Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 20, 2024
(1)
The Practice of Clinical Social
Work. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker may practice all authorized
services of licensed master's social workers and may provide: supervision;
direction; psychosocial evaluation through data collection and analyses to
determine the nature of an individual's mental, cognitive, emotional,
behavioral, and interpersonal problems or conditions; counseling, and
psychotherapy to individuals, marriages, couples, families and groups;
interpretation of the psychosocial dynamics of a situation and recommend and
implement a course of action to individuals, marriages, couples, families, or
groups. This practice may occur in such settings as private practice, family
service and counseling agencies, health care facilities and schools and may
provide direct evaluation, casework, social work advocacy, education, training,
prevention and intervention services in situations threatened or affected by
social, intrapersonal stress, interpersonal stress or health
impairment.
(2)
Licensure
Process (Please refer to the section entitled "Definitions" for
clarification of terms).
(a)
Education
The applicant must have earned a master's degree in Social Work from a
program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education in which candidacy,
conditional or accreditation status was in effect when the degree was
awarded.
(b)
Experience -
Masters Degree in Social Work. The applicant with a master's degree must
have completed three years' full-time supervised experience in the practice of
social work following granting of the master's degree. Of the three years of
supervised experience, only the first two must be under direction.
1. The applicant must present evidence of
having practiced clinical social work for a minimum of 3000 hours post social
work master's degree supervised experience acquired over a period of no less
than 36 months or more than 108 months, the first 2000 hours of experience must
be under supervision and direction in the practice of clinical social work.
Applicant must submit documentation of having acquired 120 hours of supervision
during this time, no more than 50% of which may be group supervision and at
least 50% must be provided by a licensed clinical social worker who meets
requirements to be a duly qualified supervisor.
2. Both supervisors and supervisees are
required to maintain a contemporaneous record of the date, duration, type
(individual, paired, or group), and a brief summary of the pertinent activity
for each supervision session to be submitted to the Board upon request. If
there are any discrepancies in hours, contemporaneous documentation of
supervision will be requested.
(c)
Experience - Masters Degree in
Social Work and a Doctoral Degree. An applicant who holds a master's
degree in social work and holds a doctoral degree in Professional Counseling;
Social Work; Marriage and Family Therapy; Medicine; Psychiatric Nursing;
Applied Psychology; Pastoral Counseling; or Applied Child and Family
Development and whose degree program included a supervised clinical internship
may substitute this for one year of experience.
1. An individual who holds a master's degree
in Social Work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work
Education and holds a doctoral degree in Professional Counseling; Social Work;
Marriage and Family Therapy; Medicine, Psychiatric Nursing; Applied Psychology;
Pastoral Counseling; or Applied Child and Family Development must also present
evidence of two years full time supervised post master's degree experience
(defined as 2000 hours) under direction in the practice of Clinical Social Work
obtained in no less than 24 months or no more than 72 months. Such applicant
must also submit evidence of 80 hours of supervision provided by a duly
qualified supervisor, 50% of which may be group supervision. Fifty percent of
the supervision must be provided by a licensed Clinical Social
Worker.
2. Both supervisors and
supervisees are required to maintain a contemporaneous record of the date,
duration, type (individual, paired, or group), and a brief summary of the
pertinent activity for each supervision session to be submitted to the Board
upon request. If there are any discrepancies in hours, contemporaneous
documentation of supervision will be requested.
(3)
Extension. The Board, in its
sole discretion, may extend the period of time in which the applicant must have
acquired supervision and/or experience with adequate showing of hardship or
good cause.
(4)
Examination.
After having completed the above experience requirements the applicant
must submit an application to the board for licensure and upon approval the
applicant must take the first scheduled examination for which he/she qualifies,
unless good cause is shown for postponement, in which case the applicant shall
take the next scheduled examination. [Upon receipt of notification that the
applicant has passed the Clinical Social Work licensing examination, the Board
will issue a Clinical Social Work license.] If the applicant fails the
examination, the Board shall require that the applicant's work remain
supervised until the applicant has taken and passed the examination. The exam
must be taken at the next scheduled exam date unless good cause is shown for
postponement. The exam may be taken a total of three times. An applicant who
fails the examination three times, applicant shall not engage in the private
practice of counseling or psychotherapy in the State of Georgia until such time
as he/she has taken and passed the examination, absent a statutory
exemption.
(5)
Definitions.
(a)
Direction
means the ongoing administrative oversight by an employer or superior of
a Social Worker. The person providing direction shall be responsible for
assuring the quality of the services rendered by the practitioner and shall
ensure that qualified supervision or intervention occurs in situations which
require expertise beyond that of the practitioner.
(b)
Director means the person
who provides direction and who is either the employer of the person who
receives direction or is the superior in the employment chain of command to the
person who receives direction.
(c)
Directed Experience in the practice of Clinical Social Work means
time spent under direction engaging in the activities defined as Clinical
Social Work in Rule
135-5-.04(1).
(d)
Supervision means the direct
clinical review, for the purpose of training or teaching, by a supervisor of a
Social Worker's interaction with clients. The purpose of supervision shall be
to promote the development of the practitioner's clinical skills. Supervision
may include without being limited to, the review of case presentations,
audiotapes, videotapes and direct observation.
1.
Individual Supervision means
one supervisor meeting with a maximum of two supervisees.
2.
Group Supervision means one
supervisor meeting with a maximum of six supervisees.
(e)
Supervisor means a person
who is licensed as a Clinical Social Worker, Professional Counselor, Marriage
and Family Therapist, Psychologist, or Psychiatrist and must have practiced in
their specialty for at least 2000 clock hours over a minimum of 2 years
following licensure.
O.C.G.A. Secs.
43-1-25,
43-10A-5,
43-10A-12.
