Show Notes

Kayla: Welcome back to the Designer Practice Podcast and I’m your host Kayla Das.

Are you in CRPO exam preparation mode and experiencing test anxiety as a result? Maybe you’ve been struggling with the overwhelming number of topics to learn.

Well, in today’s episode, Faith Balshin, Registered Psychotherapist and Test-Prep Educator, will share strategies for managing test anxiety and provide CRPO exam preparation tips.

Hi, Faith. Welcome to the show. I’m so glad to have you here today.

Faith: Hi, I’m so glad to be here. I’m happy that we’re able to connect today and I’m excited to talk.

Kayla: Yeah, this is amazing. And it’s a topic that we have not talked about on the podcast in the past. And I know that there’s so many listeners, in Ontario that are like, I need to listen to this episode. I need tips to be able to pass my CRPO exam. So, I’m super excited to have you here.

But before we dive into today’s topic, please introduce yourself, where you’re from, and tell us a little bit about your practice journey and really why you became a test prep educator for the CRPO exam.

Faith: Yes, absolutely. And on that note, I’m so happy that the listeners in Ontario are going to have this resource. I completely understand. It can be really daunting experience studying for this test, but of course, I know we’ll get into it.

So yeah, a little bit about me. I’m a Registered Psychotherapist. I have my own private practice in Ontario, and I work with a lot of different populations. I have a little bit of different specialties. And I’m sure similar to a lot of people, my practice journey has been very unique in the sense of, I had no idea that going into school, I was going to leave as someone in the psychology field. So, in terms of my journey, I went through a lot of different ups and downs. I thought I wanted to be a physician, realized it wasn’t for me. So, then a dentist, then an optometrist, took the OAT, so I have lots of experience with different standardized tests, did not want to do that at the end of the day. Got into chiropractic college, went there for the first two months, realized, “Oh my goodness, this is not for me, what am I doing?” Ultimately to find my, sort of, calling as a Registered Psychotherapist, providing services and consultations for individuals.

So, that’s a little bit about sort of the journey to get there. Within my own practice right now, as I mentioned, I work with a lot of different populations. I specialize in a few different areas of concerns. Whether it be anxiety, depression, anger management. ADHD, self-esteem, peer relationships. I do couples therapy as well. So, I have a little bit of different specializations there. And I also have a specialty with older adults and I’m currently doing my doctorate at Queen’s University in Rehabilitation Science and my dissertation and focus is going to be on older adults and fear of falling. So, a little bit of a specialty with older adults as well.

And as I’ve been through this journey, and even just within my own practice journey, my test experiences have definitely been different and unique to say the least. And this is sort of what led me to take a step back and realize, hey, there’s a lot of people out there struggling with the CRPO exam. It is a very big part of licensing. And it kind of inspired me to take a step back and implement some programs to help people ease their concerns and ease their stress.

Kayla: I love it. So, tell us a little bit about your experience taking the CRPO exam.

Faith: Absolutely. So, within my own experience, essentially before I took the exam, there was minimal information about this exam. I had absolutely no idea what to study, how to go about this. And of course, I developed a little bit of that test anxiety, which by the way, I don’t typically have because I feel like I have guidelines and instructions and understanding. But I felt like it was very vague with the CRPO exam.

And then once I actually did the exam. I realized, wow, I really didn’t even study the right things. So that was definitely a whirlwind experience. After I finished the exam, I was very anxious because just as much as I didn’t have materials to prepare or study or have an understanding, I did not understand the process of grading, scoring. I did not understand what happens during the test. I didn’t understand the waiting period. There was just a lot of misunderstanding and that caused a lot of anxiety for me. Thank goodness I got my results back. I passed. Everything’s fine.

But I had went through a really big whirlwind for a few months and reflecting on that I realized was it even necessary? Unfortunately, it wasn’t. All of that could have been avoided and resolved if I had direction, understanding, guidance. I had a little bit of an understanding of preparation. Of course, it’s not easy to prepare in that sense, and there isn’t sort of like an A, B, C, D, but there is so much understanding and preparation. In many different ways that I could have had that definitely would have eased my concerns. And after reflecting on how I felt in that moment, I took a step back and I said, “Hey, you know what? It’s not necessary for all of these people to feel like this.” And then I started to go on Facebook and in the different groups, this was after I even took the exam.

And I started to look and there’s a lot of individuals who are asking the same questions, experiencing the same anxieties that I felt. And I said to myself, “Is it necessary?” And maybe I can come up with some type of program and plan and different materials to help people reduce as much anxiety as possible, because at the end of the day, it’s not worth it. I always say life is short and I can either suffer through something that I have to do or not.

And my goal, even just as a clinician and as a human is helping people not feel unnecessary stress and anxiety. And if I can do that with my own colleagues, I said, “You know what? That’s one of my goals in life.”

Kayla: That’s fabulous. So, when we think of these standardized assessments like the CRPO exam, what do you think are some of the major contributions to test anxiety for therapists in this case?

Faith: Great question. So, I would say in terms of a general perspective, I would say the generalized anxiety surrounding standardized testing. I think that is a big thing that’s been ingrained in our society with these standardized tests in very different professions. And I think there’s a lot of anxiety related to that standardized test because it seems big. It’s huge. It’s like a make-or-break situation because we need to take the test in order to get the full licensing. And then it’s like what happens if this, if we fail, if we don’t do this, if that. So, I think on a general, Perspective that generalized anxiety related to the standardized testing is a big contributor to, of course, anxiety surrounding the CRPO test.

And then more on a specific level, as I was mentioning before, I think a lot of registrants feel lost. They don’t know where to start. They don’t know how to navigate the exam. And there is minimal amount of explanation from the CRPO, minimal amount of studying or materials. I think that some of the other programs out there are hundreds and hundreds of dollars. We don’t know. So, there’s just a lot of feeling lost and not sure how to get through it and navigate, as I mentioned before.

And I also think that there is, of course, with a standardized test, there’s a large fee. So, you’re paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Are you going to pass? What’s happening? Am I prepared? I think a lot of these types of questions go through the registrant’s minds. And of course it invokes that anxiety, that fear. Altogether I believe it’s a scary experience because of those contributing factors.

Kayla: I’m not sure if this is the case for the CRPO, but I know some standardized tests for certain professions actually have a maximum amount of time you can take the exam, usually like three times, and if you don’t pass it, then that’s it. See you later. Is that the same with the CRPO exam?

Faith: Yeah, great question. Yes, there is a limited amount of times that you can take the exam. So you can take it about three times. And then after you take it the third time, and let’s say you fail, then there are further steps that need to be implemented. And essentially, I don’t know the details around that, but you end up discussing something with the CRPO. So yeah, there is a limited amount of time. And I believe great point that also contributes to that anxiety. This is not unlimited. So what happens if I A, B, and C, if I fail once, if I fail twice, if I fail, and I’ve worked with people who failed. So it is possible.

Kayla: Yeah, for sure. And this kind of comes from a different perspective, though, is that when we experience fear, or like nervousness or anxiety, sometimes it comes from a place that we really want something, right? We really want to pass. It’s our career. It’s something that is so important to us. And then what happens if we don’t, right? And that’s what goes through people’s minds when, the anxiety is just heightened as if I don’t pass. I can’t do what I love. And if I can’t do what I love, what do I do? Right? So, then it’s this whirlwind of anxiety. But going back to your point, if there was people like yourself, helping therapists through the exam, understanding it, preparing themselves instead of just going out there and trying to find out what it is that they need to do. That’ll help ease some of that anxiety.

Faith: Absolutely. I couldn’t have said it better myself. 100%.

Kayla: So, from your experience as a test prep educator, what are some of the most common questions or concerns you get CRPO exam? And how do you address those questions when they’re asked?

Faith: So, I actually get a lot of different types of questions. I’m going to categorize them into two major groups. First group, questions on content. So, any type of questions surrounding the exam, right? Like the content and what type of scenarios and that kind of stuff. Second group of question, I would say more administrative. So that is, I’m going to group that as technological questions because it’s an online exam. Plus, the admin questions of clicking and this and that and do you do this and do that. So, I would say the first cluster being the content. And I would include even like structure of that as well. Like what’s the structure, the format, the content, and then the next is the technological admin stuff. Those are the two main clusters of questions that I get.

And because of this, that is something that I address in grave detail in a lot of detail within my preparation materials. So, for example, my CRPO workshop is an extensive overview of structure, content, format, grading, scoring, understanding. Plus, the technological piece, the administrative piece, what’s going to happen. So, I walk you through all of that. And we also do practice exercises and practice examples as well. And I essentially really try my best to just prepare everyone in the best way possible to help them ease anxiety. And I always say, I can never predict, you never know what’s going to happen on the test, but not focusing on that more building that trust in yourself and having that better understanding of, “Hey, I have an understanding of what’s going on. I have a general understanding. Now I just need to trust myself to navigate through.” And then with my prep package materials, that is if you’re an individual who likes to be more practical. I have my 15 mock bulk case scenarios, mock exercises, information all written as well, content, resources, helpful links, all that kind of stuff to also help people feel better prepared.

Kayla: That’s amazing. That sounds like such a great resource for any therapist who is going to write the CRPO exam. Do you have any additional advice, insights, or tips for listeners who might be experiencing test anxiety regarding the CRPO exam preparation?

Faith: Absolutely. Ultimately, trusting yourself and remembering nothing in life is perfect. There’s going to be ups and downs. Let me just do the best that I can gather as much information as possible. See what works best for me. And ultimately just take that deep breath, go in, build that trust in yourself. And at the end of the day, you’ve been through your whole life and you’ve ended up here. What does that show you that it’s going to get figured out, even if we don’t know what that looks like. So really just having that trust in yourself and taking it one step at a time. Yeah, we can’t predict the future, but what do we know? We know ourselves and just getting through it ultimately one step at a time. And, doing what you need to do. If it means taking a course, if it means getting materials, absolutely. If it means not. Absolutely. Just trust yourself. Do what makes you feel like this is the best decision for you. And whatever happens, you will figure it out and it’ll get resolved as everything else in your life has to this point.

Kayla: Great advice. So, Faith, you have a CRPO exam preparation, course and preparation package. Can you share what those resources include and how can they help listeners who are preparing to take the CRPO exam?

Faith: Yes, for sure, for sure. So, I’ll start with my CRPO exam preparation workshop. So, this is an hour and a half interactive virtual workshop, and we go over everything there. We go over the structure, content, format, what the exam is looking for, different types of scenarios, as I mentioned before. Information about the exam, technological requirements, and it’s an interactive piece where the group engages in meaningful discussion. I explain everything, go over things, then we have time for questions, and it is going to happen in a couple of weeks. Our first CRPO exam prep workshop is happening on October 6th. I have three dates coming up. So, the first one being October 6th, the second one being October 20th, and the third one being November 3rd.

I’m also very flexible in the sense of if those times don’t work, reach out to me any time, shoot me an email, text or call me, I can do smaller groups and individual sessions as well, something that I do. So, you can reach out any time if you have any questions about that. But essentially yes, so the workshop is that interactive experience where we go into everything in substantial detail, and the goal being, have you have a better understanding of it. the exam and what it’s about and its structure, content, format, grading, scoring to hopefully ease your anxiety and easier concerns there. As well as having an understanding of the technological requirements, the length, what happens, different tips and tricks. I go over a lot of different tips and tricks to help you feel a little bit more prepared in the best way possible. So that is my CRPO exam preparation workshop.

The CRPO exam preparation package is a prep package and it has extensive practice exercises for learners who want to practice and you don’t necessarily need that interactive experience. I will add for the workshop, after workshop completion, you do get additional materials. So, I give you some practice examples and some materials in relation to the workshop, just so you have things in writing. So, for the CRPO exam prep package, it’s just an expansion of that. So extensive mock exercises and case simulations. So, I have 15 full case scenario simulations with answer keys, nine mock exercises with answer keys, tips and tricks, helpful resources, links, and information regarding the exam all in a package that I email to you that is essentially available anytime. And like I mentioned it’s for learners who want the additional practice exercises. And I would say I get a lot of questions which one the workshop the exam the prep package or both I would say it depends on the learner I have some people who just do the workshop they’re totally fine. Some people who just do the CRPO exam package. Perfect. Great for them. Some people who do both. Essentially, I have people who sometimes do the exam prep package and they’re like, “Hey, I want to have that interactive experience” and vice versa. So, it’s essentially whatever works best for you.

Kayla: So, to sign up for Faith’s, CRPO exam prep workshop and package, check out kayladas.com/faithcrpoexamprep, or you can simply scroll down to the show notes and click on the link.

And Faith, what if someone is listening to this podcast after those dates? You have workshops several times throughout the year. Is that correct?

Faith: Yes, absolutely. Several times. And I also offer Individual sessions in smaller groups and the prep package is offered year-round.

Kayla: So, if we’re, say, beyond these dates and someone’s listening to this episode, how can they reach you to get access to all of this?

Faith: So, you can shoot me an email anytime. Email is [email protected] and you can call or text me at (647) 564-2515. I also have reviews of this course on Facebook. So, the Facebook page is CRPO Exam Prep Course and Package by Faith Balshin, Ontario Therapy Centre. So that is my Facebook page, and you can actually find that Facebook page on my website, which is in the links posted below this episode.

Kayla: Faith, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today and discussing ways to manage test anxiety.

Faith: It is my absolute pleasure, Kayla. Thank you so much for having me. This was such a fun experience. It was great speaking with you. And if anyone needs anything, reach out anytime.

Kayla: Thank you everyone for tuning into today’s episode and I hope you join me again soon on the Designer Practice Podcast.

Until next time, bye for now.

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