The ASWB Clinical exam changed on August 3, 2026. It now has 122 questions instead of 170, three content areas instead of four, and some questions with three answer options instead of four. Ethics carries far more weight than before, at about 36 percent of scored questions. Your clinical knowledge still counts. It's just organized differently, so it helps to know the new layout before you sit.

In this live two-day course, Dr. John K. Smith, a longtime Motivo supervisor who has guided more than fifty pre-licensed clinicians toward licensure, walks you through the new exam and the reasoning it rewards. On both days you'll work exam-style vignettes as a group, answering in the chat or a poll before Dr. Smith reveals the answer and explains why it's the best one.

Day 1: How the new exam works, and ethics

• What changed, how the exam is scored, and the steps to get approved to test
• How to read a question: what FIRST, NEXT and BEST are asking, and how to rule out distractors
• Area I, Values, Ethics and Regulation: the ethical decision sequence, confidentiality and its limits, and the standards people most often misapply
• Two ethics vignettes, worked together

Day 2: Assessment, diagnosis and intervention

• Area II: the assessment sequence, the mental status exam, differential diagnosis, and suicide and violence risk
• Substance use on the new exam: screening, withdrawal and level of care, and co-occurring presentations
• Area III: matching the intervention to the client, and why sequence decides so many questions
• Your study plan, and time for your questions

What you'll receive

Registered participants receive the session recordings and a resource pack to keep studying with: a study guide, two practice exams and flashcards. The recordings are shared with registered participants only.

Who it's for

Social workers preparing for the ASWB Clinical exam. The course isn't state-specific, and it works alongside whatever else you're using to study.

Schedule

Thursday, October 15 and Friday, October 16, 2026, 11am to 1pm ET (8 to 10am PT) both days, live on Zoom. Plan to join both days, since Day 2 builds on Day 1.

Continuing education

This program does not offer continuing education credit.

This licensure preparation program and materials associated with it were not included in the Association of Social Work Boards Approved Continuing Education (ACE) review and are not approved by ASWB for continuing education nor endorsed by ASWB in any manner.

Questions or accommodation requests: learn@motivohealth.com