Pretty Much a Rock Star

Tuesday was the big day. The day I took the FOUR hour test to determine if I would become a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW). Once a Social Worker has a Masters Degree they can take the LCSW test and it opens up doors for better jobs. Once you have that license and work for 2 years under a LICSW and receive 100 hours of supervision then you can take the LICSW exam. The exam consists of 170 questions, all of which are multiple choice and made to trick and confuse you. They usually give a brief scenario and expect you to know what type of therapy is being used, what clinical diagnoses someone has as defined by the DSM-IV, how to assess for different things such as Domestic Violence, Suicide Risk, etc. They test your knowledge on stages of development, different types of family therapies, group therapy techniques, defense mechanisms, and on and on and on. It is a lot of information to jam into your head; then you have to apply it to the scenarios they give you and learn how they want you to answer the questions.

I have never been great at multiple choice test, so I was nervous to say the least. I have been studying for months now and really intensely for the last two weeks. It has been such a stressful time!

Tuesday morning I woke up early, got ready, Christian dropped me off in Back Bay, I spend 3 hours and 40 minutes answering all the questions and then pushed the FINISHED button. My hand were sweaty and I was shaking; I was SO nervous. Then the letter came up to tell me if I passed or failed; my eyes would not focus, I could not find any words that meant anything to me. FINALLY, the words CONGRATULATIONS popped out at me. Instantly I put my head in my hands and began to silently sob. Passing this test opens up so many opportunities for me and my family in terms of jobs I can do, my salary etc. It is something I have worked for since I decided to become a Social Worker. It was a really great moment of accomplishment for me. I made it outside the building and instantly called the love of my life to tell him the good news. He screamed, I screamed, and I was all smiles for the rest of the day!

The best news of all is that I NEVER have to study for another test EVER again!

A special thanks to my dad who helped fund the test and some of the study materials! As well as my sweet hubby who allowed me the time to study when he had so much to do himself. And to my sweet friends and mom who sent me encouraging words and texts before the test!

Wahoo! I did it!