AMFTRB national MFT exam domains
The 6 content domains, what each one asks you to do, and how you are doing in each.
A study aid, not an official plan. These tools organize your time. They do not predict a score, and they are not official AMFTRB guidance. Your plan stays in this browser and is never sent to us.
Domains at a glance
How to use the domain weights
- Spend study time in proportion to the weights. A domain worth 19% deserves more of your week than one worth 16%.
- Weights are shares of the scored items, so a weak spot in a heavy domain costs more points than a weak spot in a light one.
- The weights add up to 100%. Use your dashboard to see which domain to work on first.
Source: AMFTRB MFT National Examination Handbook for Candidates (2027 edition) and 2026 edition, checked October 30, 2026.
The Practice of Systemic Therapy
641 practice items and 6 flashcards published. Your accuracy: {{ a0 }}
What to be able to do
- Explain core systemic concepts: circular causality, homeostasis, feedback, boundaries, and subsystems.
- Compare the major family therapy models and what each treats as the unit of change.
- Describe how a therapist joins with a client system and builds and repairs the alliance.
- Explain how context, culture, and power shape systemic work.
Key terms
Circular causality, Homeostasis, Feedback loop, Boundaries, Subsystem, Enmeshment and disengagement, Joining, Differentiation of self, Triangulation, Second-order cybernetics, Alliance
Assessing, Hypothesizing, and Diagnosing AI content in this domain
713 practice items and 6 flashcards published. Your accuracy: {{ a1 }}
What to be able to do
- Assess individual, couple, family, and contextual dimensions of a client system.
- Form, test, and revise systemic hypotheses.
- Apply DSM-5-TR diagnosis within a relational frame and explain its limits.
- Choose assessment tools and genograms and interpret them.
- Describe how AI-assisted tools may and may not be used in assessment, and the ethical cautions that apply.
Key terms
Hypothesis, Genogram, Presenting problem, Relational diagnosis, Contextual factors, Family life cycle, Risk and protective factors, DSM-5-TR, AI-assisted assessment
Designing and Conducting Treatment AI content in this domain
740 practice items and 6 flashcards published. Your accuracy: {{ a2 }}
What to be able to do
- Build a treatment plan with goals that fit the client system and the chosen model.
- Apply interventions from structural, strategic, Bowenian, experiential, solution-focused, narrative, and emotionally focused models.
- Plan and run conjoint, individual, and multi-family formats.
- Adapt treatment to culture, diversity, and context.
- Describe how AI tools may support treatment planning and where a therapist remains responsible.
Key terms
Treatment plan, Reframing, Enactment, Restructuring, Miracle question, Externalizing, Emotionally focused therapy, Differentiation, Homework and directives, AI in treatment planning
Evaluating Ongoing Process and Terminating Treatment AI content in this domain
255 practice items and 6 flashcards published. Your accuracy: {{ a3 }}
What to be able to do
- Monitor the therapeutic process and outcomes and adjust the plan.
- Use client feedback and measures to evaluate progress.
- Recognize impasse and ruptures and respond to them.
- Plan termination, referral, and follow-up.
- Describe how AI-generated progress data should and should not be used.
Key terms
Outcome monitoring, Feedback-informed treatment, Impasse, Rupture and repair, Termination, Referral, Follow-up, Premature termination
Managing Crisis Situations
342 practice items and 6 flashcards published. Your accuracy: {{ a4 }}
What to be able to do
- Assess suicide and violence risk with a structured approach.
- Recognize and respond to intimate partner violence and child and elder abuse.
- Apply safety planning and know when mandated reporting applies.
- Manage a crisis in a conjoint session without losing safety or the alliance.
Key terms
Suicide risk assessment, Safety plan, Intimate partner violence, Mandated reporting, Duty to protect, Crisis intervention, Lethal means counseling
Maintaining Ethical, Legal, and Professional Standards AI content in this domain
421 practice items and 6 flashcards published. Your accuracy: {{ a5 }}
What to be able to do
- Apply the AAMFT Code of Ethics to confidentiality in conjoint and family work, including who the client is.
- Handle multiple relationships, boundaries, and sexual intimacy rules.
- Meet record-keeping, informed consent, and telehealth duties.
- Maintain competence, supervision, and self-care.
- Describe how ethical duties apply when AI is used in practice.
- Explain how the AAMFT Code duties of confidentiality, informed consent, competence, and technology-assisted services apply to AI tools.
- Identify privacy risks when client information enters an AI system.
- Describe informed consent for the use of AI in treatment and in documentation.
- Recognize algorithmic bias and its effect on diverse clients.
- State the therapist remains professionally responsible for AI-assisted work.
Key terms
Who is the client, Secrets in conjoint therapy, Informed consent, Multiple relationships, Competence, Technology-assisted services, Records, Supervision, Scope of practice, Artificial intelligence (AI), Privacy and data security, Informed consent to AI use, Algorithmic bias, Technology-assisted services, Professional responsibility, Documentation tools