State's counseling law is changing

Wahkiakum County’s registered counselors must be re-credentialed by July 1 or stop practicing; that’s the word from the Washington State Department of Health.

The DOE said a new state law will abolish all previous Registered Counselor categories and their licenses. The state says thousands of counselors may be affected because many haven’t turned in their applications yet to get new credentials.

The DOE said more than 10,000 counselors may not be able to practice in Washington after June 30. Many who work as registered counselors haven’t taken the necessary steps to stay in practice and the time for them to act is running out.

“This law protects patients,” said Mary Selecky, State Department of Health. “It ensures people meet more rigorous standards and it applies just as much to counselors who have old credentials as it does to new applicants.”

The new state legislation, enacted in 2008, created eight new counseling professions. The law abolishes all previous existing registered counselor credentials.

“This law protects patients, which is always our goal,” Selecky said. “It ensures people have to meet more rigorous standards if they want counseling credentials."

Selecky said the law applies just as much to counselors who have the old credentials as it does to new applicants.

“Well I’m not sure,” said Chris Holmes of Wahkiakum Health and Human Services. “I believe some counselors in the state’s Registered Counselor Program will be grandfathered in.”

Holmes said he thinks the new law will mainly apply to counselors in private practice and in some areas that didn’t require a license before now.

The Health Department notes registered counselors work in many settings and have a broad scope of practice. They work in government and private agencies, including alcohol and substance abuse treatment facilities.

Registered counselors may also have private practices and according to the DOE, all of them will have to meet the new standards.

The state said as of April 12, it had received only 5,321 out of a possible 12,000 applications.

“We’re concerned some people practicing as counselors won’t get their new credential on time and be able to continue working with their patients and clients,” said Assistant Secretary of Health Karen Jensen.

The concern is that if applications are received after April, there may not be time for the DEO to review the application before the registered counselor’s credential is abolished.The DOE said the applications will be processed in the order they arrive. Processing times vary based on the number of applications received and individual circumstances.

Counselors should also be mindful when applying for a new credential that the large number of applications will result in delays. Counselors should allow 10 to 12 weeks for processing.

The eight professions that require new credentials are: agency-affiliated counselors, certified counselors, certified advisers, chemical dependency professional trainees, mental health counselor associates, marriage and family therapist associates, social work associates advanced, and social work associates in independent clinical practice.

The state started registering counselors almost 20 years ago when some people with little experience started to “hang out their shingles” as therapists, and counselors. “There were two classes of registered counselors then,” said Holmes.

Holmes said one classification of counselor required college training. The second class was a simple state certification process. This non-professional classification is what led to the problems. “Some counselors had little experience,” said Holmes, “and this lead to an abuse of mental health benefits from insurance companies.”

Holmes said the reality of the new “counselor classification” system, with eight new classifications, is that it will also generate new fees for the state. “It should also help improve and strengthen the training of new counselors,” said Holmes.

Along with the new counseling registration system, counselors will be plugged into the state’s new federal medical records computer system which Holmes said will aid enforcement.

“If counselors are found in non-compliance,” said Holmes, “the law will ban them from working in the state of Washington.”