Posts by Rick McCarthy, MFT
Rick McCarthy Public Comments 5-8-26
Rick McCarthy Public Comment 5-8-26 to BBS Board Good afternoon, my name is Rick McCarthy, LMFT, former Oral Examiner. Thank you for the opportunity to return and offer a constructive update. The Opportunity Before Us My purpose today is encouraging: I believe there is a practical path forward to strengthen those standards through a modern,…
Read MoreRick McCarthy’s Public Comments 2-20-26
Rick McCarthy’s Public Comments Good afternoon, my name is Rick McCarthy, LMFT, a former Subject Matter Expert and Oral Examiner for this Board. In 2003 this Board discontinued the oral examination, and California eliminated its only direct method for assessing applied competence at the point of independent licensure for LMFTs. This is the pivotal motivation…
Read MoreRick McCarthy MFT Statement to the California MFT Board
Hello, I’m Rick McCarthy MFT. I am here to respectfully recommend and request the reinstatement of some effective form of the oral exams as an essential component of the licensure process. To Raise the Bar of Competence As a LMFT with nearly 50 years of clinical experience, 28 years of teaching and supervising, and over…
Read MoreClinical Integrity: A Call to Reinstate Oral Exams
In 2003, the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) discontinued the oral examination requirement for licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT). This decision, followed by the eventual elimination of the Written Clinical Vignette Exam in 2016, was justified as part of an effort to streamline licensure and align California with national testing standards.…
Read MoreDealing With Political Confrontations During the Holidays
Dealing with political confrontations during the holidays is a perennial issue for a lot of folks. Cousin Eddie inevitably shouts, “Well, how about that election?” I cannot think of a bigger elephant in the room during your next family Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner than recent political events. If it was a local election regarding a…
Read More