Answers to Consumer Questions
Question 14: COUNSELOR
CREDENTIALS: "I'm confused. I hear a 2008 state law is
eliminating the Registered Counselor (RC) category and creating
eight (8) new credentials. What are all these credentials that
counselors use? What do they mean and what's the difference?"
Consumer's Guide to Counselor Credentials
Washington State
The Registered Counselor category was formerly a catch-all category for counselors who were not
licensed but were authorized to provide private practice
counseling for a fee. A 2008 law is eliminating the
Registered Counselor category and many registered counselors and moving the rest into eight new categories based on
college degree level, years of experience as a registered counselor, employment status, or other issues. Registered counselors
can continue practicing until July 1, 2010, and then the category
was eliminated. Only those who qualify for a new counselor
credential can continue to work and practice counseling for a
fee in the State of Washington after 7/1/10. All counselor credentials are listed below,
beginning with the licensed categories that existed before. The new credentials are listed in roughly the difficulty of
qualifying for the credential.
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Highest Qualifications:
The previously existing, fully-licensed categories
LICSW =
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker:
Masters-level clinical social workers with advanced experience who have met all state requirements for full licensure.
LMFT =
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist:
Masters-level marriage and family therapists with advanced
experience who have met state requirements for licensure.
LMHC =
Licensed Mental Health Counselor:
Masters-level clinical mental health counselors with advanced
experience who have met state requirements for licensure.
---------------------------------------
New (2010) Credential Categories below ↓
--------------------------------
High
Qualifications--working toward licensure:
LMHCA = Licensed Mental Health
Counselor Associate:
Designates a Counselor who has completed the Masters Degree program
and is working under approved supervision toward a mental health
counselor license.
LMFTA = Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate:
Designates a Counselor who has completed the Masters Degree program
and is working under approved supervision toward a marriage and
family therapist license.
LSWA-IC = Licensed Social Work Associate Independent Clinical:
Designates a Social Worker who has completed the Masters Degree
program and is working under approved supervision toward a social
work independent clinical license.
Minimum
Qualifications:
CC = Certified
Counselor:
Persons "grand-fathered in" to this category may have no
degree. New applicants for certified counselor category must have a (four year) bachelor’s degree in a counseling-related
field. Certified Counselors are authorized to do private practice
counseling, but only within the limitations, restrictions and
guidelines of RCW 18.19.200.
All counselors are required to give a
disclosure statement to new clients. This enables consumers to check individual credentials
and experience. Note that a number of highly qualified
counselors, even some with doctors degrees and years of experience,
were unable to meet some of the new licensing requirements and could
only qualify for this category.
CDP = Chemical
Dependency Professional:
Chemical Dependency Professionals often are recovering alcoholics or
addicts and, historically, there were little academic requirements.
New CDPs are required to have at least an (2 year) associate of arts degree and to have completed all the supervised counseling
experience requirements. [CDP is not one of the newly created
categories, but is included here for comparison purposes.]
CDPs are not permitted by law to use this designation in private
practice, so you should only encounter a CDP in a licensed facility.
CA = Certified Advisor:
New applicant are required to have a (two year) associate of arts degree,
including a supervised internship, in a counseling-related field.
[Washington State] Certified Advisors are authorized to do private practice counseling, but
only within the limitations, restrictions and guidelines of
RCW
18.19.200.
Absolutely No Minimum Requirements: (The
God-Only-Knows-What-You-Are-Getting Categories)
CDPT = Chemical Dependency Professional Trainee:
(no minimum education or experience requirements). CDPT designates a counselor who is working under supervision in a state-licensed chemical dependency treatment facility toward a chemical dependency
professional certification. To become a CDPT the applicant must only agree to this statement: "I declare I am obtaining the
education and experience required to receive a chemical dependency professional credential." Unlike applicants for other types of
credentials (above) who are working on their supervised internship, the applicant does not need to have the degree first. The trainee
certification can be renewed four times. This means that the CDPT may work as a chemical dependency counselor for a total of five
years without completing his/her associate of arts degree. This is a policy permits chemical dependency treatment facilities to lay off
seasoned Chemical Dependency Professionals and stock the facility with trainees--insuring
profits while depriving facility clients of the services of
experienced chemical dependency counselors. WARNING: The
disclosure statement that all other categories of counselors are
required to provide to new clients is NOT required in treatment
facilities. Instead, you will be given a general disclosure
statement that covers the facility as a whole, but does NOT disclose
the qualifications of the individual counselor to whom you may be
assigned.
AAC = Agency Affiliated Counselor:
(no minimum education or experience requirements).
An Agency Affiliated Counselor is a person who is employed (in a counseling role) by, or has an employment offer with, an agency or facility
that is licensed or certified by the State of Washington. The agency or facility sets the degree and experience requirements for
employment, if any. No degree. experience, or scope of practice standards are established or required by the State of Washington.
[The Washington State Legislature wasn't going to raise the ire of the mental health treatment facilities who are free to reduce costs by keeping their
employment standards as low as they wish.] WARNING: The
disclosure statement that all other categories of counselors are
required to provide to new clients is NOT required in treatment
facilities. Instead, you will be given a general disclosure
statement that covers the facility as a whole, but does NOT disclose
the qualifications of the individual counselor to whom you may be
assigned. As a client of such a facility, it is your responsibility to inquire about the qualifications of each
of the counselors who are assigned to your case and decide whether it is someone
you wish as a counselor. What kind of employment
standards does the agency have? You will have to ask, because,
in this instance, the State of Washington is not safeguarding the interests of the public.
The preceding information is an editorial
analysis prepared by Floyd Else, MA, LMHC, NCC
Webmaster: http://www.CounselingSeattle.com
Question 14:
COUNSELOR FEES FOR SERVICE.
I love your site! So informative. But I can't find any
info regarding fees/rates for therapists. In particular, who
sets the fees? (Is it the government? Is it an
association? etc.) And is there a difference in cost among and
between disciplines (i.e. do LCSWs charge more than LMFTs, etc.)?
Since money is such an integral part of my relationship between me
and my therapist, it should hold a significant place on this site,
dontcha think?
:-) Thanks for listening! Walter
Thanks for your good
words. With regard to the fees charged by counselors,
therapists, and clinical social workers in private practice, fee
setting is an example of capitalism in action.
Neither the government nor professional associations regulate or
determine fees charged for counseling services. In 20 years of
counseling I cannot recall ever being in a professional group where
counselors were discussing how much to charge for their professional
services. What to charge is a big question for counselors but
it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of free market forces
in setting fees.
Generally speaking, counselors, therapists and clinical social
workers are Masters level counselors and charge less than mental
health professionals with PhD or MD degrees. The American
Association for Marriage and Family Therapy estimates that the usual
fees for marriage and family therapy are about 60% of that
psychiatrists charge and about 80% of what psychologists charge.
I would consider master's level counselor fees of $100 to $120 an
hour to be average in metropolitan areas of Washington State—and
somewhat less in more rural areas where the cost of living is less.
Many counselors offer reduced fees based on income; however,
counselors who are preferred providers with Health Maintenance
Organizations or other insurance companies generally don't offer
sliding scales because they are prohibited by their contracts from
charging any client less than they charge insurance company clients.
One of the peculiarities of the American psyche is the belief that
if an article or service costs more it must be better. But the
most important factor in the success or failure of counseling is the
quality of the relationship between the counselor and the client.
When choosing a counselor, the most important consideration should
be whether you feel comfortable with the counselor and the counselor
inspires your respect and confidence.
In closing let me say that I appreciate your focusing my attention
to the lack of fee/cost information on the site. We are going
an extensive redesign of the counselor listings this year and we
will be sure to include information about counselor’s fees as an
added service to our viewers.
[Floyd Else, MA, LMHC,
NCC, webmaster] (date: May
2011)
