CA COMBO: CA MFT Law & Ethics and CA MFT Clinical
Looking to become a California MFT and planning to take both the MFT Law & Ethics Exam and the MFT Clinical Exam with the BBS? By purchasing the combo package now, you’ll receive both of TDC’s California MFT Exam prep programs at a big discounted rate. The MFT Combo Package includes online access to everything you need to PASS WITH CONFIDENCE including, audio workshops, step-by-step study plans, practice exams, coaching and more. Both the MFT Law and Ethics and the Clinical Exam programs are designed to maximize learning and minimize stress.
To learn more about what each individual program entails check them out here:
CA MFT Law & Ethics Exam Prep CA MFT Clinical Exam Prep
California MFT FAQs
How Do I Become a Licensed CA MFT?
Outside of California, MFT licensing is overseen by the Association of Marriage and Family Therapist Regulatory Board (AMFTRB), but the state of CA has its own governing board, the Bureau of Behavioral Sciences (BBS). After graduating from a masters degree program, one must register with the BBS as an Associate MFT and then take and pass the MFT Law & Ethics Exam. Once the L&E examination is passed, each candidate must accrue supervised work experience. California requires 3,000 hours over a minimum of 104 weeks in order to qualify for MFT Clinical licensure. When the hours have been completed, it’s time to take and pass the MFT Clinical Test with the BBS. And that’s it! By completing these steps, you can become an LMFT in the state of California. However, if you do decide to pursue this license, we highly recommend connecting with the Bureau of Behavioral Sciences directly as there may be additional details and steps you will need to know during this process. Here is the link to their website: www.bbs.ca.gov
Do I need both MFT Exam Prep Programs now?
Since you’ll need to take both the MFT Law & Ethics and the MFT Clinical exams with the BBS to become a clinically licensed MFT, you might as well get both programs up front and save money. In fact, you'll save $50 with the combo package! Scroll down to read what others have said who’ve used our CA Law and Ethics and CA MFT Clinical Exam prep programs.
What is the Difference Between the MFT Law and Ethics exam and the MFT Clinical exam?
The first exam that associates are required to take is the MFT law and ethics exam. The exam’s name gives away the content--it solely tests your knowledge on the legal and ethical issues that guide our profession. The BBS requires you attempt this exam prior to renewing your associate registration. The clinical exam also tests your knowledge of law and ethics, but it also covers topics such as crisis management, treatment, treatment planning, and evaluation. Each of our programs are comprehensive and cover all of the content and strategy you will need to PASS both exams!
Is the topic of Law and Ethics tested during the CA MFT Clinical Exam as well?
Yes. In fact, questions pertaining to law and ethics make up more than ¼ of the CA MFT Clinical Exam! The BBS recognizes that a significant amount of time is likely to pass between the time applicants pass the law and ethics exam and when they are able to sit for the CA MFT Clinical exam. Therefore, they want to ensure applicants continue to stay up-to-date with relevant laws and ethical guidelines.
How does the CA MFT Clinical Exam compare to the National AMFTRB Clinical Exam?
While the intent of both exams are designed to produce the same results, and that is to ensure public safety within the practice of therapy, there are some nuanced differences between the two MFT Clinical exams themselves.
- Test Items: The CA MFT Clinical exam consisted of 170 test questions, with 20 of them no being counted towards scoring. Those unscored 20 are put on the exam as experimental questions to be considered as part of the scored items in future exams. On the National AMFTRB Clinical Exam there are 200 test questions, all of which are scored.
- Content: The difference is slight, but the CA MFT Clinical focuses on testing your knowledge around treatment planning, clinical evaluation, treatment, crisis management, law and ethics, and treatment. The National AMFTRB Exam content focuses more on practice of systemic therapy (assessing, hypothesizing, and diagnosing), designing and conducting treatment (including the evaluation of the process and termination), managing crisis, and maintaining ethical, legal and professional standards.
- Testing Windows: In California, the BBS offers the MFT Clinical Exam on an ongoing basis of five (5) times per week, while the the National MFT Exam is only offered one week per month, and you must sign up the first of the month during the month prior to you intended exam date.
Course Reviews
Pretty good and thorough. I felt I passed pretty easily. I liked the study summary guides as a good syllabus.
I followed the study timeline and “how to study” instructions and had a coaching session for extra help before the exam. I think it made a huge difference in me passing the exam the first time. It really teaches you how to take the exam and answer the questions.
Loved TDC! Thank you for teaching me everything so thoroughly and having the coaches there for support! Great program :)
I am a LCPC in the state of Montana currently and took the NCE for that license. This program adequately prepared me for the LMF Clinical Vignette. The mock exams were so helpful and the rationales helped me understand the process of elimination and understanding what the question was asking for. I highly recommend this program for LMFT CE. I also want to add that the program also decreased my anxiety immensely by the pep talk and the strategies initially in the beginning. I will say I felt confident going into the exam and when I would feel like I was failing I would reframe my thoughts and ground myself. I passed first time!!!
A BIG Thank you!!! This program gave me the confidence and knowledge I needed to pass the clinical MFT exam. The staff were supportive and helpful when reaching out with questions and managing my test taking anxiety.
TDC does an amazing job at preparing you for the exam! The mock exams give you a great idea of what to expect on exam day. The best part was the information and audio recordings to really help conceptualize how items will be tested! Highly recommend TDC!! I passed on my first attempt—thank you!
I felt your program fully prepared me on not only the content but on the skill of test taking. I was able to feel relatively confident while taking the exam.
This is an excellent thorough course. Amanda's voice guides you through with personal warmth, humor and "unconditional positive regard"! Asya, the coach I spoke with was kind, patient, non judgmental (even when I asked the same questions multiple times) and encouraging. I leaned on both Amanda and Asya's voices while taking the actual test, and they got me through it. Thank you!
This is the only program you need. Very thorough and structured. I just took the LMFT Clinical Exam and was able to pass on my first attempt. Thank you TDC!!!
I felt well prepared for the exam after using TDC to study!
This course is worth every penny, I felt totally prepared
I passed on first try, thanks TDC
I passed my exam and I'm beyond thrilled! TDC OVER prepared me for this exam and i'm truly grateful. I began studying in Nov 2018 for a month or so and did okay the first round but once Dec hit and holiday festivities began I decided to take a break and start again at the top of the new yr! After going over the curriculum a second time my scores increased dramatically! (Good sign right!) anyways took my 1st final mock exam and FAILED miserably and it took me FIVE hrs to complete (I'm a slow reader)! I panicked since my exam was 5 days away and decided to reach out to one of the coaches available Asya M. She emailed me within 24hrs and provided me with some great advice on how to look at the questions and some additional words of encouragement!. That helped big time! I took the SECOND final mock exam 48hrs before my exam and scored significantly high thanks to Asya recommendations and I felt confident going into exam day. EXAM DAY! I was nervous but confident at the same time. Questions throughout the exam were similar to the TDC material which was a little scary lol. I left feeling like TDC exam were WAY harder than the ACTUAL CLINICAL EXAM!!! That should tell you something! TDC teaches you how to answer the questions and think through challenging scenarios! I am forever grateful for this experience! Thank you TDC!
Highly recommend the program because it prepared me for the exam. It also was a grounding experience knowing that I can still continue living my life while i was studying for the exam. The strategies were really helpful and the rationales for the questions were really helpful in seeing the bigger picture.
Thank you!
TDC was extremely helpful with passing the MFT laws and ethics exam. The audio tapes were such a big help!
Amazing study program. I always tell people, "I've never studied in my life. I'm not good at studying." This program took all of that away and really broke it down nicely.
I am so happy to have passed my exam this morning. It was a challenge for me to make time to study, but this program really helped. I leaned in, drank my juice and tackled every question with the strategies I learned. Thank you
I had bought the Gerry Grossman MFT Law and Ethics and Clinical LMFT guide for 800.00 and I was miserable so much information that I was overwhelmed. There was not a structure to the materials. Someone informed me about TDC and even though I did not pass the first two times with anxiety, which was my fault. The first time, I hate to say I did not study and thought I knew the material and concentrated on the time more so than anything. The second time I memorized, which was a bad thing. The third time I studied exactly the way TDC instructed me to do so. The material was very easy to follow and was not complicated at all. Very simple and straight to the point. I will be purchasing the Clinical material for the LMFT Exam soon!!!
I took my clinical exam a second time and passed! I highly recommend the individual coaching. Asya, helped me notice my patterns while answering questions. She was so encouraging and supportive. Thank you! :)
After studying and practicing HOW to take the exam, gave me all the knowledge and confidence I needed to pass.
I originally started studying with a competitors prep course that was recommended by my school; however, I heard great things about TDC. I am glad I made the switch! The other prep course was bogging me down with information, that I now know, was not beneficial to passing the exam. Thanks to the TDC crew for an awesome program that helped prepare me "how" to take the exam. The mocks were very similar to the actual questions. If I got stuck, I brought you into my head and processed the question. I ended up having 15 minutes left to go over marked questions and ended with 5 minutes to spare. I was elated when I got the sheet stating that I passed! Thanks again TDC! I will be using TDC for the clinical portion!