Starting January 1, 2021, there are meaningful changes to the California MFT Clinical Exam, set forth in the new BBS Exam Plan. At Ben Caldwell Labs, we’re adding some video segments to our online prep program to address some new content areas. However, the most notable changes are in the balance of content on the exam.
Compare the old breakdown of question topics to the new one:
I’ve gotten a lot of questions in the past few days about how COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) is affecting the California BBS, or how it is likely to. I’m rounding up those questions here in hopes of making it easier to find the information you need. This post most recently updated on June 2, to include information about new BBS waivers.
The BBS-contracted testing provider Pearson VUE closed all of its US and Canada testing centers in March, and has been gradually reopening them since May. All exams scheduled while centers were closed have been cancelled and you will need to reschedule.
If your registration expired or is scheduled to expire between March 31 and June 30, 2020, see the information below on Law & Ethics Exam rule waivers.
The time period between completing a graduate degree and obtaining an Associate registration number from the BBS can feel like a strange state of limbo. You’re no longer a trainee (or, for social workers, an intern), but you’re not yet a registered associate either. Thankfully, hours of supervised experience gained in that time can still count toward LMFT, LPCC, or LCSW licensure — if you fall within the 90-day rule. What is the 90-day rule, and why does it matter so much?
We all want to pass our licensing exams. If we don’t pass, we may prolong our progress to licensure by several months. Preparing for exams takes a lot of time and money. One way people have sought to save money is by sharing an exam prep login. In other words, letting a friend or colleague access license exam test prep material under your username and password.
Paying half (or less) of the price feels a lot better than paying the whole price, and sharing an exam prep login provides a sense of community around your study experience. But before offering your password to someone else or using someone else’s account, here are some things you should consider.
Two of the most frequent questions to come up in social media groups for therapists involve licensing exams: What is the pass rate for [a specific license exam]? And, What is the passing score? Passing scores and pass rates are both good questions, and it’s easy to confuse them.
Sometimes people ask one when they mean the other. And sometimes people ask the question in a way that could mean either one, like “What’s the passing percentage?” Let’s clarify the difference, and answer both.