I passed the Association of Social Worker Board clinical license exam last week. I spent the previous six weeks prepping for the exam using a popular exam prep course. Even with all the prep, I still found myself struggling through the exam. I decided to use some of the same concepts I use in therapy to help me get through the exam….AND IT WORKED. Here is a little story of how I did it.
I love my job. Particularly, I love helping people address their relationship to challenges in life. I use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, more commonly known as “ACT”, in my work with others. ACT is a form of psychotherapy that utilizes six concepts related to mindfulness, values, and action that help a person achieve psychological flexibility. Simply put…ACT helps people decrease the psychological struggles in their life.
In studying for this exam, I was told to expect feelings of doubt, uncertainty, and failure. It makes sense why someone would feel that. It is a four-hour exam that tests conceptual recall, clinical reasoning, and ethical application. Many of the test taking suggestions were similar to the ACT principles I teach my clients, including mindfulness, changing the relationship with my thoughts, allowing for uncomfortable feelings, and feeling “stuck”.
On the day of the exam, I got myself ready by listening to a playlist of upbeat songs. A friend suggested I listen to some songs by RuPaul and Drag Race, namely “Sissy That Walk” and “Kitty Girl”. I felt good walking into the exam, however as soon as I was sitting in front of that screen….all the unhelpful thoughts and feelings came back. I could feel myself really struggling through the first half of the exam. As suggested, I took a small break halfway through. I went to the bathroom and recognized that I was employing some really unhelpful thoughts. I could also recognize that I was drowning in a sea of self-doubt. I started taking some deep breathes to calm myself and allow those feelings to pass. I started to think more helpful thoughts. When I got back in front of my computer, I envisioned a team of drag queens strutting into the exam room and telling me really encouraging thoughts. For instance, I thought of Trixie Mattel cocking her head to the side, smiling and saying, “Girl….you got this.” The second half of the exam was not without it’s challenges; however, I felt confident in my question choices. Once I saw my passing results, I imagined RuPaul saying, “Shantay, you stay.”
Taking your LCSW exam is not easy. And you know what, it’s not supposed to be. Having unhelpful thoughts and uncomfortable feelings was inevitable. The important thing is I accepted that and changed how much I payed attention to them and decided rather to focus on drag queens to help me through. Feel free to visit the resources tab on my website for ACT resources.
