Miracles Happen!

Yes, miracles still do happen! I took the state social work exam and actually passed!! Just to make sure I wasn't going to get sick from not eating for 4 hours, we went out for steak the night before, and then we went out to breakfast before my test. I had delicious strawberry crepes and hashbrowns. I'm always so happy after I eat a good meal when I'm pregnant. :) And, I was able to last the entire testing time without getting sick.

I love my husband. For Christmas, he got me like 3 or 4 boxes of Gushers. Every time we go shopping, I make some comment about how much I love Gushers and then wipe drool off my face as we pass the fruit snacks. He must have picked up the idea that I liked Gushers...! Every time I open one of the packets to eat some, I have to go over and kiss him because those Gushers just make me soooo happy!


He also got me a "new" violin bow -- originally he was going to get me a new one until we found out that warped bows can be repaired! Who knew?! Anyway, that option was much better than paying for a new one. It's still in the shop being repaired, but I can't wait to get it back and test it out.

Avery got a play kitchen from Grandma and Grandpa Lemmon, which she LOVES! We enjoy sitting at the play table and eating plastic food. She loves the Christmas tree lights. Each morning she'll come out and say "sha," for "star" because she wants the lights and star plugged in. Then she'll sit on my lap on the ground in front of the tree, and we'll just look at it. It's fun to have her be old enough to start enjoying little things like that! We've also been teaching her the "one-finger touch" method for the ornaments. It was impossible to have her not touch the tree at all, so we tell her that she can touch things with one finger. It works most of the time, and keeps us from having to rescue the little ornaments all the time.

I gave Nathan an MP3 player for Christmas because whenever we drive places, we always want to listen to books on tape, but have no way to do it. We've downloaded a ton of free online courses that Yale University has on its website (we've been listening to New Testament and Music 101). It's been fun to go through and learn lots of new things with Nathan while we drive places. I'm a fan of MP3 players. Sure beats the radio most days!

Here are some Richardson family pics we got taken back in September. I was so sick that day that I ended up being an hour late for pictures, and had to sit down with my puke bowl between shots so I didn't ruin my white shirt. :)









Next post I'll have all the Christmas pics up! And Nathan and I are planning on moving in June or July next year. We'd love to go to Western Oregon (close to Northern California as possible), but it's looking like Yuma, AZ may be Nathan's best employment option so far. So, we've got lots of big decisions to make in the next few months!

Back to Studying

Hellooo world! I am almost done hibernating. I promise. I've even found my camera USB cord so I can download more pictures. But first, I "get to" (how's that for optimistic?) take the Clinical Social Work Licensure Exam on Wednesday, Dec. 22. It's something I could have taken right after I graduated last year, but Avery came a week after I graduated, and we moved, then we moved 4 months later, then I started managing a trailer park, so I wasn't really focused enough to take it! :)

But now that things had settled down a bit, I realized that now is better than when I have another newborn in a few months! I've been studying for the last two months, and have really started to buckle down this past month. On Saturday, Nathan took Avery all day and I studied for six hours! I usually am only able to get 1-2 hours in per day during Avery's nap, so I was really grateful for Nathan's wonderfulness! Here's a pic of us from last Christmas in CA. :) That's as good as it'll get until post-test blogging.




Then, yesterday, Sarah took her all day, and I got another 6 hours of studying in! I'm starting to get a feel for the exam and how the questions work. And, my practice exam scores have been improving, although they're not at where they need to be. After studying for so long, I think my brain turns to mush at the end of the day! I'll be soooo happy when this is over. I thought that when I graduated from grad school that I'd never have to take another test again. I was wrong. But, I can safely say, that if I pass this exam (that has a 75% passing rate), THAT will be the LAST test I ever have to take. I think.

What does it mean if I pass? It means I get to go from being "Jelaire Richardson, MSW" (Masters in Social Work) to being "Jelaire Richardson, CSW." (Clinical Social Worker) Then, after 4,000 hours (two years full-time) of clinical supervised work (preferably doing marriage/individual/family therapy), I'll finally be at "LCSW," which is "Licensed Clinical Social Worker," and that's where I want to end up some day. They call it "getting your 'L'." It probably won't be soon though. At least not until my family is grown. But, I'm ok with that. It just means I get to be their little therapist first. :)

The test is a 170-question, 4-hour long, multiple choice test that covers mental health diagnoses in little vignettes, statistics (my least favorite), theories, modes of treatment for disorders, substance abuse treatment, proper medication for mental disorders, communication, supervision in an agency, ethics, etc. Here are three typical questions from the last practice exam I took. It's time to test your social worker skills:

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1. A 9-year-old boy lives at home with his remarried mother, stepfather, and three-year-old half-sister. The boy is sometimes ignored and mistreated by both his mother and stepfather. The treatment does not rise to the level of severe abuse, but the situation is worsening and the boy is beginning to show signs of emotional disturbance. The stepfather seems to resent the boy's presence in the home and has little insight into his own behavior. Both parents claim they do not wish to place the boy. After failing to improve the situation by working with the boy's mother and stepfather, what strategy should the child welfare worker recommend for the boy's welfare?

A. Temporary foster home placement to prevent further mistreatment, while the parents receive treatment
B. Permanent separation of the boy from his family as the best means of preventing his continued exposure to the unsatisfactory pressures in the household.
C. Placement of the boy and a stem warning to the parents that similar action will be taken on behalf of the younger child should the situation warrant.
D. Temporary placement of the boy with a foster family until the stepfather is no longer in the household.


2. A seventeen-year-old male high school student is referred to a social worker in a mental health agency by the school counselor. He has a history of minor delinquency, suspensions from school, and truancy. Although his parents support him financially, they have withdrawn emotional support, saying he is not welcome to remain at home after graduation. They are not interested in participating in therapy with their son. Rather, they are anxious for him to finish school, join the army, and leave home. To help the boy best, the social worker should:

A. help the boy develop some insight into his feelings and behavior with the goal of
preparing him for independent living.
B. Agree with the boy that his parents are delinquent in their responsibilities toward him and help him accept the situation.
C. insist on family therapy, to help the boy and his parents deal with their feelings and
reality problems.
D. stress the parent's responsibility to remain responsible for their son even after graduation.

AND....


3. Sally is a 44-year-old nurse who has had several brief extramarital affairs during her 20-year marriage. A year ago, she was involved in a long-term affair that ended when she was diagnosed with colon cancer that required a temporary colostomy. Despite successfully reversing the colostomy and returning to normal functioning, making a good recovery from cancer, and having a positive recommitment to her marriage, Sally is confused as she finds herself quite depressed. She makes an initial appointment with the cancer center social worker and asks for a treatment recommendation. The social worker should suggest:

A. that Sally join a cancer support group.
B. that despite re-stabilizing her health and her marriage, she would benefit from
individual therapy for depression.
C. that Sally and her husband should enter marital therapy to work on their longstanding problems.
D. that Sally's strength in coping with cancer and in recommitting to her marriage shows that she can do well without professional intervention.

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Wasn't that so FUN??!! Yeah, 170 questions like that, and I start thinking things like, "I don't care if Martha's schizophrenic husband is torturing their hamster. It's just a pet. I'd tell her just to deal with it and be grateful it's not her." Haha, just kidding, but it does wear on your brain.

Anyway, the answers for the questions above are 1.A, 2.A, and 3.B. How'd you do? The frustrating part is reading some of the rationale for their answers. Sometimes I completely disagree with how they would've handled the situation. Some of the answers are pretty liberal (the three above were good, fair, questions, though), but I guess that's one of the things I'm learning by taking these practice exams: how to answer the questions like they want me to.

Ok, well, I'm off to studying again!