The legislature finds that Washington state is in the midst of a behavioral health crisis. Unmet demand for behavioral health services is leading to negative impacts on the health and well-being of many Washingtonians. One of the many causes of this unmet demand is the inadequate number of mental health professionals available to treat Washington residents with behavioral health needs.
The legislature acknowledges the ongoing efforts by state agencies and stakeholders to streamline the licensing processes for certain behavioral health professionals. These efforts have, however, not yielded any meaningful increase in the number of such professionals.
The legislature therefore intends to take action to streamline the licensing process for these professionals by reducing the number of hours of supervised experience required for full licensure, beginning July 1, 2024. The legislature intends to revisit this approach in light of any recommendations resulting from the ongoing work of state agencies and stakeholders if those recommendations are reported to the legislature prior to the 2024 regular legislative session.
This section modifies existing section 18.225.090. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The secretary shall issue a license to any applicant who demonstrates to the satisfaction of the secretary that the applicant meets the following education and experience requirements for the applicant's practice area.
Licensed social work classifications:
(A) Graduation from a master's or doctorate social work educational program accredited by the council on social work education and approved by the secretary based upon nationally recognized standards;
(B) Successful completion of an approved examination;
(C) Successful completion of a supervised experience requirement. The supervised experience requirement consists of a minimum of 1,600 hours with supervision by an approved supervisor who has been licensed for at least two years. Of those supervised hours:
(I) At least 45 hours must include direct supervision as specified in this subsection by a licensed independent clinical social worker, a licensed advanced social worker, or an equally qualified licensed mental health professional. Of those hours of directly supervised experience:
At least 25 hours must include supervision by a licensed advanced social worker or licensed independent clinical social worker; the other 20 hours may be supervised by an equally qualified licensed mental health practitioner; and
At least 20 hours must be in one-to-one supervision and 25 hours may be in one-to-one supervision or group supervision; and
(II) Four hundred hours must be in direct client contact; and
(D) Successful completion of continuing education requirements of 36 hours, with six in professional ethics.
ii. Licensed independent clinical social worker:
(A) Graduation from a master's or doctorate level social work educational program accredited by the council on social work education and approved by the secretary based upon nationally recognized standards;
(B) Successful completion of an approved examination;
(C) Successful completion of a supervised experience requirement. The supervised experience requirement consists of a minimum of 2,000 hours of experience, over a period of not less than three years, with supervision by an approved supervisor who has been licensed for at least two years and, as specified in this subsection, may be either a licensed independent clinical social worker who has had at least one year of experience in supervising the clinical social work of others or an equally qualified licensed mental health practitioner. Of those supervised hours:
(I) At least 500 hours must be direct client contact; and
(II) Hours of direct supervision must include:
At least 65 hours by a licensed mental health practitioner;
At least 35 hours of supervision with a licensed independent clinical social worker meeting the qualifications under this subsection (1)(a)(ii)(C); the other 30 hours may be supervised by an equally qualified licensed mental health practitioner; and
At least 30 hours must be in one-to-one supervision and 35 hours may be in one-to-one supervision or group supervision; and
(D) Successful completion of continuing education requirements of 36 hours, with six in professional ethics.
b. Licensed mental health counselor:
i. Graduation from a master's or doctoral level educational program in mental health counseling or a related discipline from a college or university approved by the secretary based upon nationally recognized standards;
ii. Successful completion of an approved examination;
iii. Successful completion of a supervised experience requirement. The experience requirement consists of a minimum of **18** months full-time counseling or **1,500** hours of postgraduate mental health counseling under the supervision of a qualified licensed mental health counselor or equally qualified licensed mental health practitioner, in an approved setting. The **1,500** hours of required experience includes a minimum of **50** hours spent in immediate supervision with the qualified licensed mental health counselor, and includes a minimum of **600** hours of direct counseling with individuals, couples, families, or groups; and
iv. Successful completion of continuing education requirements of **36** hours, with six in professional ethics.
c. Licensed marriage and family therapist:
i. Graduation from a master's degree or doctoral degree educational program in marriage and family therapy or graduation from an educational program in an allied field equivalent to a master's degree or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy approved by the secretary based upon nationally recognized standards;
ii. Successful passage of an approved examination;
iii. Successful completion of a supervised experience requirement. The experience requirement consists of a minimum of **one** calendar year of full-time marriage and family therapy. Of the total supervision, **50** hours must be with a licensed marriage and family therapist with at least five years' clinical experience; the other **50** hours may be with an equally qualified licensed mental health practitioner. Total experience requirements include:
(A) A minimum of 1,500 hours of experience, 500 hours of which must be direct client contact; at least 250 hours must be gained in diagnosing and treating couples and families; plus
(B) At least 100 hours of qualified supervision with a supervisor. At least 50 of the 100 hours must be one-on-one supervision, and the remaining hours may be in one-on-one or group supervision.
Applicants who have completed a master's program accredited by the commission on accreditation for marriage and family therapy education of the American association for marriage and family therapy may be credited with 250 hours of direct client contact and 50 hours of formal meetings with an approved supervisor; and
iv. Successful completion of continuing education requirements of **36** hours, with six in professional ethics.
The department shall establish by rule what constitutes adequate proof of meeting the criteria. Only rules in effect on the date of submission of a completed application of an associate for her or his license shall apply. If the rules change after a completed application is submitted but before a license is issued, the new rules shall not be reason to deny the application.
In addition, applicants shall be subject to the grounds for denial of a license or issuance of a conditional license under chapter 18.130 RCW.