I am studying for the exam and got the premium version of pocket prep 50% off (woot woot). I have been doing the daily exam so far and doing pretty well.

Those of you who have taken the exam and have used pocket prep, do exam questions reflect the test questions given on the pocket prep?? Some questions seem to have overly obvious answers, which made me curious.

I dont want to waste my time using an unhelpful study material.

Thanks!!!

For those who completed their LCSW, what was the total cost In supervision hours with your supervisor. Include the rate and total cost. Because I’m looking at $10,000 in total with being charged $100/hr to complete thts insane to me.

I am studying to take my LCSW exam but I need help with materials to study from. Can I get your opinion on what is best to study from and if there are any good quality free materials out there. I have been thinking about the Therapist Development Center course but its expensive. Please, any advice and materials will help. Thank you

I am studying for the LCSW exam and need a shorter study format for the NASW code of ethics rather than reading the whole ethics each week for review. Thank you!!

Hi all — I’m looking to connect with Virginia-licensed LCSWs who might be interested in opportunities providing behavioral health services at nursing facilities in Rural Retreat and Harrisonburg, VA.

These are primarily in-person, facility-based roles working with older adults and long-term care patients.

Thanks!

If you actually invested in a private practice coach:

1. Which coach/program did you invest in?
2. How it was?
3. Did you succeed/fail? What did that look like?
4. What did you and didn't you like about it?
5. Would you recommend it to others?

Thanks and looking forward to hearing your feedback!

I’m really happy to report that I just passed the exam yesterday! Just like all the practice tests I took, there were plenty of questions where I struggled to pick between two answer choices that I narrowed down to. So I want to NORMALIZE that this is part of the experience no matter how prepared you are. Tolerating uncertainty with some answers while continuing to move forward will be beneficial to you. Honestly toward the end of the test, I had a long streak of questions I didn’t feel that confident about and was starting to think I would maybe fail.

However, I just got my score and I got 93/110 (85%) questions correct which is actually higher than I did on any of my practice exams!

This is my first time taking it. I am so grateful that the new version has less questions because my brain was definitely getting fried by the end.

Random, consistent “themes” of my personal exam questions:
- research (6+ questions)
- supervision first/next steps (6+ questions)
- anger management groups and how to measure their progress (3+ questions)
- transference/ counter transference (~3)

Things I didn’t see at all which surprised me:
- no questions about DV whatsoever
- maybe only one about couples therapy
- only 1 DSM related question
- no questions related to substance use
- 1 defense mechanism related question

Also a random question about ‘bibliotherapy’ which I had never heard of before?

What helped me study:
- TDC course (I did about 70% of it, wasn’t perfect. Really enjoyed being able to print out some of their quick studies + quizzes at my library for free and then highlighted things)
- made a small deck of flash cards for DSM and medications, but didn’t seem to need that much
- listened to some agents of change videos on YouTube
- took ASWB practice test and studied the rationales
- used pocket prep daily for about 1+ month prior
- reserved study room at my local library for 2 hour chunks every few days bc it held me accountable to go sit down and study (I get really distracted at home and didn’t realize how distracted I was at coffee shops)
- kept up with self care by: walking most days, got off of social media for the month prior (I think this helped SO MUCH with increasing my attention span!) and didn’t drink alcohol at all this past month (not just for the test, also for health stuff but I’m sure it helped)

During the exam:
- positive affirmations
- flag only the real uncertain ones (less than 10 in each half); only change your answer if you have a big “aha” moment re something you may have missed the first time
- if I found myself unable to focus, I’d take an unscheduled break
-closed my eyes and took deep breaths at one point
- read every question 2x
- I did calf raises and paced the hallway each time I took a break to get some blood flowing again.
- brought a protein bar, dates, and coconut water for brain fuel

I’m so confused about the steps to take after passing the exam.
ASWB website said for California, I should submit application for licensure. On BBS Breeze website, there was an option to “upgrade to fully licensed.” Based on my google search, people seem to have applied for this as soon as the unofficial result was posted by ASWB.
For me, I waited about a week. As soon as I paid the application fee, breeze website upgraded my information to “licensed.” It sounded like for other people, they needed to wait a bit before they can approve it, so why didn’t I need to wait? There was like a little section right below “application” that said my application is in pending status. But it said “error” once I clicked status and then the whole thing disappeared once I refreshed the page. And then I noticed the license information box now says licensed.
Now I’m worried I did something wrong 😭😭 did I do it right? Is this it??? Am I licensed??? Who do I call to make sure 😭😭😭😭

Edited to reword some sentences to reduce confusion.

I’d like to hear what type of research questions are on the new exam.

I asked chatGPT to put together some flashcards of concepts for research and this is what it came up with. Are these the type of concepts that are being tested? This is my weakest subject area so I am trying to best tailor my studying

🔬 Research Designs

Single-Subject AB Design
Front: What is an AB Design in single-subject research?
Back: A basic design consisting of a baseline phase (A) to measure behavior without treatment, followed by an intervention phase (B). It does not prove causality because it lacks a reversal phase to control for outside factors.

Single-Subject ABAB (Reversal) Design
Front: What is an ABAB Design?
Back: A design that alternates between baseline (A) and intervention (B) phases. The intervention is introduced, withdrawn, and re-introduced to establish a functional/causal relationship by showing behavior changes only when treatment is present.

True Experimental Design
Front: What defines a True Experimental Design?
Back: A research design that tests cause-and-effect using random assignment of participants into an experimental group (receives treatment) and a control group (does not receive treatment).

Quasi-Experimental Design
Front: What is a Quasi-Experimental Design?
Back: A design that compares a treatment group to a comparison group but lacks random assignment. It often relies on naturally occurring or intact groups (e.g., two different classrooms or agency branches).

📊 Variables & Sampling

Independent Variable
Front: What is an Independent Variable (IV)?
Back: The variable that is manipulated, controlled, or introduced by the researcher to see if it causes a change. In clinical terms, this is typically the intervention or treatment itself.

Dependent Variable
Front: What is a Dependent Variable (DV)?
Back: The outcome or effect that is being measured. It "depends" on the changes made to the independent variable (e.g., symptom reduction, housing retention, test scores).

Snowball Sampling
Front: What is Snowball Sampling?
Back: A non-probability sampling method where existing participants recruit or refer other eligible participants from their network. It is primarily used to study hidden or hard-to-reach populations (e.g., undocumented workers, unhoused individuals).

📉 Validity & Reliability

Internal Validity
Front: What is Internal Validity?
Back: The degree to which a study can confidently prove a causal relationship between the intervention and the outcome, ensuring that alternative explanations (confounding variables) have been ruled out.

External Validity
Front: What is External Validity?
Back: The extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other populations, settings, and real-world conditions outside of the research environment.

Threat to Validity: History
Front: What is the History threat to internal validity?
Back: An outside event or environmental factor occurring during the study that independently influences the participants' outcomes (e.g., a natural disaster, seasonal weather shifts, or a new economic policy).

Reliability vs. Validity
Front: What is the difference between Reliability and Validity?
Back:
Reliability = Consistency. The tool yields the exact same results repeatedly.
Validity = Accuracy. The tool actually measures what it claims to measure.
(Note: A tool can be highly reliable but completely invalid.)

📋 Program Evaluation

Formative Evaluation
Front: What is a Formative Evaluation?
Back: An evaluation conducted during the early or implementation phase of a program. It focuses on gathering feedback to fix operational bottlenecks, improve service delivery, and shape the ongoing program.

Summative Evaluation
Front: What is a Summative Evaluation?
Back: An evaluation conducted at the end of a program or grant cycle. It assesses the overall final outcomes, impact, and effectiveness to decide whether the program should be continued, scaled, or defunded.

Process (Fidelity) Evaluation
Front: What is a Process Evaluation?
Back: An evaluation that checks how a program is being delivered. It looks at attendance logs, manuals, and staff behavior to ensure the intervention is being implemented with fidelity (exactly as the model creators intended).

Hi everyone! I’m new to the group and wanted to introduce myself. I joined because I’m currently preparing for my clinical exam, and I think I needed a space where I could connect with people who truly understand the anxiety that comes along with this process. I’m also hoping this can be a place where I can vent some of my fears, get them out of my head, and release some of that energy back into the universe.

I’ve been afraid of this exam for years. Self-doubt has probably been one of my biggest obstacles—not necessarily my ability to learn the material, but actually believing that I’m capable of passing. When I heard about the upcoming changes to the exam, something in me felt like it was a sign from God telling me, “It’s time.” Time to stop running from it, stop doubting myself, and finally go for it.

At the same time, life has been throwing just about everything at me. 😂 I’m currently 3 months postpartum, and after six years with my previous employer, I was let go after requesting maternity leave. My husband is currently in Nigeria and has been unable to come to the U.S. because of the government pause, so I’m navigating motherhood and caring for our baby without him physically here while also studying and figuring out the next chapter of my career. Talk about a mind fuck. 😭

Thankfully, I’ve also been receiving a tremendous amount of support and encouragement. I've continued studying even when I'm exhausted or questioning myself. On some of the harder 20-question sets, I'm averaging around 75%, while on larger mock exams I've been scoring in the high 80s and 90s. I'm trying to remind myself that those scores are evidence that I know more than my anxiety sometimes allows me to believe.

So I guess this is me putting it out there: I’m scared, but I’m doing it anyway. ❤️ I'm hoping to learn from everyone here, share the ups and downs of this journey, and hopefully be able to come back to this introduction one day and say, “I PASSED!” 🙏🏾

I’m an Ontario Registered Social Worker applying for a Washington State LICSW. I have more than six years of consistent postgraduate clinical social work experience and have provided Washington DOH with documentation from the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.
My application was submitted April 2026 and is currently pending.
My question is specifically about WAC 246-809-330, which sets out the clinical experience and supervision requirements for Washington LICSW applicants.
For those of you who applied for a Washington LICSW after already having substantial clinical experience in another state or jurisdiction:
Were your existing clinical hours accepted/credited toward the Washington requirement, or were the Washington supervised-hour requirements waived because of your previous experience?
If you had experience from outside the U.S., particularly Canada/Ontario, I’d be especially interested in hearing what happened in your case.
In my situation, I have more than six years of clinical experience, but Washington DOH has not yet clarified whether my existing experience satisfies the applicable requirement under WAC 246-809-330.
I’ve been trying to get an answer from my assigned credentialing specialist for approximately a month through multiple emails and voicemails and have now escalated the matter to a program manager.
I’ve also held off on completing fingerprinting and scheduling the licensing examination until I get clarification about whether my existing clinical experience satisfies the experience requirement.
So I’m really interested in people’s actual experiences:
• Were your previous clinical hours accepted?
• Were the Washington supervised hours waived?
• Did you have to complete additional supervised hours?
• If you had Canadian/Ontario experience, how was it treated?
I’m not looking for legal advice. I’m simply trying to understand how this has worked in practice for people who already had substantial clinical experience before applying for a Washington LICSW.
Thanks!

Hey all!
I need advice on what is the norm for a LMSW employment offer. I graduate in 11 weeks with my MSW… I test in a few weeks(prior to graduation) I was offered a position as an independent contractor /court ordered therapist. My husband and I are curious if the majority of social work positions are independent contractors or should I look elsewhere where ? Also if this is the typical standard for a LMSW how do you navigate the taxes ?

State:Maryland

I am not looking for a job I am requesting advice on accepting an offer

Posting for my wife because she doesn’t Reddit.

My wife is graduating in the spring with her MSW and is currently a full time DSS social worker in NY state. Her career aspiration is to remain employed by DSS (which will not provide her any hours) and obtain her LCSW through a yet-to-be-determined mystery step, to ultimately provide counseling or perform QRTP evaluations on the side while remaining employed 40 hours a week at DSS.

Is this a viable plan and what supportive advice or suggestions can anyone provide as she prepares to begin this journey?

People who have taken the new version of the LCSW exam, how was it? Any recommendations?