Licensing and the LCSW

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The LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) is a professional license issued by the Board of Behavioral Sciences, California Department of Consumer Affairs. It authorizes MSW social workers to provide independent psychotherapy and other clinical services to individuals, couples, families, and groups. The license requires:

• Completion of the MSW degree,
• At least two years of post-graduate experience supervised by a qualified individual,
• Completion of oral and written examinations, and
• Completion of courses in human sexuality, alcoholism and chemical dependency, child abuse assessment and reporting, and spousal/partner abuse.

The following courses in the School of Social Welfare meet the pre-licensing requirements for the LCSW:

• SW 250U, Substance Abuse Treatment, addresses issues of substance abuse detection and treatment, including current theories of the etiology of substance abuse and major treatment approaches. Course exceeds LCSW requirements.
  
  
• Three courses--SW 400, First Year MSW Field Seminar -- Children and Family; SW 400, First Year MSW Field Seminar--Community Mental Health; and SW 245, Direct Practice in Health Settings-- meet LCSW requirements for the completion of "instruction and training in spousal or partner abuse assessment, detection, and intervention."
  
  
• SW 250L, Social Work and Human Sexuality, meets LCSW requirements for content addressing "the study of physiological and socio-cultural variables associated with sexual identity, sexual behavior or sexual disorders."
  
  
• SW 250N, Child Welfare IV-E Seminar, meets LCSW requirements for instruction in child abuse assessment and reporting.

Further information on the license is available the website of the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, http://www.bbs.ca.gov/.