Ben from Becoming a Therapist Vlogs His Experience Studying for the MFT Exam with AATBS

Ben Behnen: Hey there, I'm Ben and I'm here to help aspiring therapist. And today I'm gonna be talking about the national exam for licensure specifically. I just started studying for the marriage and family therapy national exam. And so I'm gonna be doing these vlogs as a way to one. Show kind of the process of what it looks like to study for this test.

And two to talk about tips, tricks, things, I'm finding helpful things that have been challenging. And three honestly, probably just to vent when things get tough. Um, cuz I imagine along the way, it's gonna get tough and I'm not gonna be motivated and I still gotta keep. But I also want to be as helpful to you as I can, whether you're already deep in the process of studying or you're just starting, or you're thinking about studying, um, you know, I want this to be helpful as either a guide or, um, a place of empathy and understanding along the way for you as well.

So there's a lot of different material out there as far as what you can use to study, you know, there's books, there's groups, there's classes, there's online material. Um, or you could just wing it, but , I've heard, that's not great. So I've been trying to figure out, you know, what, what might be the best option there.

And I actually have a colleague who just, uh, took the exam and passed her first time. So she used an online company called a TBS, which has, um, a whole host of different study packages available and particularly to use the, the self-study package, which comes. Um, like two big study volumes that are comprehensive, uh, comes with a bunch of different flashcards it's got practice tests.

It has an initial, um, exam that you take to get kind of a baseline of where you're at. So it sounded really comprehensive. She really loved, it seemed like it was a  Gloria review. So that's what I'm gonna be using. And the cool thing actually is I'm partnering with them. Um, so they're gonna be, they actually gave me a free, uh, package to use.

And at the end of this process, after I've studied and hopefully passed the first time, um, I'm gonna be doing a comprehensive review of how it went. You know what I liked, what I didn't like, what I thought they could improve, what they did really great. They also gave me a 20% discount for any of you who, um, are thinking about wanting to study and looking for, for material.

So, uh, if you want to access that discount, all I'll need is your email address, just so I can send you that code. Um, and you can find the link down below, um, where you can send that to. So, like I said, I just started studying, um, last week now and I I've just done the initial assessment exam to get kind of a baseline of where I'm at.

I haven't been in grad school for about a year and a half now. So I was feeling like, okay, if I got. Around 50%. I feel like there'd be a decent place to start. Uh, thankfully I got 60% so surprised myself a little bit here, but that that's been really helpful to get just like a baseline of, okay, this is where I'm at.

Um, it seemed like a practice test. It was 180 questions. So it was a lot that you go through. It looks like along the way. You know, I take more practice tests as I'm going through the study material that score gets updated to reflect, you know, where I'm at, along the process here. Um, I don't think there's a specific score as far as like, you need to get.

This score in order to pass. And if you get below it, you don't pass from what I've read up on. Um, you know, it seems like each test is a little bit different. It's got a little bit different questions and difficulty. So there, there's not a specific score itself. So right now my initial aim is. 80% to me that feels pretty good of like, okay, I think that should be a passing score, but I am gonna look into that a little bit more to make sure I'm, uh, aiming rightly at this point.

And you know, right now I'm feeling kind of excited to, to start tests. Aren't the most exciting thing. Obvious. But it feels really good to be on that path towards, uh, this next huge step towards getting licensed, you know, after this it's just hours and then your state exam, and you're good to go. So, uh, I think right now that's really motivating for me.

That's exciting. It feels good to actually get into it. Um, but like I said, I'm sure. Who knows how long it's gonna take, but there there's gonna be a time where I hit a wall and it's gonna be hard, but I want to bring you along that journey as well. Like I said, I, I, I would like to be as helpful as possible, whether that's answering questions or just, you know, kind of showing you what I'm doing.

Um, the study habits I'm trying to get into. Just empathizing with the process and how tedious it can be along with seeing clients and having a life outside of that. You know, it's a lot to, to, to take on right now. So if you have any questions or if you just wanna let me know that, you know, you're in this too, I would love that, you know, comment down below.

I'd love to, to hear from you as. I'm also pretty active on Twitter. I post daily about the path of becoming a therapist. So feel free to follow me there, reach out, hear me, whatever I'd love to, to connect with you also, and be sure to subscribe to the channel here, just to keep up to date on how things are going and, um, join me along this process here.

All right. Well, that's it for today. So if you're already studying good luck, I'm here with you along the process. If you've been waiting for a sign to. Here it is. Come join us. We'd love to have you so happy studying and I'll see you soon.