Certificate of Proficiency: a how to guide - video transcript
This is a sample case study from the Certificate of Proficiency, we will only run through three sections from the case study, but you will get access to this sample paper and another three weeks before your assessment.
This case study is about a client called Joanne. You will be given some background information about the client including the setting you are seeing them in (for example an EAP or private practice), you will also find out whether it is a closed or open ended contract, and what presenting issue that the client is bringing to the therapy.
So in this case study, you are seeing Joanne in a private practice setting, it is an open ended contract and she is struggling to come to terms with the ending of her long term relationship.
We’re going to show you three different sections in this case study. Each section show a different question type. Firstly, Section A asks you to choose as many responses as you think are essential. Sections like this are called ‘Multiple Decision Making’ sections. You are asked what would be important to discuss in the first session out of the nine options below. You can select the options here and it will always ask you if you are sure you want to make this selection. Since this is an example, all options will be selected.
For the purpose of this video we have added scores to the answers to give you more detail on how the scoring system works. On the day, you will not see any scores. Since this is a Multiple Decision-Making section, it will say either Indicated or Not Indicated in response to the selections made. The options have either positive or negative scores associated with them. If you see ‘indicated’ as the response, this implies a positive response and so you will gain points here.
The table shows you the outcomes of selecting all of the statements, all the positive statements, or all of the negative statements. You will notice that the negative scores add up to -6 and the positive scores all add up to +6. This table shows that if you selected all of the answers, you would get a score of 0. This is always the case in a Multiple Decision-Making section. Therefore, if you selected all of the positive statements only, you would get a score of +6. Alternatively, you would get a score of -6 if you selected all negative statements only.
You will also notice that the third and eighth statements have a score of 2. These are deemed as the most appropriate responses in this section which, in turn, makes the passmark 4. You do not need to select these answers to pass the section, but you do need to get 4 points. As an example, you could pass the section by only selecting options 3 and 8 or you could pass by selecting options 2, 3 and 7. However, please bear in mind that you will lose points if you select negative scoring options like 1 and 9. You can get a maximum score of 6 in this section so options 2 and 7 offer two additional bonus points above the passmark.
You can then complete the question and move on to the next section, but please bear in mind you won’t be able to change previous answers. You can always view previous information by using the navigation button.
This section asks what areas you would like to explore with Joanne and this is a chance for you to gain some further information – this is called an Information Gathering section. On this occasion, all positive answers will be selected.
Here you can see that positive answers give you further information about Joanne which may help you further understand her issues. Your success in passing the assessment is not reliant on this as we will always give you the necessary information to complete each section. You do still need to meet the passmark of 4 to pass the section. Again, the scores have been added to show that you can get a maximum score of 6 here with a pass mark of 4. There are 2 bonus points available which will help counteract any negative answers you may select at any other point in the assessment.
Section F is a single decision making section. This type of section asks you to select the most appropriate answer. Therefore you should only choose one, unless you are asked to make another selection. Responses like this are associated with a negative score and so you ideally want to avoid selecting these.
The negative scoring answers here have a score of -2. So you can potentially lose 6 points if you select all three negative answers. However you will gain 2 points for the correct answer. As soon as you select the positive scoring answer you will automatically be taken to the next section. On this occasion, the single decision-making section is at the end of the case study so you can then submit your assessment. In your main assessment, you can move on to the next section.
You can register to attend a Certificate of Proficiency event on our website. You’ll receive an email from TestReach with your log in details two weeks before your booked assessment. You will gain access to this case study and another three weeks before. You can take the sample case studies as many times as you like to help you prepare for the assessment.
Some key points to remember on the day are:
- to carefully consider all of the options before you make a selection
- to read the instructions carefully regarding how many selections to make
- you may gain bonus points which will help if you select a negative scoring answer
We hope this video is helpful and we wish you the best of luck in the assessment.