on November 2, 2022

The past couple months’s blogs highlight two therapy theories that can show up on the test: Gestalt and Interpersonal Psychotherapy. Today’s blog covers another of the many therapy theories that can show up on the ASWB exams: Structural Family Therapy. For the ASWB exams, you need to know a little

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Law and Ethics Exam Prep: Confidentiality

By Maria Denardo on October 25, 2022

This month we're going to tackle an important topic of confidentiality as it relates to the law and ethics exam preparation. Confidentiality is both a legal and an ethical requirement placed on the therapist that restricts the volunteering of information obtained in a therapeutic relationship. By

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DSM-5-TR updates

By Asya Mourraille on October 12, 2022

Part I Welcome to Part I of our two-part blog series regarding DSM-5-TR updates. Earlier this year, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) released the DSM-5-TR, which includes updates to the DSM 5. Before you panic, let me reassure you that most of the changes are minor. The primary purpose of

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ASWB Exam Prep: Interpersonal Psychotherapy

By Heidi Tobe on October 5, 2022

As we discussed last month in our blog on Gestalt Therapy, a challenge of the ASWB LMSW and LCSW exams is the breadth of content that can be tested. In particular, many different therapy theories can show up on the test. So today we cover another less commonly tested theory: Interpersonal

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ASWB Exam Prep: Gestalt Therapy

By Heidi Tobe on September 12, 2022

One of the challenges of the ASWB LMSW and LCSW exams are the breadth of content that can be tested. One particularly dense area of content are the many therapy theories. Today we delve into a less commonly tested theory, but one that does show up from time to time: Gestalt. In addition to covering

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Law and Ethics Exam Prep: Mandated Reporting

By Maria Denardo on August 22, 2022

“My client disclosed XYZ. Is that a mandated report?” This is one of the most common questions that I hear among trainees and associates, who often feel anxious about mandated reporting in the earlier stages of their career. It’s an incredibly important subject to know how to navigate legally and

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LCSW Exam Prep: Clinical Documentation

By Heidi Tobe on August 8, 2022

This month’s ASWB LMSW and LCSW topic is one that is important well beyond the exam: Clinical Documentation. Even our code of ethics speaks to the importance of clinical documentation. “Social workers should take reasonable steps to ensure that documentation in records is accurate and reflects the

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