MCM Pre-Internship Exam case studies
MCM Pre-Internship Exam · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The MCM Pre-Internship Exam is a multiple-choice assessment intended for candidates preparing to begin supervised clinical internship work toward the MCM credential. It is a gate-check on the knowledge you are expected to bring into internship, not a test of advanced specialization: it samples clinical assessment and diagnosis, treatment planning and intervention, psychopharmacology and basic medical knowledge, ethics and professional standards, legal and regulatory issues, crisis intervention and risk management, diversity and cultural competence, research and evidence-based practice, documentation and record keeping, and supervision and consultation. The MCM Pre-Internship Exam case studies are 5 cases and about 2,517 words.
1The Vanishing Referral
A 34-year-old woman, born in rural Guatemala and fluent in Spanish with limited English, is referred by her primary care physician for an intake at a community mental health clinic. She reports 3 months of insomnia, anhedonia, and intrusive thoughts about a car accident in which her brother was injured.
622 words, about 3 min2The Borderline Patient Who Wants to Stop
A 27-year-old man with borderline personality disorder and a history of two suicide attempts (one by overdose 14 months ago) has been in weekly therapy for 6 months. He arrives saying he has decided to stop all treatment, has been cutting his forearm daily for a week, and states, 'I have a plan this time and I've picked the date - I'm not telling you when.' He refuses to sign a safety plan, says he will not go to the ER, and adds that he has been drinking heavily.
476 words, about 2 min3The Diagnosis That Fits Too Well
A 19-year-old college student is brought by her roommate after 5 days of decreased sleep (about 3 hours/night), rapid speech, grandiosity ('I'm going to patent a device that will change energy forever'), and spending $2,000 on electronics. She has no prior psychiatric history and no known substance use.
468 words, about 2 min4The Records Request
A therapist has been treating a 41-year-old woman for 18 months for PTSD related to childhood sexual abuse. The client's attorney in a civil suit against her former employer subpoenas 'all records, including psychotherapy notes,' and the client has signed a broad release.
416 words, about 2 min5The Supervision Blind Spot
A pre-internship trainee is seeing clients at a community clinic under supervision. The trainee's supervisor is overloaded and has moved from weekly individual supervision to 'as-needed' check-ins, often by text.
535 words, about 3 min