Benefits of Certification

In the profession of Clinical Social Work, the Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (BCD) is the premier advanced clinical practice certification. Those who hold it have met the highest standards in clinical education, training and experience, and they are recognized for quality practice by courts, other professionals, consumers, government agencies, insurers and healthcare companies.

Some benefits of the BCD certification are listed below:

Professional Prestige: The BCD embodies the highest national certification standards for advanced generalists. It is widely recognized as a hallmark of quality, crossing all state lines and exceeding state-licensing standards. Licensure protects the public from harm and the BCD distinguishes clinicians for high levels of practice competence.

Client Confidence: The public identifies BCD Clinical Social Workers as competent, experienced and current in practice, state licensure and continuing clinical education.

Professional Liability Insurance: BCD clinicians qualify for liability insurance at a preferred rate (a 10% discount applies for full-time practice) including highly desirable occurrence coverage in a program offered by Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO).

Referrals Directory: BCD practitioners are readily identified through the online BCD Directory. The directory permits high-speed searches of the BCD database by a broad range of characteristics.

Services & Support: The American Board of Clinical Social Work (ABCSW) promotes the BCD and certifications in Clinical Child and Adolescent Social Work, Clinical Couple and Family Social Work, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Forensic and Correctional Social Work, Group Psychotherapy, Practice in Clinical Supervision, and Practice in Psychoanalysis. The ABCSW conducts a vigorous marketing program, offers discount benefits for its certificants and intervenes with insurers, health companies and others.

Visibility & Recognition: Employers, hospitals, agencies, insurance companies, managed care organizations, EAPs, the military and others use the BCD Directory to identify clinicians as reimbursable providers, consultants and potential employees. The BCD is recognized by many managed care organizations as the preferred designation for clinical social workers. It also confers distinction in court and university settings.

Reimbursement & Bonuses: Clients and delivery systems tend to seek out BCD clinicians. In some practice settings, the BCD clinician’s certification costs are reimbursed. In others, the BCD clinician is given workplace preferences, including better pay. In the U.S. uniformed services, BCD Clinical Social Workers may be eligible for high levels of “professional pay”.

Verification: Those holding the BCD are eligible for NCQA-level and URAC-level verification of their roles as preferred providers in managed care systems and other reimbursable settings.

Other Certifications: The BCD is a companion credential to the ABCSW’s certifications in Clinical Child and Adolescent Social Work, Clinical Couple and Family Social Work, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Forensic and Correctional Social Work, Group Psychotherapy, Practice in Clinical Supervision, and Practice in Psychoanalysis. Those who hold the BCD are eligible to achieve these certifications at a discount and through a convenient process in which many of the qualifications will already have been met.

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