How I Passed the LCSW California Law & Ethics Exam

Step 1. Study casually

Step 2. Take the exam

Step 3. Fail by one point

Step 4. Figure out how to do it differently the second time

Step 5. Pass!

After that long wait to get the results in the postal mail and learning that I failed by one point, I took a break for a while.  The experience was frustrating and I wanted to take some time to rejuvenate.

Then, I started again.  I studied differently.  I studied MORE.  I reviewed the NASW Code of Ethics much more thoroughly.  I went through both my Law & Ethics notes from the NASW courses I took, as well as my own personal notes of topics I remembered from my first exam.

Notably, I used the Social Work Test Prep Law & Ethics practice exam really differently this time.  I still used the Law & Ethics practice exam, but now I actually also utilized the SWTP practice test questions rationales. (Hello.  Please do this in your first round of studying.  Don’t be like me.)

The rationales are important and really do help you learn.  I would get one question right in the practice test and I gained a false sense of confidence.  I thought Oh, I got it, no worries about this concept.  But if a more complicated version of the concept arose on the real exam, I was lost!  I didn’t have any significant knowledge to fall back on.  The rationales provide reasons why these three options are wrong, a reason why this option is correct, and further information on the topic.  I definitely should have read through the rationales in the first place to understand more examples and more of the nuance of each concept.

Tip: I combed through my own notes and the SWTP rationales from the practice test.  While doing so I wrote down by hand the details, definitions, and concepts that I didn’t 100% know. 

Then I went through and I typed these up.  I found that the process of doing this twice – once by hand and once typing – helped really get the concept into my brain.  I printed out the typed concepts and reviewed it several times while studying.

I wrote here about how I had to intentionally schedule a time and a place to study – the quiet co-working center with on-site childcare.  I intentionally studied there for a month, about 3 hours at a time, once or twice a week.

I took my second round of the Law & Ethics exam in November 2016.  Another change was how I walked into the exam.  I was prepared for the exam to be long and hard.  I went in with the mentality that the exam experience will be challenging, but I also know a lot of information.  I balanced holding those two truths and tried to feel confident.  Logistically speaking, I attempted to answer the questions in a speedy fashion, because I remembered how tight the timing was at the end of my first try.

If there were some questions that seemed hard and I wasn’t sure of the answer, I left those blank and moved on. I went back to them at the end.  I didn’t mark any (on the computer program) that I had answered but was unsure of.  I decided to trust my first instinct with those.  Thus, I didn’t change any of those answers in the end. 

If I wasn’t sure of the answer, but could narrow down to two choices, I marked on my paper which two options I thought was likely, but it turned out I didn’t really need to refer back to the paper when re-reviewing these questions in the end, because it was still apparent to me which two were the likely two choices.  I just took my best guess and left it at that. 

Tip: If I wasn’t totally sure, I said to myself “That’s probably a non-scored question” and just moved on.  Mentally, it was really effective.

Further, in taking the exam a second time, I realized an important distinction in how these questions are phrased.  At the end, the question pointedly asks something involving the words LEGAL or ETHICAL. (e.g. What is your LEGAL obligation?  What is the ETHICAL next step?)  Please pay attention to this!  It’s entirely possible that there might be one answer that speaks to law and one that speaks to ethics, and you could get distracted easily.

I finished the exam with time to spare.  I hit submit and then I saw the good news – I had PASSED!  Hooray!

How NOT to Pass the California Law & Ethics Exam

So before I dive into the post about how I studied differently to pass the California Law & Ethics exam (LCLE) the second time, let’s first touch upon why I think I failed the first time.

I studied while at home taking care of my second baby and kind of rushed to take the LCLE exam before I went back to my hospice job when he was two months old, but really, the reason why I failed the LCLE I took in February of 2016 is because it was harder than I expected. 

To study, I had reviewed the Law & Ethics online courses I took from the California NASW (the content as well as the mid-course and end-course quizzes), I read through the NASW Code of Ethics, and I took the Law & Ethics SWTP practice exam.  Everything I read through I sort of assessed with a “Yes, ok, sure, I understand” kind of attitude.

Looking back, I have a couple memories of taking my baby on a walk to a local boba tea shop and then almost casually leafing through my printouts of the CA NASW course material – and basically flipping through the Code of Ethics booklet while waiting in the car to pick up my older son – and knowing what I know now, it’s hysterical!  I want to shake myself and say “You fool!  This style of preparation is not adequate!”

Plus, when I would take the SWTP LCLE practice exam a second or third time (trying to go over content again, as well as practicing answering test questions in a timed exam experience), I would easily remember what the right answer was from when I reviewed my wrong answers the first time.  So I learned the right answer to that question, but I didn’t really learn the important concept or the nuance to the question.

On the day of the test, I learned that the LCLE questions were longer than expected – I didn’t manage my time well. I had finished the practice exam with plenty of time to spare, so I was overconfident about my time.

The questions were also harder than expected – just to give one example, let’s imagine there’s a question about a new teenage client of yours reporting an episode of sexual abuse from her previous therapist.  There are so many layers to a question like this! 

•       You have to think about if this is a situation where you keep confidentiality or break confidentiality—would you have to report it, or would you encourage her to report it? 
•       If you report, would it be to the police or to the state licensing board or somewhere else? 
•       If sexual assault is a crime that takes away the victim’s own power and control, do you help give that sense of power and control back to your client and let her make the decision about reporting this or not? 
•       How much impact does the client’s specific age make?  Does it make a difference that she’s a minor?
•       How much does it matter that the alleged perpetrator is a therapist? 
•       How much does it matter if the alleged perpetrator has continued access to minors? 
•       Which factor is the most important piece that you have to think about here? 
•       Does that California-specific brochure, aptly named “Professional Therapy Never Includes Sex,” get given out in this instance? 

(... Y’all, I was not prepared for these types of questions.)

Generally, quite a few of the answers seemed to have two right answers, and I had a hard time narrowing them down.  I marked some that I answered but was unsure of, and I also had a list of the unanswered ones that I had skipped.  At the end, I went through all of the marked/unanswered questions – I answered the unanswered ones – and I changed some of the marked but answered ones.

So yes, you can see, this was not a recipe for success.  BUT!  I was successful in the second go around of the LCLE, so come back to read more about that.

Demoralized… no MORE!

Remember me?  Took the California BBS Law & Ethics exam, failed by one point, then fell off the face of the Earth?

 

Right around the time I posted last, in May 2016, my family’s childcare situation changed dramatically.  SO I had a lot less help with my two little kids, and therefore significantly less time to study and think about retaking the exam.

I did receive the Board of Behavioral Sciences letter at my PO Box sometime in the summer, giving me permission to register again to retake the exam. By the way, I still received lots of Chase spam mail at the PO Box the entire time, continually tricking me into thinking it was mail from the BBS, so it seems like calling Chase to remove my PO Box address didn't even work.

When I got the letter giving me permission I suppose I felt good that it wasn't lost in the mail and that the process was continuing, but I didn't feel eager or ready to start studying to take it again. 

All you test-preppers out there, you know what this is like. I did not know when I would find the time! Whenever I had babysitters available, there was hospice work to be done, and no free time ever serendipitously emerged for me to study. 

I finally realized after my older son started and adjusted to preschool and we had settled into a routine that I would need to intentionally make some child-free time so I could study and get a move on. Otherwise the winter holidays would approach, the new year would be here, and my test eligibility would expire in February, a year after I failed the LCLE the first time.

My intentional studying took place at a new space I found nearby, which is a quiet co-working center with on-site childcare. I grit my teeth, bought a package, dug my heels in, and got it done. I gave myself a month between when we started at the center (spending about 3 hours there at a time, once or twice a week) and when I scheduled my exam.

I took the BBS Law & Ethics exam (LCLE) in mid November and I PASSED!  Yes it felt good!

Next post I’ll write will discuss how I studied differently to pass this time. Tune in!

Next Steps

If you failed your BBS California Law & Ethics exam, here is information about what to do next. 

First, you need to take additional courses before you can re-take the Law & Ethics exam.  Specifically, you need 12 hours worth of California law and ethics courses.

You can take courses in person or do it more quickly, and on your own time, online.  I chose to do mine through the NASW-California chapter online.  I selected four courses, which added up to the total 12 hours.

I even got to do one course for free!  Here is a course on the NASW Code of Ethics, worth 2 CEUs (continuing education hours), at no charge.

I paused for a minute, wondering if this course on the national code would count specifically toward the California requirement, but the course details specify that it is eligible to be used towards the 18 hours on law and ethics that California ASWs need to accrue, as well as the biannual 6 hours for California LCSWs renewing their license, so I think we’re OK.

Image Credit Pixabay

The letter informing me that I failed didn’t give a lot of instruction on where to find the application to re-apply for the exam—it just directed me to the general BBS website.  I had to click around for a while before I found it under Forms and Publications.  Let me save you some time -- here is the Request for Re-Examination.

You’ll need to fill out the application, write a check for $100, and include printed certificates of completion for the courses in the packet.  I also scanned a copy of the application to keep for my own records.

I sent my packet to the BBS with a tracking number and return receipt, so I can verify that they received it, and then I plan to monitor my checking account to see when they cash my check.

BBS recently updated their site with processing times – minimum of 30 business days for Request for Re-Examination.  There is also a mandated 90-day waiting period between exams.  That puts me at taking the exam no earlier than mid- or late-May.

When I get approval, I’ll sign up for a test spot online, go back to the PSI location, reflect on the benefits of taking this exam, and do it again! (…and pass!)

Saving Money

On top of the reasons why the social work life can be challenging, we as a profession also don’t tend to make a great amount of income.  Save your hard-earned money while you’re in the LCSW process by following these tips.

Image Credit Kate McHugh Akbar

PO Box

The link above discusses why to use a PO box for BBS correspondence.  To do that, you can go online to price check different sizes of boxes.  In my experience all of my local post offices were sold out of the smallest and most affordable boxes.  I knew I didn’t need an expensive, larger box – I only get mail a couple times a year.  Instead, I chose to get a small PO Box in a neighboring town.  I then utilized the Real Mail Notification™ program that emailed me whenever I got new mail, so I only had to go there when I knew there was mail.

Online Courses

You may need to take courses before you can apply for your LCSW exam-eligibility (like me, since my MSW was from out of state) or take additional courses before you can re-take the Law & Ethics exam (me, again).  One of the many providers for these courses is the California chapter of the NASW.

If you are an NASW member, you can get a discount on all the courses, anytime.  Additionally, NASW-CA sends out occasional emails with discount codes.  As perusal of my email history shows that these get sent out on Thursdays, so if you’re about to buy some courses on a Wednesday, wait a day and see if a new coupon code gets sent out.  Sign up for the NASW-CA emails.

Right now, in honor of Social Work month, NASW-CA is giving 10% off all courses using code 2016SWMonth – add courses to your cart here.  Only through March 31, 2016.

Exam Prep

Social Work Test Prep is doing a special coupon code for March 2016 to celebrate Social Work month, and it's for 15% off exams and bundles -- just enter SWMONTH15 at checkout. Or, if anyone sees this after March ends and still wants a coupon code, you can use SWLEP10 for 10% off.  If both are expired, you should “like” SWTP on Facebook because they post occasional discounts there, too. 

Free Ethics Course!

Want a totally FREE ethics course?  Here is a course on the NASW Code of Ethics, worth 2 CEUs (continuing education hours), completely free! 

Both California (where I’m aiming to achieve my LCSW) and Illinois (where I previously held an LMSW) required a certain number of Ethics CEUs each and every renewal, so this free course is useful for so many social workers. If you get as excited about this as I did, you’re welcome! 

Any other money saving tips you want to add?

Ethics and Sex, Part 2

Part 1 of this topic touched upon the reasons why sexual contact between therapist and patient is harmful, and covered the standards in the Code of Ethics that dictate proper sexual behavior between therapist and patient.

There are additional guidelines for sexual contact with colleagues:  

The Code prohibits sexual contact with a colleague who is your supervisee, student, trainee, or anyone else over whom you have authority (standard 2.07[a]). 

It’s advised against having a sexual relationship with other colleagues if there is any potential for conflict of interest (standard 2.07[b]). 

Sexual harassment between colleagues is also prohibited (standard 2.08).

How should you go about answering exam questions about sexual content?

If there is a question on the exam about you as the therapist having romantic or sexual feelings for a client, obviously don’t select answers that involve you acting on your feelings. 

However, the correct answer usually isn’t to terminate immediately, either.  You can’t realistically terminate everyone to whom you feel attraction.  

Sometimes the best answer on the test includes talking about the sexual/romantic attraction with the client.  However, the “best-best” answer usually involves seeking consultation with a colleague to process your feelings.

Specifically for California test-takers, if you learn someone has previously had a sexual relationship with their therapist, you should give them the booklet entitled Professional Therapy Never Includes Sex.

Also important to note -- If you learn that a minor client has had sexual contact with their therapist, that is a mandated report of child abuse.

The booklet states that “A national study revealed that probably fewer than 10 percent of all therapists have had sexual contact with their patients,” though it does not give a citation for that study.  Anyone know it? 

Regardless, any number of therapists having sexual contact with clients is too many, and up to 10% is an astonishingly large number.  So although this topic may seem obvious, it bears reminding – don’t do it!

Ethics and Sex, Part 1

Focusing in on ethics for the short-term.  One common topic on both the ASWB Clinical exam and the BBS Law & Ethics exam is sex.

The very first thing discussed in the Code of Ethics is that we as social workers have a “primary responsibility to promote the well-being of clients” (standard 1.01). 

Engaging in a sexual relationship with a client is unethical because it gets in the way of promoting that very well-being.  For a pretty thorough description of the ways clients can be harmed via sexual contact with their therapist, check out Kenneth S. Pope’s article, “Sex Between Therapists and Clients.”

Image Credit Kate McHugh Akbar

The Code of Ethics spells it out pretty clearly.  Paraphrased below:

Don’t have a sexual relationship with current client, either consensual or nonconsensual (standard 1.09[a]).

Don’t have a sexual relationship with clients’ relatives or friends when there is a risk of exploitation/potential harm to the client.  This type of relationship could be harmful to the client and difficult for the social worker to maintain appropriate professional boundaries (standard 1.09[b]).

Don’t have a sexual relationship with a former client.  Again, even though the therapeutic relationship has been terminated, there is remaining potential for a sexual relationship to be emotionally harmful to the client (standard 1.09[c]).

You also shouldn’t treat people with whom you used to have a sexual relationship.   Even though the therapy is in the past, same reasons: It can be harmful to them and hard to maintain appropriate professional boundaries (standard 1.09[d]). 

Also, don’t terminate with a client in order to pursue a sexual relationship (standard 1.16[d]).

Related—don’t sexually harass clients (standard 1.11). 

Be careful about physical contact—don’t do it when there’s potential for harm, and it’s the social worker’s responsibility to discuss appropriate boundaries (standard 1.10).

Part 2 of this topic will cover a few more standards relating to sexual contact between colleagues, and also discuss how to answer questions about sexual relationships on the exam.

My Early Interest in Mental Health

Let's say that you just failed to pass a licensing exam and will need to retake it.  You might be feeling discouraged and in need of a little extra motivation.  One way to pump yourself up is to go waaaaaay back and explore why you became interested in this field to begin with.

Mid-1990s, Chicago suburbs: My interest in the mental health field began in junior high school.  I read Reviving Ophelia, a book by Dr. Mary Pipher, which discusses her work counseling adolescent girls who are struggling to thrive in our culture and society.  As an adolescent girl myself, I was fascinated by the case studies.  

I loved reading about the girls’ lives and issues like sexual assault, substance use, family divorces, and eating disorders.  Dr. Pipher’s book inspired me to begin wanting to do similar work as an adult.  I realized today that I have kept this book on all my different bookshelves for the past 20 years.

Still on my bookshelf after 20 years.  (Image credit Kate McHugh Akbar.  Reviving Ophelia and all other books pictured credit to authors.)

Because of this book, I sought to learn more about mental health.  I found an old college psychology textbook at a church rummage sale and bought it for $.50.  To this day, I can still recall reading about Harry Harlow and seeing the image of the rhesus monkey clinging to the soft terrycloth “mother” instead of the wire mother-figure that provided milk.  

I also made use of the library to feed my interest.  I remember borrowing books about arachnophobia to try and understand why I felt the way I did about spiders.

In 8^th grade we wrote a big research paper, topic of our choosing.  My paper discussed if individuals suffering from multiple personality disorder (now called dissociative identity disorder) should be held responsible for crimes committed by their alter personalities.  I found this paper in my parent’s house several years ago and it’s hilarious.

At age 14, in the yearbook, my classmates predicted that I would become a women’s activist, while I predicted for myself that I would grow up to be a psychologist or a clinical social worker.  I completely forgot about this until I rediscovered the yearbook in my 20s!  If that isn’t motivation to keep studying for the clinical social work exams, I don’t know what is.  

Come on self, let’s make 1998 Katie’s dreams come true.

That's my story, what about you?  Please share!

You’ve learned about my initial interest in the mental health field.  Come back tomorrow in honor of World Social Work Day to read more about why I specifically chose to become a social worker.

Law & Ethics Exam - So Close!

I’ve been having some unhappy times lately with regard to receiving my California Law & Ethics exam results. 

Image credit Kate McHugh Akbar

To recap – on January 1, 2016 the California Board of Behavioral Sciences restructured their process of licensing clinical social workers.  They created a new exam, Law & Ethics, as step one.  Step two is the nationally-used ASWB clinical exam, but first you have to pass Law & Ethics.  The BBS spent two months reviewing the first round of Law & Ethics exams, statistically analyzing results and assessing pass/fail scores.  I took my exam on February 10 and have been waiting for the results.

This past Friday morning, while out running errands, I got an email that said my Post Office Box has new mail.  BBS just recently announced that they had sent out results, so I felt excited thinking that my mail was my test results.  I drove five miles to get halfway to the post office in a neighboring town before realizing I didn’t have the PO Box key on me.  I turned around, went home, got the key, and drove to the post office. 

Image credit Kate McHugh Akbar

I eagerly open up my post office box to find… junk mail from Chase Bank.  What!  I’ve only gotten junk mail once in my two+ year history of having a PO Box, so this twist felt quite disappointing.  No, Chase, I don’t want to get involved in your pyramid scheme for referring new customers; I wanted to receive my exam results I’d been waiting on for almost a month.  Both my baby (aka my constant companion) and I felt irritated at having spent so much pointless time in the car—but I’ll point out that only the baby cried about it.

(I’ll discuss in another post coming up about 1) why I use a PO box for BBS correspondence, 2) how I get emails telling me when there’s new mail, and 3) the strategy behind having my PO Box in a different town.)

Next day – I was standing in line at a children’s museum with my family to do a meet-and-greet with a dinosaur from a PBS cartoon (#momlife).  I got an email once again saying that my PO Box has mail.  I thought to myself this has to be the exam results—it just isn’t likely that I’m tricked with junk mail two days in a row.

I left my husband and toddler to play at the museum longer while I took the baby and zipped over to post office.  I opened up the box to find it IS results from BBS but… I failed.  By one point.

My toddler mimics everything we say now, so let me just say… shoot.

BBS determined that California social workers taking the Law & Ethics exam need 35 questions correct in order to pass.  I got 34 questions right.  So I was close, but close doesn’t count.

Image credit Kate McHugh Akbar

In order to be authentic for other readers out there who may have failed this or other licensing exams, let me share – this doesn’t feel good!  It feels kind of embarrassing to have failed an exam for your profession.  When sharing the news, I feel the need to add a caveat: I didn’t pass the exam, but I’m ethical, I swear!  It definitely feels frustrating to have this drawn-out process last even longer now, and I’m annoyed to have to pay extra fees to retake it.

But – I know I was close, so with more studying, I’m pretty certain I’ll pass next time.  Since this exam is so new, it was harder than usual for me to prepare for it and know what to expect.  I know I’m in good company – I have other friends and peers who haven’t passed exams the first time around, but they later have been successful. I still believe in all of the advantages to taking the Law & Ethics exam that I wrote about last time.  This test measures how well you can take this specific exam, not your worth as a professional.

If you passed Law & Ethics – congratulations!  If you didn’t pass it this time, feel free to commiserate with me.  Come back and read my future posts about the next steps in the process.  Thanks!

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If you want, jump ahead and read about how I PASSED the second time I took the exam!

Advantages of Taking the California Law & Ethics Exam

The Board of Behavioral Sciences (@CalifBBS on Twitter) announced this week that their analysis of the new LCSW Law & Ethics exam is completed.  I’ll find out in the next two weeks or so if I passed and can move on to the ASWB Clinical exam, or if I need to retake the BBS Law & Ethics exam.  More waiting and then more exams!  Are you in a similar situation?

While there might be some understandable frustration about having to take two new exams in California in order to achieve your LCSW, there actually are some benefits to the current 2016 situation.

In fact… you’re lucky to get to take the CA Law & Ethics Exam!  Why?

 

Image credit Kate McHugh Akbar

First of all, it’s so beneficial that you get a jump-start on studying ethics for the ASWB exam.  The practice exams from SWTP on ethics prepare you for both the Law & Ethics exam and the ASWB – ethics makes up 18% of the clinical ASWB exam, too.

You know what kind of test preparation you did and how well it worked or didn’t work.  Quick study or drawn-out process?  Solo or in a group?  Reading, flash cards, podcasts, practice exams?  Think about any correlation between the efforts you put in and your exam results.

You’re also lucky that you get a preview of what the test-taking experience is like.  When you go to take the ASWB exam (that expensive, 4 hour long exam), you will already have had real-life training with the experience.  It’s not totally new to you—you’ve taken one exam already.

Even the practice of parting with your personal belongings in order to take the test is helpful. Think about it: You give your ID to a stranger to hold on to (a responsible proctor of the test center, but still).  You put your cell phone, watch, wallet, and other personal belongings in a locker and you walk away from them, into a different room, for a few hours, holding on to nothing but your wits. 

It’s a strange experience of paring down, one that we rarely do nowadays in our technology-laden society.  But you?  You’ve done it, no big deal.  You can solely focus on facing the exam and passing it.

However, when you visualize yourself taking the ASWB exam, don’t imagine yourself taking it in the exact same place where you took Law & Ethics.  Why? 

The Board of Behavioral Sciences sponsors the Law & Ethics exams, which are offered at PSI test centers.  The ASWB exams are administered by Pearson VUE—a totally separate vendor.  When you take the ASWB exam, it will be in a different center, possibly a different city, and just a slightly different experience.   

Even though this post is focused on California registrants, the same principles can be applied to anyone who has a multi-exam process in their own state OR anyone who has to retake the ASWB exam.  There are a lot of us out there.

Remember – you have already taken one licensing exam.  You can feel confident that the physical exam experience is familiar to you.  You now can visualize yourself with great accuracy walking into that specific next situation, sitting down at the computer, and passing.

You got this!

Taking the California Law & Ethics Exam

It’s the start of 2016 and you are trying to get licensed in California.  If you’re just now beginning the exam process, you will take the CA Law & Ethics exam.

Did you know that since the exam is new, the BBS is taking time to statistically analyze the questions before deciding how to score them?  That means you have to wait to get your score report… and wait to know if you passed.

The BBS website says:

Exam candidates who take the LMFT and LCSW Law and Ethics Examination and the LMFT Clinical Examination after January 1, 2016 could experience up to an eight (8) week delay in obtaining their exam score report.  Each new Board examination requires an analysis of candidate responses to examination items in order to identify any problematic items that may need to be excluded from scoring. Once the analysis is complete and the passing score is validated, score reports will be mailed to candidates. 

So instead of that tense, few-second pause at the computer before your score pops up, now you have to wait a relatively long time to know the outcome of all your hard studying.  

When I completed the exam in February 2015, I received a certification letter at the test center stating that results will be mailed out in approximately 6 weeks.

Photo Credit Pixabay

What do you do while you wait?

First of all, you can give yourself permission to take a break from the process.  You just took (and hopefully passed) a big exam!

But before you take too long of a break, take some time to sit down and process your exam experience.

During the exam, did you run out of steam before finishing?  Did you forget to bring anything that could have helped you (printed directions to the test center, a snack to eat before or after, etc?)  Did you utilize “marking” a question to go back to review or not?  Did you finish earlier than you thought or did it take you longer than expected?

Content wise—were there specific topics that you recall being difficult for you?  Jot them down and make a plan to review those content areas.  Good news here: ethics makes up a big portion of the ASWB clinical exam, too (18% of those questions).

You know what kind of timeline under which you are operating – you can either wait to receive your results or just go ahead starting to prep for the ASWB exam.  Find affordable test prep and practice exams here.  Either way, good job on completing this first important step!