This MFT cheat sheet boils the AMFTRB Marriage and Family Therapy exam down to the facts examiners test most, from systemic models to the ethics standards that trip candidates up. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Use it to reinforce the rest of your free MFT toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.

MFT exam at a glance

• Questions: 180 multiple-choice across 6 content domains
• Time: 4 hours
• Scoring: Pass/Fail — criterion-referenced scaled score; all 180 items count
• Passing standard: Cut score set by expert panel (modified Angoff), equated across forms
• Cost: About US $365 examination fee (verify in the AMFTRB Handbook; state licensing fees are separate)

What’s on the MFT cheat sheet

• Designing & Conducting Treatment (24.5%) — goals and contracting, matching interventions to the model, sequencing, and termination criteria — the single largest domain.
• The Practice of Systemic Therapy (24%) — circular causality, homeostasis, first- vs. second-order change, and every major model with its founder and signature techniques.
• Assessing, Hypothesizing & Diagnosing (15.5%) — systemic assessment, genograms, the identified patient, relational diagnosis, and DSM-5-TR integration.
• Maintaining Ethical, Legal & Professional Standards (14%) — AAMFT Code of Ethics, informed consent, confidentiality and the secrets policy, dual relationships, and scope of competence.
• Evaluating Ongoing Process & Terminating Treatment (12%) — monitoring progress, revising the plan when it stalls, planning maintenance, and terminating without abandonment.
• Managing Crisis Situations (10%) — suicide and violence risk assessment, safety planning, duty to warn/protect (Tarasoff), and mandated reporting.

How to use it in your final week

• Memorize the model-to-founder pairings cold — Bowen, Minuchin (structural), Haley/Madanes (strategic), Satir and Whitaker (experiential), de Shazer/Berg (solution-focused), White/Epston (narrative), Johnson (EFT). These are free points.
• Front-load the two biggest domains: Designing & Conducting Treatment (24.5%) and The Practice of Systemic Therapy (24%) are nearly half the exam combined.
• Lock in the crisis and ethics rules — duty to warn/protect (Tarasoff), mandated reporting, informed consent, and the no-secrets policy — since those items reward knowing one clear standard.
• Read the sheet the morning of the test, then pace yourself: 180 questions in 4 hours is about 80 seconds each, so keep a short timed practice set in your routine to hold that rhythm.

The cheat sheet is your review layer — your MFT practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.

MFT cheat sheet FAQ

References

1. 1.Association of Marital & Family Therapy Regulatory Boards. “Handbook for Candidates — MFT National Examination (Content Outline).” amftrb.org, 2026. ↑
2. 2.Association of Marital & Family Therapy Regulatory Boards. “Exam Information.” amftrb.org, 2026. ↑
3. 3.American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. “AAMFT Code of Ethics.” aamft.org, 2026. ↑

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