I'm not going to sugarcoat it — I bombed the CD exam the first two times I sat for it. First attempt I got a 68, needed a 75. Second time, 72. I was spending hours reading the official standards but nothing was sticking, especially the diagnostic criteria sections and the differential diagnosis stuff. My supervisor kept telling me I knew the material but I was freezing up on the questions.
What finally changed things for the third attempt was switching to active recall instead of passive reading. I started working through a CD practice test every single morning before work — just 20 questions, timed. That forced me to actually retrieve information rather than just recognize it. I also built out a study guide organized by disorder cluster rather than by DSM chapter, which made the overlapping symptoms way easier to keep straight.
Passed with an 81 on attempt three. Wanted to share what worked in case anyone else is grinding through this. Happy to answer questions about specific content areas or study timelines if that helps.