Welcome to the ABCSW

The American Board of Clinical Social Work (ABCSW), founded in 1987, is the national standard-setting organization focused on education, advocacy and credentialing for the profession of Clinical Social Work. ABCSW sets and promotes national practice standards, publishes position statements, issues the Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (BCD) credentials for advanced clinical practice, clinical supervision, children/families practice and psychoanalysis, and maintains an online directory of certificants.

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. ABCSW maintains an Online BCD Directory for the use of the public and referral-makers.

To advanced Clinical Social Workers, the ABCSW offers standards-based national certifications in the following areas of practice:

• BCD: Advanced Clinical Practice (Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (BCD)
• Practice in Clinical Supervision 
• Practice in Psychoanalysis 
• Clinical Child and Adolescent Social Work
• Clinical Couple and Family Social Work
• Cognitive Behavior Therapy
• Forensic and Correctional Social Work
• Group Psychotherapy 
• Substance Use Disorders

The ABCSW conducts outreach to the public, government and healthcare systems on behalf of its certificants. This national outreach includes website and social media presence, exhibiting at healthcare conferences, educating service-users, distributing information products and services, interacting with professional and regulatory associations, and intervening with entities and systems that discriminate against board-certified Clinical Social Workers.