NASW-WA continues to monitor the rulemaking processes that affect the social work profession. Please see the notice from the Washington Department of Health below regarding rulemaking activities in June 2024.
Rules workshops on licensure requirements start next week.
The board will be considering rule amendments to implement recent legislation, including 2SHB 1724 and E2SHB 2247. To implement this legislation, the board will consider:
- (1) lowering or removing barriers to entering and remaining in the behavioral health care workforce
- (2) measures to streamline and shorten the credentialing process
- (3) establishing a psychological associate license
- (4) amending the licensure process for experienced psychologists licensed outside of Washington, and
- (5) other amendments to the chapter as appropriate. This may include streamlining the licensure process for graduates of non-American Psychological Associate (APA) programs and addressing other issues raised by the board, partners, or interested parties.
Additionally, this rulemaking project will continue previous work where the board began considering amendments related to licensure requirements, changes to the national examination, supervision requirements, the role of technology and telepsychology in the profession, additional options for sanctions, and other topics.
As part of the rulemaking process, the department welcomes your participation in a series of rulemaking workshops. During the workshops we welcome ideas, concerns, and general comments on how to best develop regulations pertaining to the proposed amendments.
Workshops will take place on the following dates:
Date | Time | Topic | Handouts |
June 4, 2024 | 12:00pm | Review draft Supervised Experience rules | |
June 5, 2025 | 5:00pm | Review draft rules on Education, Examination retakes, Residency, and Endorsement | Education, exam, residency, and endorsement Draft Rules (clean copy) (PDF) Education, Exam, Residency, and Endorsement Draft Rules (copy with edits) (PDF) |
June 6, 2024 | 12:00pm | New Psychological Associate license and waiver for long-time practicing providers | |
June 11, 2024 | 12:00pm | COVID-19 Policy Statements on telepsychology and virtual supervision | |
June 12, 2024 | 5:00pm | National Examination and any other topics of interest | |
June 13, 2024 | 12:00pm | All topics previously discussed (recap) | |
June 18, 2024 | Cancelled | Cancelled | |
June 20, 2024 | 12:00pm (tentative) | Tentative |
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Links to the workshops:
Daytime Sessions | Evening Sessions |
Meeting ID: 238 987 404 969 Passcode: HSyjAk Dial-in by phone +1 564-999-2000,,904265399#United States, Olympia Phone conference ID: 904 265 399# | Meeting ID: 278 562 960 35 Passcode: t8AtFQ Dial in by phone +1 564-999-2000,,547074689#United States, Olympia Phone conference ID: 547 074 689# |
While you are welcome to provide any feedback for the identified topic areas, the board is seeking specific feedback on the following matters:
Current Rule | Feedback Request |
HB 2247 creates a psychological associate license. The requirements are: Applicant must either be enrolled in a psychology doctoral program or participating in a postdoc. Applicant must be deemed competent to practice under supervision by the director of clinical training or postdoctoral supervisor. Applicant can only practice under supervision. | What should supervision look like? How can competence be determined in a consistent manner for all applicants? Can it be just as simple as being enrolled in doctoral program or does it require passage of certain courses? Could this be part of the supervision agreement where the supervisor attests to their competence among the other supervision details? |
HB 2247 authorizes the board to adopt rules waiving any of the licensing requirements, as determined by the board, for an applicant who has continuously held a psychology license in good standing in another jurisdiction for a period of time that renders the waived licensing requirements duplicative or unnecessary. | How many years of practice in good standing would be sufficient to render a provider as having met the equivalence of meeting licensing requirements? Should it be different from state vs country? |
During COVID-19 the board issued a policy statement allowing virtual supervision to meet the “face-to-face” requirements for preinternship and internship hours.
| Should this exception be adopted indefinitely? Should the meeting cadence for virtual supervision be different than the cadence for hybrid / in-person? What have been the benefits of allowing virtual supervision? What are the risks the board should be aware of with allowing virtual supervision? Should there be a cap on how many virtual supervision hours are allowed or should it be up to the supervisor? |
During COVID-19 the board issued a policy statement allowing telepsychology to fulfill the “direct experience” or “direct client contact” for practicum, preinternship, and internship.
| Should this exception be adopted indefinitely? What have been the benefits of allowing telepsychology? What are the risks the board should be aware of with allowing telepsychology during the training phase? Should there be a cap on how many telepsychology hours are allowed or should it be up to the supervisor? |
Based on prior workshops, the board drafted new rules language surrounding supervised experience. Changes included: Consolidating preinternship and postdoc into one category labeled “Other Supervised Experience” with one set of requirements. Changing all breakdown of hours into minimum percentages for clarity. Reducing the direct contact minimum required hours for Other Supervised Experience. Creating a uniform set of supervision agreement requirements. | Do the changes make it clearer how to report supervised experience? Are there any areas that are still confusing or need more detail? |
You can also provide feedback via email by July 1, 2024 with "Public Comment" in the subject line, thank you.