licensing exams Archives - Psychotherapy Notes

AMFTRB quietly changed its 2026 National MFT Exam handbook [Updated]

August 19, 2026May 19, 2026 by Ben Caldwell

May 19, 2026 update: AMFTRB issued refunds and free retakes to hundreds of examinees who failed the National MFT Exam between January and April 2026. We believe our research and advocacy contributed meaningfully to that decision. Read more about our advocacy process on this issue here. The original post follows.

Tonight (March 22, 2026) I downloaded the AMFTRB candidate handbook for those preparing to take the National MFT Exam. That’s pretty routine. At High Pass Education, we’re working on a prep program for the national exam, and of course we want to make our content and our practice exams consistent with what examinees might see on the actual test.

According to the National MFT Exam handbook that I just downloaded, here’s the breakdown of exam content:

Write a letter to the editor: Drop the ASWB exams

March 22, 2024March 22, 2024 by Ben Caldwell

Some problems can have large impacts, and still go unnoticed by the public and policymakers. ASWB’s racist exams for social work licensure are a great example. When people learn of the problems with social work exams, they tend to be rightly horrified. But most people don’t know about the problem.

A letter to the editor of your local newspaper can be a great way to raise awareness of this issue, especially in states actively considering alternate pathways to licensure. Here’s a quick guide to writing one.

The ASWB Clinical Exam reckoning has begun

February 7, 2023 by Ben Caldwell

This week, legislators in Maryland introduced a pair of bills (SB0871, SB0872) to let clinical social workers get licensed without first taking the ASWB Clinical Exam. Other jurisdictions are likely to follow. The current social work exams, like all clinical exams in mental health care, simply don’t work. Worse, they fail in remarkably biased ways. Professionals, the policymakers, and the public are all catching on to the sham.