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Regulations governing the clinical supervision of counselors and therapist in training for
Washington State licensure.
Washington
State Regulations
for the Supervision of
Therapists and Counselors
Licensed Mental Health Counselors,
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Workers
and Licensed Marriage and Family
Therapists
What are the
requirements for an "approved consultant"?
WAC 246-809-334
Approved supervisor standards and
responsibilities.
(1) The approved supervisor must hold a
license without restrictions that has been in good standing for at least two
years.
(2) The approved supervisor shall not be a blood or legal relative or
cohabitant of the licensure candidate, licensure candidate's peer, or someone
who has acted as the licensure candidate's therapist within the past two years.
(3) The approved supervisor, prior to the commencement of any
supervision, shall provide the licensure candidate a declaration, on a form
provided by the department, that the supervisor has met the requirements of WAC
246-809-334 and qualifies as an approved supervisor.
(4) The approved supervisor shall have
completed the following:
(a) A minimum of fifteen clock hours of training in clinical supervision
obtained through:
(i) A supervision course; or
(ii) Continuing education credits on supervision; or
(iii) Supervision of supervision; and
(b) Twenty-five hours of experience in supervision of clinical practice; and
(c) Has had two years of clinical experience post-licensure (LASWs only) or five
years of clinical experience post-certification or licensure (for LICSWs only).
(5) The approved supervisor shall attest to having thorough knowledge of
the licensure candidate's practice activities including:
(a) Specific practice setting;
(b) Recordkeeping;
(c) Financial management;
(d) Ethics of clinical practice; and
(e) The licensure candidate's backup plan for coverage in times when he/she is
not available to their clients.
(6) Licensure candidates whose supervised postgraduate experience
began prior to the effective date of these rules are exempt from the
requirements of subsection (4) of this section. [Interpretation--allows
for supervisors to continue supervising individuals under their supervision
prior to the requirement being implemented on 09/30/2006 to continue
supervising those individuals, but prior to taking on new licensure
candidate's would have to meet the requirements (above). Social work
supervisors are required to meet the requirements of RCW 18.225.090 which
requires that supervisors of LASW's must been licensed or certified for at least
two years, and in order to provides supervision for a LICSWs it must be an LICSW
who has been licensed or certified for at least five years and who has had at
least one year of experience in supervising the clinical social work practice of
others.]
[Statutory Authority: RCW 18.225.040 and [18.225.]090. 06-18-043, § 246-809-334,
filed 8/30/06, effective 9/30/06.]
"Grandfathering" Supervision Hours
The supervision hours obtained before the effective date of
the WAC [9/30/06] will be grandfathered in for the supervisee, and the
same supervisor may continue his/her supervision of that person.
However, persons doing the
supervision of new supervisees [after 9/30/06] will not be grandfathered
as regards those persons. and must now meet the requirements of WAC
246-809-334 (see above). In other words, licensure candidates beginning supervision after 9/30/06 would be required to utilize
the services of an "approved supervisor."
If you are an experienced counselor and interested in doing supervision in the future, take the training. If you are
unsure whether you would like to supervise, take the training, if only to help you
find out what is involved (liability, etc.) or how your supervisor
should be working with you. The workshop has an excellent balance between
helping everyone understand the requirements of the WAC and the legal and
ethical implications. [Remember the supervision class counts as CEUs which
you need every year anyway.]
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Clinical supervision is complete oversight responsibility for a counselor's cases (the clients' course of treatment) in
an on-going supervision of professional practice, done on a weekly or bi-weekly basis until the hours required for licensure
are completed. This can be done in an agency where the agency treatment supervisor oversees the employed counselor's
work, OR the pre-license self-employed counselor in private practice can locate and hire a qualified person to supervise
their casework. Both parties to a supervision agreement (the supervisor and the supervisee) should have
professional liability insurance.
Counselors: The supervisor maintains records of your supervisory meetings and your direct client hours and then documents
your hours for you by signing required state forms. The counselor supervisor reads, discusses, and signs off on your
client charts and is responsible for supervising the quality of your counseling work.
See our
Washington State Directory of Counselor - Therapist Supervision for a listing of trained licensed counselors who are
available to do paid supervision in the Puget Sound region. The process of counselor supervision
and counselors reporting supervision hours is done using specific Washington State forms.
See also: Chapter 246-809 WAC
Licensure for mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and social workers
What
are the qualifications to serve as a "approved
consultant?"
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WAC
246-810-024 What are the qualifications to serve as an...an
approved certified counselor consultant?
Webmasters note: Only
certain Certified Counselors and Certified Advisors can
work under a consultation agreement rather than being
supervised. These are the CCs and CAs who are
grandfathered into the credential by virtue of having
been a Registered Counselor for not less than five years
prior to July 1, 2010. Other new Certified
Counselors and Certified Advisors must have supervision
agreements.
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(1) The...consultant shall have held a Washington State
credential or credentials in counseling-related fields for at
least a total of five years. Their current credential or
credentials shall be valid and in good standing while serving as
a...consultant.
(2) For purposes of this section, credentials which are considered to be
counseling-related include credentials issued by the department for certified counselor, certified adviser,
Hypnotherapist, mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist, independent clinical social work, advanced social work,
psychologist, chemical dependency professional, sex offender treatment provider, sex offender treatment provider affiliate,
medical physician and physician assistant, osteopathic physician and physician assistant, advanced registered nurse practitioner,
naturopathic physician, and until July 1, 2010, registered counselor. Additional types of credentials may be recognized by the
Secretary as being counseling-related by policy.
(3) The...consultant shall not be a blood or legal relative or cohabitant of the credential holder, or someone who has acted as the
credential holder’s counselor within the past two years. Nor shall a...consultant have a reciprocal arrangement with another credential
holder where each is serving in a dual capacity with the other.
(4) The...consultant, prior to the commencement of any...consultation, shall
provide the certified counselor or certified adviser with a declaration, on a form provided by the department, documenting that
the...consultant has met the requirements to serve as a...consultant, and how, when, and where the required education or training was obtained.
(6) The consultant shall have completed education and training
in:
(a) risk assessment,
(b) screening utilizing the global assessment of functioning
scale,
(c) professional ethics, and
(d) Washington state law
With the CounselingSeattle.com
counselor locator service, counselors can be located by name, geographic area, or niche specialty.
The mental health and
addictions counselors listed on these pages are:
(1.) Licensed Psychologists
(2.) Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHC),
(3.) Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT),
(4.) Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associates (LMHCA),
(5.) Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associates (LMFTA),
(6.) Licensed Independent Clinical Social Workers (LICSW),
(7.) Licensed Social Work Associate-Advanced (LSWAA)
(8.) Licensed Social Work Associate—Independent Clinical (LSWAIC),
and
(9.) Masters-level Certified Counselors (CC).
If you have any knowledge that any of the information about persons advertising in
CounselingSeattle.com is inaccurate or misleading,
please notify us.
To Top--Legal Requirements of Counselor Supervision Washington State
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