Update (9/18/24): As of this update, we are up to 43 tests on our book test list, with another 50 ready to go!
The Home Study Program is a great way to earn up to 10 CEU per book at your own pace.
There are three options for Home Study:
Choose a book from the Home Study list immediately below. Click on the book title to go to the test-purchase website.
Please note: Test purchase does not include book purchase.- Write a book test for MaMHCA and get 10 CEU for free. Click here to learn how to choose a book from our Books That Need Tests list and start writing. New: Use our new How to Make a Home Study Quiz (A Teaching Quiz!) to get a refresher on the testwriting guidelines.
- Is there a book not on either list for which you would like to write a test? Click here to learn more!
- I forgot to submit a test by a deadline. What do I do? Read here to learn more.
If you would like to write a home study test, please follow the below criteria:
- Fill out this form. Wait on a confirmation email before you start to write the test.
- When you're ready to submit the test, just follow these guidelines:
A. Send the test as an attached Word document, RTF, or TXT. Google Doc and other proprietary formats cannot be accepted.
B. The test must have at least 30 questions.
C. A maximum of 15 questions can be true/false. All other questions can be any other type listed below.
D. Questions can be: multiple choice with one correct answer, and multiple choice with multiple correct answers (choose all that apply).
E. For each question, note or highlight the correct answer(s), and note or highlight the page number where that verifying information can be found in the book. - Please proofread your test before submission. A typo or two isn't a problem, but if the language is unclear that revision is needed to clarify meaning, then test is not considered submitted until a legible copy is submitted.
- If you would like to see how a test eventually looks on the testing platform (and for a different view of how to write a test), take a look at How to Make Home Study Quiz (A Teaching Quiz)!
See the guidelines below for submitting a book in order to write a test. You can apply to write a test using this form. Please wait on a confirmation email before you start to write the test.
| Criteria | Examples that work | Examples that don't work |
| The subject matter must focus on an audience of clinicians or clients. | The Gift of Therapy by Irvin Yalom | Letters to a Young Poet by Rainier Marie Rilke |
| The author must be a clinician or a researcher or educator with subject matter expertise. Unfortunately, credentials solely relying on renown or nonacademic certifications are excluded. | ADHD 2.0 by George Hallowell | How to Get Organized Without Resorting to Arson by Liz Franklin, Cubicle Anthropologist |
| The subject matter must focus on a clinical mental health topic or a topic that informs mental health treatment. | Trauma-Informed Yoga: A Toolbox for Therapists by Joanne Spence and Amy Weintraub | Doga: Yoga for Dogs by Jennifer Brilliant and William Berloni |
| The subject matter must be nonfiction and focus in large part on clinical intervention or running a clinical business. At present, we cannot accept books focused on epidemiology or community-level interventions. | Health at Every Size by Lindo Bacon | Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil |
| The publication must be a published book or e-book. It cannot be a prepublication, research paper, dissertation, or government report. It cannot be a video or other media format. Vanity publications and self-prints are not completely out of the question, but other qualifications must be rigorous. | The Discriminating Therapist by Michael Yapko (an example of a good vanity publication buoyed by other credentials) | Crappy Parenting: An Illustrated Guide by Amber Dusick |
| Can I write a test for a book I wrote? | If you satisfy the above criteria, yes! |
How are deadlines set and why?
Program deadlines for writing a book test are set at 6 months from the confirmation email. If you do not write a test for a book within 6 months of claiming it, it goes back into circulation and another individual can claim it to write a test.
I overshot the 6-month deadline. What do I do?
If you have overshot deadline, it is possible that someone may have claimed the book in the interim. The best option is to just reply to the original confirmation email and ask about the book status before doing anymore work on the project.
I just received a confirmation email to write a book test, but it is October 1 and the deadline was set for November 15. Why do I have a shortened deadline?
The program deadlines are always 6 months from your confirmation email. However, if you are seeking CEUs for a licensure cycle, and the end of that cycle is coming up before the 6-month deadline, you may have received a shortened deadline of November 15. You must submit your test by November 15 to receive CEUs for that cycle. If you want to write the test for the next renewal cycle, you can go by the 6-month deadline instead.
If I get confirmation to write a test on December 10, 2023, and submit the test January 1, 2024, can I get CEUs retroactively applied to the licensure cycle ending 2023?
No, the program cannot do that.
I overshot the November 15 deadline and sent the test in on December 24. I really need those CEUs. Why can't you just do this one for me?
The Home Study program is a labor of love run by a group of small group of committed volunteers and part-timers, many of whom also have full-time clinical practices or other educational or administrative responsibilities in addition to the work they do for MaMHCA.
It is an unfortunate fact of life that the license renewal cycle ends at a time of year when clinical work, family responsibilities, and vacation take precedence. I cannot in good faith ask team members who might be coordinating travel or holidays, caregiving in other capacities, and working other jobs to drop those other responsibilities to attend to late entries. The November 15 deadline allows us to maintain work-life balance during the holidays.
If you really need a couple CEUs in late December, my first recommendation is to check out the books on our Home Study book list. Many are available as e-books through Amazon or through e-book apps offered by your local library. If you're really stuck, you can receive all your CEUs through the Home Study program.
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