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(Table of Contents)
Chpt 1: Introduction
Chpt 2: Counselor credentials in WA
Chpt 3: Licensed mental health counselor
Chpt 4: Licensed marriage and family therapist
Chpt 5: Other counseling credentials in WA
Chpt 6: Supervision options for licensure
Chpt 7: Examination options for licensure
Chpt 8: Continuing education requirement

Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology ("MAC")

The MAC Alumni Handbook:
Chapter 7:  Examination Options for Licensure

Licensure offered by the Washington State DOH requires written exams. Of course, the idea of a state-mandated exam is very frightening to most MAC alumni. Perhaps we can calm down your fears somewhat. Remember that the MAC classes you've taken have prepared you for just this kind of situation. If you've done well with our classes, you should do quite well in the bulk of the areas covered in the exams.

There is a fair amount of information on this topic that you need to know and several options to help you prepare. This page should help to point you in some useful directions.

Examinations for LMFTs

The DOH requires two examinations for marriage and family therapy licensure. (However, the second "exam" is really more of a self-study exercise than a true exam).

The first exam is written and distributed by the Association for Marriage and Family Therapists Regulatory Board (AMFTRB) and requires a cashier's check payment of $195. There are no preparation guides for this multiple-choice exam, although the DOH sends applicants a study booklet when the applicant is approved to sit for the exam. Also, you might find it helpful to visit the AMFTRB website www.amftrb.org and view their Candidate's Handbook.  The exam can be retaken up to three times but each time requires an additional payment of the full $195.

The second "exam" is an open-book, take-home exercise, that must be completed within 30 days. DOH provides much of the information on Washington State regulatory laws, including provisions of the uniform disciplinary act, but much of the material is based directly on the RCWs and WACs. The intent is to ensure that applicants know the material rather than a true "testing" per se. This "exam" on Washington State laws cost an additional $50.

Examinations for LMHCs

For those seeking licensure as mental health counselors, the DOH offers a choice between two examinations. Both were written by and are distributed through the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC). Both are administered four times a year in Washington State, and both require an examination fee of $285. Although offering a choice of examination formats provides welcome flexibility, the decision can be a difficult one. We briefly discuss each exam below, but more definitive information can be obtained by talking to MAC alumni who have already gone through the certification or licensure process, telephoning directly to NBCC, and/or reading the various NBCC publications.

The first exam is an objective exam consisting of 250 multiple choice questions in eight substantive areas: Developmental Theory, Gender and Ethnicity, Individual Therapy, Group Therapy, Career Development, Assessment and Treatment Planning, Research and Statistics, and Ethical Counseling.  MAC students generally do well despite the majority of questions coming from non-clinical areas.  The MAC program offers electives in ”Career Counseling” and Research and Statistics” to help provide education in these areas.  However, MAC alumni may pick up this information through less expensive offerings or by independent study.  A study guide with sample multiple-choice questions is available for examination in the MAC office.

The second exam is designed to be a series of clinical simulations.  The test presents case studies and asks questions related to assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.  The advantage of this test is that the questions are all clinically oriented and therefore are closer to the training emphasis of the MAC Program and closer to the type of work in which MAC alumni are more likely to be engaged.  The disadvantage is that the test which NBCC claims is “not subjective” leans heavily toward the individual model and MAC alumni who were trained in a systems view may make assessments and/or recommend interventions which the writers of the exam consider irrelevant diversions from a “correct” medical approach.  A study guide with sample clinical simulations is available  for examination in the MAC office.

  A second decision for MAC students who choose the multiple-choice exam is when to take this exam.  If you are reading this as an alumnus, your decision has already been made.  If you are still a student in the MAC Program, you have a choice of taking the exam at the end or your studies and before collecting your 3,000 hours of experience or taking the exam at the conclusion of your 36 months or 3,000 hours of experience.  The advantage of taking the exam earlier is that your knowledge is more recent and may be more fresh.  There are two advantages of taking it later.  First, you may have acquired additional relevant knowledge to build onto your masters program.   Second, you will be able to graduate with only 42 credit hours and avoid taking the two additional electives required to take the exam early thus saving significant tuition costs.  If you decide to take the exam early, you will be required to take “Career Counseling” and “Research and Statistics” as “electives” for a 48 credit hours.  You must also not complete your required coursework earlier than the semester prior to the one in which you actually take the exam (fall semester).  This means you must time your courses so that you are still taking required courses (such as MAC 692 “Clinical Internship II” during the summer semester.  If all you have left in the summer is an elective (including one or both of “Career Counseling” or “Research and Statistics”) you would not be eligible to sit for the exam.

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