Washington state overhauls counselor field

OLYMPIA, Wash., March 26 (UPI) -- A new state law in Washington will strip 18,000 counselors of their credentials, officials said.

The Seattle Times reported Tuesday that the legislation signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire will eliminate the state's "registered counselor" profession, which legislators created 20 years ago.

The newspaper reported that applicants had to do little to qualify for the designation, apart from attending a four-hour AIDS education class and paying a $40 fee.

The ranks of registered counselors included high-school dropouts and convicted sex offenders, the newspaper said. Current registered counselors have until July 1, 2010, to qualify for one of the new regulatory titles through the state Department of Health.

Counselors will be entry-level practitioners, called certified advisers; certified counselors, who must have a bachelor's degree; and agency-affiliated counselors, who are registered counselors currently working at state-licensed mental-health agencies, the newspaper said.

"This is a good beginning, depending on how the health department implements it," Laura Groshong, a clinical social worker and lobbyist for mental-health organizations, said of the state's planned three-tier counselor designation.