Certification Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ABCSW? The American Board of Clinical Social Work (ABCSW), founded in 1987, is a national education, advocacy and credentialing organization created by and for the profession of Clinical Social Work. The ABCSW’s main purposes are to issue advanced credentials to Clinical Social Workers based on uniform national standards of practice, and to educate the public and various audiences about the value of these certifications and the services of those who hold them.

What are the ABCSW's certifications? Board certification at a high level of practice is essential to every healthcare profession - without it, it is impossible to establish the standards by which competent practitioners may be identified. The ABCSW offers certifications for advanced practice, all of which may be achieved by a process relying on clinical experience and evaluations by professional peers. Certifications are offered in the following categories of Clinical Social Work:

• Advanced Clinical Practice: The BCD
• Clinical Social Work with Uniformed Service Members, Veterans, and their Families Specialty Certification
• Clinical Social Work in Schools Specialty Certification
• Clinical Social Work in Healthcare Specialty Certification
• Clinical Geriatric Social Work Specialty Certification
• Clinical Assessment and Evaluation Specialty Certification
• Clinical Supervision Specialty Certification
• Clinical Child and Adolescent Social Work Specialty Certification
• Clinical Couple and Family Social Work Specialty Certification
• Psychoanalysis Specialty Certification
• Cognitive Behavior Therapy Specialty Certification
• Group Psychotherapy Specialty Certification
• Substance Use Disorders Specialty Certification
• Forensic and Correctional Social Work Specialty Certification

What is the BCD certification? The Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (BCD) is an advanced practice certification embodying the highest standards of clinical education, training, and experience. Its standards are at the core of the ABCSW’s three other certifications. Clinical social workers must meet the following criteria (summarized) to be eligible for the BCD:

• A master’s degree in social work with at least 12 semester credit hours of clinical coursework and a direct practice internship, or a doctoral degree in clinical social work with a direct practice internship; official transcripts must be provided by your graduate school.
• State licensure in good standing at the highest clinical level available in the state(s) in which you practice.
• Five (5) years and 7,500 hours of post-graduate clinical social work practice as defined by your current state licensure statutes and/or board rules. Two (2) years and 3,000 hours of this practice must have been under supervision.
• Currency in practice: 300 hours of clinical social work practice in the 12 months prior to applying as:
• defined by your current state licensure statutes and/or board rules; or
• having held an occupational position (e.g., in a psychiatric or medical hospital, agency settings of various kinds, independent private clinical practice, forensic and correctional setting in the community or in institutions, the military, the VA, U.S. Public Health, etc.) that requires a clinical social work license at the highest clinical level in your state, or
• a tenured or tenure-track faculty member in a graduate (master’s or doctoral) clinical social work program.
• 40 hours of respective licensing board qualified clinical continuing education over the past three years.
• Submission of three (3) peer attestations/evaluations of the applicant’s clinical social work practice. At least one evaluator must be a clinical social worker licensed at the highest level in their state. The other evaluators must be licensed at the highest clinical level in their state, and in good standing.

BCD clinicians recertify annually on the basis of currency of direct practice, 20 hours of continuing clinical education, maintenance of state licensure (where applicable) in good standing and adherence to ABCSW’s Code of Ethics.

What does the BCD do for clinical social workers? The BCD permits an advanced practitioner to stand apart from other licensees - to be identified with a national mark of excellence in clinical social work practice. Beyond professional recognition, those who hold the BCD qualify for referrals and other reimbursable opportunities, discount benefits (including HPSO liability insurance), distinction in court and university settings and recognition as meeting national standards for quality-of-care set by the healthcare industry. The ABCSW’s annual recertification of all its certificants gives them preferred status in the marketplace.

Why does a state-licensed clinician need the BCD? The BCD is a national certification issued by the profession as a mark of prestige and competence rather than by the state (as with licenses) as a way to protect the public. The BCD crosses all state lines with a uniform set of advanced criteria - any user-system with a national or regional scope will have a keen interest in the BCD. Licensure criteria are variable and pitched at the entry level of practice; by contrast, the BCD embodies uniform standards and is a means of distinguishing high levels of practice competence. Few state regulatory agencies publish their databases and none markets them. The ABCSW publishes profiles of all BCD clinicians in the online BCD Directory.

What are the ABCSW's online information services? The ABCSW maintains the following internet-based services:

• Directory of BCD practitioners
• Application for certifications
• Recertification for certificants