Happy Holidays from Pass the ASWB Exam

Happy Holidays from Pass the ASWB Exam! Here's a holiday-themed Eye on Ethics column about how to handle gifts from clients. It begins:

Raise your hand if a client has offered you a gift. That social work club has lots of members, especially this time of year. Did you accept the gift or politely refuse it because you thought accepting the gift might complicate the boundaries in your professional-client relationship?

However you handle clients gifts (in reality or on the exam), here's to a happy season. Take care. Next year, you're licensed!

Virtual Study Group

Check out PTAE's new Pinterest group board: ASWB Exam Prep. Write to join in, then post whatever you think will help people see a PASS result on the social work licensing exam. Certain material lends itself to visual learning--especially anything you can throw into a chart. That means the various developmental theories (Freud, Erikson, Piaget, etc.)...the clusters of personality disorders in the DSM...all that jazz. Also, as ever, links to helpful sites (this one, for instance).

Come for the infographics, stay for the exam passing! See you there.

Social Work Exam Practice Gets Less Expensive

The spending that it takes to get to becoming a licensed social worker can be daunting, if not downright overwhelming at times. School + fees + more fees + not getting paid much = grief. Happily, exam prep itself just got cheaper. SWTP has introduced their third ASWB practice exam, and along with it, a three-exam bundle that brings SWTP's usual per-exam price down from an already-low $35 all the way to $30. Hard to beat!

You can also put SWTP test prep on your holiday list by sharing this PayPal Gift Certificate URL with caring, cheerleading loved ones.

Happy Holidays and good luck with the exam!

Mindfulness and the Social Work Exam

Mindfulness meditation may be something you're already recommending to your clients for all kinds of symptom relief. But are you practicing mindfulness yourself? There's good reason to--not just to relieve test anxiety and the general sense of overwhelm that can hit when you're prepping for the licensing exam. See Mindfulness Can Aid in Focus and Working Memory. Mindfulness ed and practice were studied. The result:

[S]cores indicated that the mindfulness group significantly improved on both the verbal GRE test and the working memory capacity test. They also mind-wandered less during testing.

What works for the GRE should work for the ASWB exams (LCSW, LMSW, etc), right? Big, vexing, standardized tests take lots of focus, verbal skills, and working memory. So, good reason to get to it. And so what if it helps you be more calm, centered, and all that other good stuff?

Here are some free mindfulness resources on the web to get you started:

• UCLA Free Guided Meditation
• Tara Brach Guided Meditation
• Video Guided Meditation Search

Breathe, half-smile, and get licensed!  Good luck.

ASWB Exam Prep in Pictures

A quick drawing of your attention to yet another way to prep for the ASWB exam. Need a break from practice tests and podcasts? Check out Pass the ASWB Exam on Pinterest. In addition to links back here, there are collections of helpful stuff, including lots of material just right for visual learners. Freudian theory as iceberg. Personality disorders as mini-chart. That sort of thing. Check it out, follow, repin...enjoy!

LCSW Exam Prep

Once upon a time, you had to buy expensive packages full of CDs and books to hope to approach the LCSW exam with confidence. That's changed. Now, all you need is an Internet connection, some time to do some reading and take some practice exams, and maybe a touch of common, social work sense.

The web is overflowing with the very stuff that pricy exam prep CDs and books are filled with. The side bar of this blog has a short list of links to some essentials--the NASW Code of Ethics, the DSM, etc. Throw in some basics about human development and various theories and--given enough exposure to practice questions (like those at SWTP)--you can consider yourself ready to go get licensed.

That is to say, your LCSW exam prep doesn't have to wear your down emotionally or financially. Passing the exam is a big part of your career. Getting there isn't necessarily going to be half the fun, but it doesn't have to be joy-free either.  This goes for future LMSWs, LICSWs, LSWs, and all the rest too!

Here are some additional sweet spots on the web worth checking out as you head toward the licensing exam--ethics, study tips, flash cards.

• Eye on Ethics at Social Work Today
• NASW Ethical Dilemma of the Month (change the number in the URL to crawl through the series)
• Study Tips at Social Work Test Prep
• LCSW Flash Cards at Cram.com

And, because all of this still might rough you up a little, here's this:

• Self-Care Starter Kit

Take care and good luck!

NASW Code of Ethics and the Social Work Exam

The NASW Code of Ethics is central to the social work licensing exam and should probably be central to your test prep. If you're the gambling and time-wasting type, you might experiment with taking exam studying nothing but the Code of Ethics.  Whether or not you that appeals to you, here's something that might: Underway at Social Work Test Prep's blog, a section by section examination of the Code, the ways you might expect to encounter it on the exam, and strategies for getting Code questions answered right. A little bit like our KSA of the Day series. Enjoy!

LCSW and LMSW Exam Study Guides

As we've talked about in other posts, the feeling around here is that the age of the big, bound social work exam study guide has passed. The web has taken over. Once upon a time, not so long ago, it wasn't easy to gather all the info you needed to review in one place. But that's changed. There is one place that everything can be gathered easily, and for free: the screen you're looking at right now.

You used to need a hard copy of the NASW Code of Ethics on hand.  And a copy of the DSM.  And some textbook walking you through various developmental theories and the like. No longer. Each is just a click away. And the links offered in this post are not rarities. If you don't like how things are presented on any of those sites, other versions are easy to track down with a quick web search. 

Prefer to curl up with a book? Wipe the dust off your MSW textbooks. They'll do the trick for just about everything covered on the exam. Use the web to fill in the holes.

Feeling ready to sit down for the exam? Great! First, assess your readiness with a practice exam or two. Get a sense of what it's like to answer 170 questions over 4 hours. Get your multiple choice chops back up and running. Soon, you'll have the test content and process both down. You'll be all-the-way ready. You'll be ready to go in and get that license. It's not that far away. Good luck!

Breathing Through Social Work Exam Jitters

Test anxiety is, for many, a substantial impediment to harnessing the energy and focus needed to tackle the four-hour, 170 question ASWB licensing exam. Managing that anxiety is a good to-do to add to your exam prep.  You've likely worked with clients on managing anxiety. Now it's your turn. Whatever's worked in the past, try that. Try it as you sit down for real-time practice exams.

Here's one way to breathe through test anxiety via YouTube:

 See how it goes. Good luck!

ASWB Exam Advice: Keep It Simple

Words of wisdom from a now-licensed social worker:

"Somewhere it said not to study in the 24 hours right before taking the licensing exam. I ignored that. I ignored just about everything that said when not to study, what not to study. When in doubt, I studied. What did I realize after I'd taken the exam? I should've listened.

The exam is not complicated. You're being tested to see if you're ready to be a licensed social worker. That is, can you competently help people in social work situations? Without doing harm...without overstepping your bounds ("scope of practice" questions are pretty much guaranteed). What the people who put together the exam want to make sure is that, once you're licensed, they won't have to deal with you again. You'll do your work, be professional, and stay out of trouble.

So keep it simple. If you're basically competent and know your way around the basics of the DSM and the Code of Ethics, you're more than halfway there. Next is learning how to take the exam. And you know most of that too--you've gotten all the way through graduate school. You've taken lots of tests.

This one is bigger, though. Have you ever taken a four hour exam?  What's the last time you did anything for four hours straight?  170 questions was more at once than I'd ever encountered. That takes some getting ready for. Takes some training. That means practice. So do that some. And then you're ready. You know the content, you know what they're looking for, you know how sit still for four hours, you're ready. 

Is that all? Yes! Really? Really!"

Free Social Work Exam Study Guide?

A recent post at SWTP focused on a quick, free way to get your Freud learned. The resource: AllPsych.com.  Have you poked around there? What the site really amounts to is a free study guide for the social work licensing exam. Developmental theories? All there. DSM-IV? Yep. And on and on. The Psychology 101 section alone contains a huge chunk of what's worth reviewing for the exam. 

Of course, social work isn't psychology and psychology isn't social work. No one's suggesting you limit yourself to this one resource. But as you're putting your study materials together, you could do much worse than digging into All Psych...some practice tests (e.g., SWTP)...and, of course, the NASW Code of Ethics. You'd be off to a very good start.

Introduction to the Social Work Exam

Hi, I'm the social work licensing exam. Pleased to meet you. I'm so glad you're planning to take me. (I know you don't really have a choice if you want to get licensed, but still I'm flattered.) I don't like to play games, so I'll give you some basics about me that will make it easier when you try to pass me. Here goes:

I'm given by the ASWB nationwide (except in California--but that'll change sooner or later). There's lots of information about me on the ASWB website, which I'm sure you can track down--you're a resource-harnessing social worker after all! [It's aswb.org -- ed.]  I'm 170 questions long (200 in California). Of those questions, 20 are testers for future versions of me--they don't count on your score. But I don't want you to worry about what's a tester and what's not. The only way knowing about testers might be useful is so when you face a question you get stumped by, you can say, "Whatev', probably a tester." Otherwise, approach each item on me as if it counts, with tender loving care.  You get four hours to complete me ("You complete me"--ha, ha).  

How should you get ready for our big date? There are simple things you can study--lots of them are discussed on this very blog. For example, get to know my pal, the NASW Code of Ethics. Also get a handle on the basics of that oversized, self-important brick of a book, the DSM.  Just focus on diagnoses that social workers tend to encounter in front-line practice (you know--bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, depression, personality disorders...that stuff). 

Please, don't overprepare--I'm not impressed with deep technical knowledge about obscure topics in psychology. I just want to be sure that you think like a social worker and might actually act like a social worker once licensed. Here's a trick: lean on textbook social work more than your hands-on experience in the field. I test for ideal social work, not the way things really work. 

One more thing, try out some real-time practice tests (the one linked a bunch on this blog will do nicely). [It's SWTP -- ed.] Practice tests will give you a pretty good idea of what our big, four-hour sit-down will be like. And how you hold up under these unusual conditions. Do you run out of steam? Lose focus? Try more practice tests! Build those muscles. Think of it as a workout. Wear sweats if it helps.

Just like the practice exams, I won't leave you waiting to know how our time together turned out. Once you submit your scores, your result will pop right up.  I hope it's PASS! 

Thanks for all the work you do. I love social work. I love social workers! I'm rooting for you. Good luck!

More Test Anxiety Help

Rare is the test-prepper who is able to meet the social work licensing exam with calm and equanimity. The exam is big and the stakes are high. A little bit of anxiety can help motivate studying. More than that tends not to be terribly useful. So step back, take a breath, follow some of the tips from the sites linked below, and go (calmly) get licensed! 

• Is it possible to overcome test anxiety? (MayoClinic.com)
• Test Anxiety (Illinois.edu)
• Strategies to Manage Test Stress and Nerves (About.com)

Good luck!

Social Work Exam Study Guides

Once upon a time, a set of big, bulky social work study guides was essential in preparing for the social work licensing exam.  Nowadays, not so much.  All the material filling up those volumes is now available for free around the web.  You just have to do a little bit of searching. 

And remember, you probably already know most of what you need to know for the exam. The stuff you don't know yet is easily learned. Reread the NASW Code of Ethics. Brush up on key DSM categories (the ones you'd find in front-line social work--the ones that you've been charting).  Do practice questions. Keep it simple.

Here are some places to get started:

• Pass the ASWB Exam (you're there!; see the sidebar for some essential links--to the ASWB, to the NASW Code of Ethics, to online DSMs... Plenty more in posts.)
• Study Tips @ SWTP (includes a sections on exam-taking rules of thumb, anxiety management, and essential review)
• Wikipedia (of course!)
• The Encyclopedia of Social Work (it's like the Social Work Dictionary exploded; free access slated to end after Sept. 9, '13)

If you must have something printed, there's always the short study guide published by the ASWB, available at their site (aswb.org).  It's a simple walk-through of what to expect on the exam--costs thirty bucks, last we checked.

Have fun and good luck!

Jean Piaget for Social Work Exam Preppers

Celebrate Jean Piaget's August 9th birthday by brushing up on his theories.  Here are some links and a video to help you out:

• Article at Simply Psychology
• Stages at About.com
• More at Wikipedia

(Again, don't overstudy. If this shows up on your social work exam at all, it'll likely amount to one question at most.)

More Free Social Work Exam Questions

Over at Social Work Test Prep, a new way to get to a fresh batch of free social work exam questions: Create an account, go to the Bonus Exam page. There you're given a URL to share wherever (Facebook, Twitter, and email seem like naturals). When someone clicks on your link and buys an exam, you're automatically credited and a bonus exam--currently 30 questions--is yours. An email gives you a heads-up. Bonus to the bonus is that you don't have to buy anything yourself. Just link, lie back, and wait. 

How to Pass the LICSW Exam

To become a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), you take the ASWB's clinical exam. That means the material on this site directed toward LCSWs will help LICSW-hopefuls with exam prep. (Most states don't have a LCSW/LICSW distinction.) Here are a few more sites and posts that should be a big help as you're getting ready to get licensed:

• ASWB.org (the ASWB)
• LICSW Study Notes (blog)
• SocialWorkTestPrep.com (practice tests)
• How I Took (and Passed) the LICSW Exam (single-post blog)
• LICSW Flashcards (@ Quizlet)

Good luck!

Pass the LSW Exam

The LSW is ASWB's bachelor's level exam--the route to becoming a Licensed Social Worker. The bachelor's examination is designed to be simpler than the LMSW (master's level) and LCSW (clinical), but there's still lots that can show up on the exam. Just check out the ASWB's content outline for the bachelor's exam.  Simpler doesn't mean simple. But it also doesn't mean impossible. People are passing the exam daily. Here are some resources to help you do the same:

• http://www.aswb.org (the ASWB)
• http://www.flashcardexchange.com (flashcards)
• http://www.socialworktestprep.com (practice tests)
• http://lswexam.blogspot.com (study blog)
• http://pinterest.com (LSW exam boards @ Pinterest)

Good luck!

Social Work Exam Studying Goes Mobile

A big announcement over at Social Work Test Prep:  they've gone mobile. You no longer have to be tethered to your computer to prepare for the social work licensing exam. Now you can get smart using your smartphone. All of the site's usual offerings are now streamlined for your cell. Study at the beach, at the movies, during dinner with people you don't want to talk to. Oh, the possibilities!

Pass the Social Work Licensing Exam (Slides)

Pass the Social Work Licensing Exam, a slideshow:

Pass the Social Work Licensing Exam from socialworkexamhelp

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Another from the Counselling Resources YouTube collection (the ad is theirs):



Rather read? Here's REBT at Wikipedia.

Pass the LGSW Exam

The LGSW is what some states call the license granted when social workers pass the intermediate level ASWB exam.  Alabama, West Virginia, Maryland...you know who you are.  Resources for the LCSW and LMSW across the web should be helpful to Licensed Graduate Social Worker exam preppers.  Here are some highlights, LGSW-specific and not:

• http://www.aswb.org (the ASWB)
• http://quizlet.com/subject/lgsw/ (lgsw flash cards)
• http://takinglgswmn.blogspot.com/ (lgsw blog)
• http://www.socialworktestprep.com (practice exam)
• http://lgsw-resource-guide.blogspot.com/ (lgsw resource guide)

Good luck!

LMSW Exam Sample Questions

Removed at the request of the ASWB.  Find sample questions at socialworktestprep.com/free-practice-test and in the ASWB Candidate Handbook, available at aswb.org.

Pass the LMSW Exam

Licensed Master Social Workers of the future, take heart. The LMSW exam is passable. It has been passed or will be passed by somebody within hours of your reading this. Thousands of people pass the LMSW exam each year. You're next!

Just because it's doable, doesn't mean it won't take some work to do.  Get help where you can.  Keep your study prep focused.  Here are some useful links for easing your way to your LMSW on the web:

• From Social Work Test Prep
• From Social Work Career Development
• From Aunt Bertha
• From Quizlet

Good luck!

More ASWB Exam Practice

Just announced over at Social Work Test Prep, the launch of a second 170-question ASWB practice exam.  Each question comes with thorough rationales and a "suggested study link" to free information on the web to help you out if you're having trouble with--or need more information about--a particular content area. 

 

Since the web does most of the heavy lifting, additional content-wise (no big books to tote around), the savings gets passed along to you.  A quick poke around the pricing pages on other sites makes that clear very quickly.  Want to sample SWTP for free before making a purchase? Here's a 10-question sample test.  Enjoy.

Flash Cards for ASWB Exam Prep

Flash cards are a tried and true way to prepare for any exam. Studying flash cards is no substitute for running practice questions (like these!), but it can be a nice way to supplement your studying.

Making your own flash cards is probably the best way to go. Writing stuff down can help get it jammed into your mind. But if you'd like to lay back and click through to the work of others, here are some places to find flash cards for the social work licensing exam that are already out there.

• ProProfs
• Flashcard Machine
• Quizlet
• Social Work Exam Review

Remember, just because it's on the internet--or on a flash card--doesn't mean it's necessarily the best information...or even true. Use your social work sense to weed out the unhelpful, the irrelevant, the overdetailed, and the time-wasting.  Avoid overstuffing. 

Good luck!

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Another ASWB exam-friendly pick from the CounsellingResource collection.  Here's a quick tour of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. 

Webinars as ASWB Exam Prep

You're already using Podcasts to help you get prepped for the ASWB exam. (You're not? Start here.)  There's plenty more free exam prep disguised as other types of info all around the web. A great example: all the social work/psych webinars just waiting to fill your brain with the very stuff that may show up on ASWB test questions.

DorleeM over at Social Work Career Development has been kind enough to gather bunches of potentially helpful webinars, month by month. Don't worry that the dates on many have passed--search for archives or upcoming events.

A word of caution: Focus your listening on  social work fundamentals rather than cutting edge--possibly more alluring--topics. Given a choice of CBT vs. EMDR, say, know that it's CBT that's going to show up again and again on the exam. 

Find something especially useful, come back and let us all know via comments.  Happy hunting!

More Tips for Passing the LCSW Exam

Trying pass the LCSW exam? Here are more how-tos to get it done. These are from a post on the Licensed Clicnical Social Worker Exam blog, 5 Tips for Passsing the Exam.  Here are the bullets. You can find details on the page:

1. Think about the way you study best and do that more often.
2. The exam doesn't care how you practice social work.
3. The exam measures your ability to remember data.
4. The exam is not always "right."
5. You have already passed.

Don't want to click through?  You can sort of glean the basic message from the bullets:  Study well; think textbook social work, not real-world social work; look for the best answer offered, which not necessarily always the answer you'd come up with; memorize the memorizable stuff (the DSM, the Code of Ethics...); and don't be too hard on yourself, you've got your hours, it's just a matter of time till you're licensed.  All sound wisdom.  Good luck!

Tips for Passing the LCSW Exam

There are just a few posts on the LCSW Exam Prep Blog. One of them includes these handy seven tips for passing the LCSW exam.  The list is below, details here.

1. Know yourself and how you study best.
2. Use study guides.
3. Take several practice exams.
4. Make flash cards.
5. Know what to do FIRST/NEXT.
6. Read the question.
7. Breathe.

These make sense, provided overstudying is studiously avoided.  Study guides may not be as necessary as they were way back in 2008 before the net exploded with exam-friendly information.  Flash cards?  Sure, if  they work for you.  Practice tests?  Absolutely.  Breathing?  A plus.  Figure out what works for you and get to it.  Good luck!

LCSW Exam Help

If you usually just block these things out as you web surf, please take a moment to note the collection of LCSW exam prep-friendly blogs listed on the sidebar.  Not all are active, but in each there's something that'll get your prepared for diving into the LCSW exam (or any of the other ASWB offerings).  Three favorites:

• The Social Work Test Prep Blog
• LCSW Study Buddy
• Us, of course!

Freud's Theory of Psychosexual Development

Continuing with the best, most ASWB-exam relevant, parts of the CounsellingResource collection, here's Freud's Theory of Psychosexual Development delivered in under ten minutes.



Here's Simply Psychology tackling the same.

Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

Another from the CounsellingResources collection, Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development:



Here's the same info via Wikipedia.

Five Stages of Grief

From the CounsellingResource YouTube channel, here's a quick primer on Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and the Five Stages of Grief.

NASW Code of Ethics: Ethical Responsibilities to the Broader Society

From the NASW Code of Ethics, last but not least:  Social Workers' Ethical Responsibilities to the Broader Society.

• 6.01 Social Welfare
• 6.02 Public Participation
• 6.03 Public Emergencies
• 6.04 Social and Political Action

NASW Code of Ethics: Ethical Responsibilities to the Social Work Profession

Just two items in this next Code of Ethics section, Ethical Responsibilities to the Social Work Profession. 

• 5.01 Integrity of the Profession
• 5.02 Evaluation and Research

NASW Code of Ethics: Ethical Responsibilities as Professionals

Our Code of Ethics survey continues with Ethical Responsibilities as Professionals.  

• 4.01 Competence
• 4.02 Discrimination
• 4.03 Private Conduct
• 4.04 Dishonesty, Fraud, and Deception
• 4.05 Impairment
• 4.06 Misrepresentation
• 4.07 Solicitations
• 4.08 Acknowledging Credit

NASW Code of Ethics: Ethical Responsibilities in Practice Settings

Next up in the Code of Ethics, Social Workers' Ethical Responsibilities in Practice Settings.  Here they are:

• 3.01 Supervision and Consultation
• 3.02 Education and Training
• 3.03 Performance Evaluation
• 3.04 Client Records
• 3.05 Billing
• 3.06 Client Transfer
• 3.07 Administration
• 3.08 Continuing Education and Staff Development
• 3.09 Commitments to Employers
• 3.10 Labor-Management Disputes

NASW Code of Ethics: Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues

Continuing through the Code of Ethics, up next: Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues.

• 2.01 Respect
• 2.02 Confidentiality: Colleagues
• 2.03 Interdisciplinary Collaboration
• 2.04 Disputes Involving Colleagues
• 2.05 Consultation
• 2.06 Referral for Services
• 2.07 Sexual Relationships
• 2.08 Sexual Harassment
• 2.09 Impairment of Colleagues
• 2.10 Incompetence of Colleagues
• 2.11 Unethical Conduct of Colleagues

NASW Code of Ethics: Ethical Responsibilities to Clients

More guided study through the Code of Ethics. If you have this stuff down, much of the exam will come lots easier!  Here's section one of the Ethical Standards: Social Workers' Ethical Responsibilities to Clients.

• 1.01 Commitment to Clients
• 1.02 Self-Determination
• 1.03 Informed Consent
• 1.04 Competence
• 1.05 Cultural Competence and Social Diversity
• 1.06 Conflicts of Interest
• 1.07 Privacy and Confidentiality: Clients
• 1.08 Access to Records
• 1.09 Sexual Relationships
• 1.10 Physical Contact
• 1.11 Sexual Harassment
• 1.12 Derogatory Language
• 1.13 Payment for Services
• 1.14 Clients Who Lack Decision-Making Capacity
• 1.15 Interruption of Services
• 1.16 Termination of Services

KSA of the Day: Value Issues

Here's the final KSA of the Day: VALUE ISSUES.  How to prepare?  The NASW Code of Ethics identifies six core values for social workers (links below go to the code):

1. Service
2. Social Justice
3. Dignity and Worth of the Person
4. Importance of Human Relationships
5. Integrity
6. Competence

Reading the entire Frederic Reamer book may be overdoing it, but if that's your thing, let us know how it goes.
That does it for the KSAs.  Find the complete collection using the KSA of the Day tag.  Thanks for studying along with Pass the ASWB Exam and good luck on the test!

KSA of the Day: Confidentiality and Its Limits

Here's the KSA of the Day with the shortest list of bullets: CONFIDENTIALITY AND ITS LIMITS.  Don't be tricked--this material will come up on the exam--more than two bullet-points worth! 

Suggested reading (and rereading): NASW Code of Ethics sections 1.07, Privacy and Confidentiality, and 2.02 Confidentiality with Colleagues. Also, as a bonus, here's NASW's helpful HIPAA Highlights for Social Workers. 

KSA of the Day: Ethical Issues

Next section of the exam is Professional Ethics and Values--18% of the current exam.  The first KSA of the Day from the section: ETHICAL ISSUES.  You already know where to go for this stuff, right?  The NASW Code of Ethics.  Covers everything on the list below.

Don't feel like reading?  Here's some listening on the topic from the Social Work Podcast.

KSA of the Day: Consultation and Interdisciplinary Collaboration

KSA of the Day: CONSULTATION AND INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION. Will you be tested on this? Yes--chances are.  The ASWB naturally wants to assess whether social workers understand the limits of what a social workers can do.  A client presents with a diagnosis that could be accounted for by a medical condition?  Refer to an MD.  A client has a problem you have no experience with?  Seek supervision.  Like that.   Some topics covered and potentially helpful links: Models of peer supervision; Consultation approaches; Elements of a case presentation; Client referral for services

KSA of the Day: Management of Cases

KSA of the Day: MANAGEMENT OF CASES.  Some topics and potentially helpful links: Case recording for practice evaluation or supervision (pdf); The concept of client advocacy (ppt);  Documentation and the management of practice records (pdf slides)

In addition to the above links, you might also review the NASW Code of Ethics (always a good idea--tends to show up a lot on the exam) and the NASW Standards of Practice.

KSA of the Day: The Intervention Process

Here's  a long one--a really long one. KSA of the Day: THE INTERVENTION PROCESS.  Some helpful links for this section:  Crisis intervention/treatment approaches; Solution-focused and brief interventions; Partializing techniques; Models of family-centered social work practice

Also, more broadly:

• Wikipedia Psychology Portal 
• AllPsych.com
• SimplyPsychology.org 

KSA of the Day: Therapeutic Relationship

Next up, the next section, which accounts for a quarter of the exam: Psychotherapy, Clinical Interventions, and Case Management.  The first KSA of the Day from this section: THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP, all about what you do when you do therapy. A couple of links: The principles of relationship building; Concepts of transference and counter-transference.

And here are 52 slides covering a lot of the topic:

ASWB Clinical Exam Content Outline

Removed at the request of the ASWB. Find the complete outline at aswb.org.

An exam prepper's guide to the Social Work Podcast

SWTP recently posted about podcasts that are helpful for social work exam prep.  The post suggests searching the Social Work Podcast archives to find episodes that cover exam material.  We did; now you don't have to.  Here's what we found (lots):

• DSM Diagnosis for Social Workers
• Bio-psychosocial-Spiritual (BPSS) Assessment and Mental Status Exam (MSE)
• Crisis Intervention and Suicide Assessment: Part 1 - History and Assessment
• Crisis Intervention and Suicide Assessment: Part 2 - Intervention and Crisis Assessment
• Freudian Psychoanalysis
• Adlerian Psychotherapy
• Existential Therapy
• Person-Centered Therapy
• Gestalt Therapy
• Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
• Developing Treatment Plans: The Basics
• Behavior Therapy
• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Reality Therapy
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Interview with Sabrina Heller, LSW
• Supervision for Social Workers
• Psychopharmacotherapy and Social Work: Interview with Kia J. Bentley, Ph.D.
• Best Practices and Resources for Psychopharmacotherapy: Interview with Kia J. Bentley, Ph.D.
• Measurement in Clinical Practice and Research (Part I): Interview with Dr. Mary Rauktis
• Measurement in clinical practice and research (Part II): Interview with Dr. Mary Rauktis
• Schizophrenia and Social Work: Interview with Shaun Eack, Ph.D.
• Social workers and depression: Interview with Mark Meier, MSW, LICSW
• Theories for Clinical Social Work Practice: Interview with Joseph Walsh, Ph.D.
• Prochaska and DiClemente's Stages of Change Model for Social Workers
• How do you define Evidence-Based Practice?
• The Process of Evidence-Based Practice: Interview with Danielle E. Parrish, Ph.D.
• Cultural Considerations in Military Social Work: Interview with Dr. Anthony Hassan
• Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI): Interview with Jennifer Muehlenkamp, Ph.D.
• Social Work Ethics: Interview with Allan Barsky, JD, MSW, PhD

Turned out to be a majority of episodes!  This'll keep you occupied during your commute, jog, or other listening opportunity.  Enjoy.

KSA of the Day: Treatment Planning

Clinical KSA of the Day: TREATMENT PLANNING. A painless way to master this content area--give a listen to the treatment planning episode of The Social Work Podcast.

 

KSA of the Day: Assessment and Diagnosis

KSA of the Day: ASSESSMENT AND DIAGNOSIS.  A pretty straightforward section--facts, facts, facts.  Here, some links to help you gather them:  The methods of involving a client in identifying the presenting problem; The components and function of the mental status exam; Medications; The current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association; The indicators of sexual abuse; Risk factors related to suicide

Pass the ASWB Exam on the Web

Connect with Pass the ASWB Exam!  Friend and follow us on the web:

• Facebook
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Reposts from the site plus other helpful social work exam prep material appear regularly on the Social Work Exam Prep Google+ Community.

See you there!

KSA of the Day: Information Gathering

Now, section II: Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment Planning, which makes up 26% of the ASWB Clinical Exam.  KSA of the Day: INFORMATION GATHERING.

Some help here:

• BPSS Assessment & the MSE (Social Work Podcast)
• Biopsychosocial Model (Wikipedia) 
• The Social Work Interview (Washington.edu)

KSA of the Day: Addictions

KSA of the Day:  ADDICTIONS.  How best to prepare for answering questions about addiction?  Do a little social work!  Which you've already done.  After that, studying up about Motivational Interviewing is a good idea.

If you're following along on the outline, you might be wondering, what's "Addiction Theory"?  Here's a primer in slides via SlideShare:

KSA of the Day: Effects of Diversity

Clinical KSA of the Day:  EFFECTS OF DIVERSITY.  Here's a source to get exam-ready on the topic:  The NASW's Diversity and Equality page. 

KSA of the Day: Human Behavior in the Environment

Clinical KSA of the Day:  HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN THE ENVIRONMENT.  Some links:  The Person in Environment (PIE) theory; Psychological defense mechanisms; The dynamics of sexual abuse; The effects of trauma on behavior. If you're the overstudying type, you could bury yourself in this section--and in the entire outline--for a long, long while.  (Note: Don't overstudy!)

KSA of the Day: Human Development in the Life Cycle

KSA of the day (from the clinical section of the ASWB Content Outline @ aswb.org).  Reading this can bring on a wave of anxiety.  But it seems harder than it is.  Much of what you'll be tested on takes common sense social work instinct that you've likely had in place for years.  First section: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN THE LIFE CYCLE.

For brushing up, here's a PowerPoint summarizing several developmental theories, courtesy of Dr. A.M. Gonzalez.

Pass the LCSW Exam

Still haven't seen a good explanation of all the different social work titles and how they came to be.  Here are some posts dedicated to those aiming to become Licensed Clinical Social Workers.  Congratulations in advance, future LCSWs!

• From Social Work Test Prep
• From The Licensed Clinical Social Work Exam Blog
• From LCSW Exam Prep
• From Social Babble

Californians, who have a particularly tough set of obstacles to get to their LCSW, read up on the process here:

• From the California BBS

Happy Social Work Month!

Family Therapy and the ASWB Exam

There's lots to know about family therapy in order to do it well. It order to test about family therapy, you need to know lots less.  Here are some helpful family therapy summaries on the web:

• Clinical Map of Family Therapy Models (Scribd)
• Family Therapy (Wikipedia)
• Family Therapy - Therapist Profiles

Attachment Theory

To celebrate John Bowlby's birthday (February 26th), why not take a moment to review Attachment Theory? Here's some help on the web:

• Simply Psycholgy
• Wikipedia
• About.com

And here's video from the Counselling Resource YouTube channel (ad skipable):

Getting familiar with the Mental Status Exam

If you've done intakes in a social work setting, great--it's as if you've been studying for the exam while you worked. Lots of ASWB exam items cover the very questions that social workers face at first contact with clients. Where best to refer?  How best to treat?   And, of course, what's going on with this person?  That is, what emerges when you do a Mental Status Exam?

A working knowledge of the Mental Status Exam, and the terms it contains, gives you a leg up come exam day.  Here are a few links that'll walk you through the basics:

• How to Do a Mental Status Exam
• Wikpedia MSE
• MSE at UCSD

You too can manage your ASWB exam anxiety

Worried about taking a 170-question, 4-hour exam?  Of course you are.  At least a little.  Here are some resources for managing test anxiety via the Social Work Test Prep study tips page:

• Overcoming Test Anxiety
• Test Anxiety Help
• Test Anxiety Links

Still anxious?  Here are a couple of thick anxiety workbooks--good for clients, good for you:

• Moodjuice Anxiety Self-Help Guide
• Centre for Clincial Interventions: What? Me Worry?

TL; DR: Breathe!

Maybe the ASWB exam is easier than you think

A provocative post--How to Prepare for the LCSW Exam--points to a different, potentially anxiety-reducing approach to the test:  Skip the questions! 

[T]wo sample questions provided in ASWB’s Candidate Handbook...brought to mind some research by Albright and Thyer (2010). Albright and Thyer gave the Clinical practice test (from the $30 Study Guide) to 59 first-year MSW students. More precisely, they gave the answers only, without the questions. In other words, the MSW students were looking at something like this:

(A) Work with the foster parents on a behavior modification plan
(B) Suggest that the child’s teacher refer him for special education placement
(C) Refer the child for assessment for fetal alcohol syndrome
(D) Work with the child’s biological mother toward reunification

and that’s all. There was no question; just the four possible answers to choose from. These 59 MSW students had to guess what the question was about, or just forget that and try to imagine which answer would be most favored by ASWB. Logically, these MSW students should have been right about 25% of the time: they would guess one out of four at random, making them wrong, on average, for three out of every four questions they answered. Ah, but that’s not what happened. According to Albright and Thyer, these 59 MSW students averaged a score of 52%. Not bad, considering that ASWB said that states tend to require correct answers on between 94 and 107 (i.e., between 63% and 71%) of the 150 scored questions on the exam. Mere guessing, without anything other than the wording of the possible answer, could apparently be almost enough to put a person over the line.