Tips for the MFT National Licensing Exam

By: Kimberly Kuskovsky, LMFT 
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​Is it time to take that next step in your journey to becoming an LMFT? That was a thought I had last month as my 1500 clinical hours were winding down. I had put off the national licensing exam for as long as possible but finally found myself unable to come up with any more reasons not to take it. So I began studying, took the exam, and passed with flying colors! Here are some tips that I knew or wish I knew going in... 

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1. It is a process just to sign up for the exam.
   
   When you received your permit, you should have also received paperwork about how to go online and request to sign up for the exam. Once you send in that information, you will need to wait to get approved. Once approved, you can go online to sign up for the date/time. Be aware that you will need to sign up about a month ahead of when you wish to take the exam. I wish I knew this because I only started the sign up process after I had already been studying for a few weeks. By that point, I had to wait a month to even take the exam.
    
   
2. You will need to purchase (or borrow) some study materials.
   
   I used the Family Solutions Institute Study Guide for the Marriage and Family Therapy National Licensing Examination Book (FSI) and their accompanying Audio CD’s, MFT Exam Secrets Study Guide by Mometrix, and a lot of study material I kept from graduate school. I studied mostly with the FSI Book and the MFT Exam Secrets book. I found both sources to cover a lot of information and varying information. I then used my personal study materials to fill in any gaps.
    
   
3. Some material you will be very familiar with. Other material you may have never heard of. As I began studying, I was surprised at how much I knew and how much I had never heard of. This was based on what my graduate program focused on. Do not get stuck or discouraged at this point! Recognize that there will be material you will be learning for the first time and other material that you will just need to review.
    
   
4. Topics to Focus on:
   
   
   1. All theories and founding/significant theorists
      
   2. Systems Theory and Cybernetics
      
   3. DSM diagnoses and how to treat some diagnoses using systemic theories Ethics
      
   4. Terms in the FSI glossary
      
   5. Assessment Tools
      
   6. Research
      
   7. Abusive Relationships
       
      
5. Pick the best answer to the question. 
   
   Most of the questions on the exam are scenario questions. There were a few direct questions on terms however most were scenarios. There will be more than one correct answer! I found this to be the hardest part. You will need to pick out the best answer to the question being asked. Make sure to read the questions carefully. You will be able to flag questions that you want to go back to. I definitely encourage you to flag what you do not know and come back to it instead of spending the time on that question.
6. Give yourself a good amount of time to study.
   
   Overall, I studied for about two months. The first month I spent reading the FSI Study Guide Book from cover to cover and listening to the CDs. I mostly focused on learning the material I did not know and then reviewing what I did. At a suggestion by a coworker, I studied all of the terms in the glossary at the back of the FSI Study Guide Book. The second month, I focused on reviewing the material from FSI, reading the MFT Secrets book, and taking practice questions. I did not find the FSI Practice Questions very helpful. I highly recommend taking the AMFTRB Practice Exam. You can choose to have an extra hour in time on the practice exam. I would suggest doing this so you can carefully go over each question. The practice exam is very similar in format and questions to the real exam. I ended up taking it twice and felt it was worth the expense.
    
   
7. It can take up to 4 weeks to get the results of your exam.
   
   The results will come by mail so be sure to have the correct mailing address when applying for the exam. The results come a certain period of time after the testing period closes. If you are impatient, take the exam on the last day of that testing period and you will get the results sooner!
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Good Luck!