What does it mean when an exam asks you to think systemically? Two sample questions for the National MFT Exam help explain.

Exam developers work diligently to produce what they believe to be strong, accurate exams. But just like everyone else, they occasionally make mistakes. What should you do when you read a question and you think, none of these answers sound right?

What's your moral framework? That can heavily influence your clinical and ethical decision-making -- but it might not line up well with the approach you're being tested on. This episode is especially true to our title: In deciding right and wrong, to Think Like the Test means to think from a much more rule-based approach than how many clinicians actually work. This question comes from prior edition of our book Preparing for the 2023 California Clinical Social Work Law & Ethics Exam. Your client has health insurance, but the insurance carrier is refusing to cover the client’s therapy because she is seeing you for couple therapy and does not, in your assessment, qualify for a diagnosis of mental illness. You should: Assess the client’s ability to advocate on her own behalf with the insurance company. Offer to include an “insurance diagnosis” on the client’s paperwork to facilitate coverage. Work with the client to develop an alternative plan for payment. Discontinue therapy.  Ben Caldwell's license exam prep programs are available here.  Intro/outro music: "Swampy Lands" by Adam Saban, licensed via Soundstripe.

Therapists and reality TV shows are often not a great mix. And yet, it turns out that both of your esteemed hosts have some history with Hollywood. Learn more about how to think about dual-relationship exam questions -- and Ben’s dark secret.

What happens when an ethics question -- produced by the actual test developer -- doesn’t actually line up with what the relevant code of ethics says?

Logic is one of the most important test-taking skills. Ben explains how to focus your attention and use logic to answer complex questions quickly and correctly.

Crisis management questions may include multiple options that look good. But there’s often a key word in the question that can help you choose the right answer.

Exams have been criticized for how they treat information about a client’s culture. Resisting stereotyping is an important clinical and test-taking skill, but race weighs more heavily on mental health licensing exams than you might expect.

Key words in a question can often help lead you to the correct answer. In this episode, we discuss some to attend to -- and some that you shouldn’t give much weight to.

Remember the key lesson from childhood games like Simon Says and Mother May I -- always listen carefully to the instructions.