Diagnosis on the SW Exam

photo by Pawel Loj

Questions about diagnosis could very well be on the social work licensing exam. The immediate response for some people in regards to this topic being covered is “Yikes!” Other people might feel like they have a little better grasp on the subject.

Depending on your social work program, you may or may not have had good training regarding diagnosis. In my case, I had some but I still feel like I need more freshening up on the topic. It helps to consider the work experience that you have had or that you currently have when trying to get more comfortable with diagnosing.

Since I have interned as a therapist for zero to six year olds and am now an employee as a therapist (at a different agency) for mostly children five to seventeen, I am considering the actual real-life examples I have had when trying to “memorize” the diagnoses.

The other tricky part is the fact that the DSM is changing from the DSM-IV to the DSM-5. However, the ASWB website states that there will not be any DSM-5 information tested on the exam until July 2015.