# Navigating Uncertainty: The Holy Trinity for MFT Exam Questions đ§
During your MFT exam, there will be times when youâll have absolutely no idea what the exam is asking you to answer. đ€ŠđŸââïž Especially case scenarios and vignettes.
Maybe the question seems too vague⊠too fuzzyâŠor even too DETAILED, and youâre not sure whatâs most important to focus on.
When that happens⊠and you donât know in your question whatâs up or down, left or right, donât panic.
Because when somethingâs unclear, you can always turn to some therapist best practices.
I like to call them.. âThe Holy Trinity.â đ
The Holy Trinity Rule for Answering Your MFT Exam Questions
The Holy Trinity will help you better pick the best answers to confusing questions on the exam. And it ALSO applies to real-life therapy situations.
âïž By the way, hopefully, by this point, youâve also followed the best practice of eliminating the two least-likely questions first. (We will cover this tip later â stay tuned.) Now, you have two left to decide between. âïž
Okay, so, Holy Trinity. You ready? Here are the Big Three to rememberâŠ
## #3 Seek Supervision / Consultation
In real life, if weâre lost or confused or struggling with a client, itâs actually in our code of ethics to engage a supervisor or fellow colleague(s) for peer support and consultation.
And itâs the same for hypothetical scenarios within the exam.
If youâre looking at a question and donât know what the exam is telling you youâre supposed to do⊠or if you have no clue what in the world the answer is⊠âseek consultationâ or âseek supervision.â
## #2 Confidentiality
Confidentiality... the established privacy and consequent trust between parties that is the bedrock of the therapist-client relationship.
Confidentiality is structured and mandated by both state and federal law. And is only to be broken by specific exceptions trained to us from day #1 of graduate school.
We protect our clientsâ privacy by all means⊠not revealing anything they tell us during sessions without their express consent or extenuating circumstances.
So, if a question is confusing about how to handle a specific client situation, always remember that 9 times out of 10, an answer protecting client confidentiality is likely correct.
## #1 Safety â
Safety trumps EVERYTHING.
If anything imparts a threat to the client, their loved ones, other people in their lives, or their community, or the public⊠SAFETY FIRST.
If a question has something to do with threats of self-harm or danger to others, those are glaring and easy to account in an answer usually. Again, trained into us since day #1.
But also, the exam throws out scenarios and situations not as pronounced but similarly âcrisis adjacentâ. Such examples include:
active domestic violence, happening presently in said scenario
devastating life transitions (i.e. job loss, spouse or children death)
severe risky behavior (i.e. habitual detrimental drug abuse, manic episodes)
or the client stating feelings of hopelessness or despair.
Such are also accountable safety issues to address when seeking your best answer.
So, commit these three best practices to memory.
- #1 - Supervision/Consultation
- #2 - Confidentiality
- #3 - Safety
Aaaand, extra tip. Sometimes if you see more than one of these best practices in one answer⊠that could very well be your winner.
You got this. đ