Now, not just anyone can be a counselor

One of the most loosely regulated health-care professions will be abolished and more than 18,000 people stripped of their counseling credentials as part of legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Christine Gregoire.

Eliminated will be the "registered counselor" profession, which state legislators created 20 years ago in response to reports of patient abuse by unlicensed practitioners. But a hastily crafted law required applicants to do little more than pay a $40 application fee and attend a four-hour AIDS awareness class. The state ended up giving the credential to high-school dropouts and even to convicted sex offenders.

No other state has registered so many counselors under such scant guidelines. As a result, Washington has been a haven for sketchy profiteers of every type — from miracle healers to psychics — who have bolstered their credibility as state-sanctioned counselors, a 2006 Seattle Times investigation found.

The new legislation creates eight mental-health titles, each carrying progressively higher standards for education, supervision and training.

Current registered counselors have until July 1, 2010, to qualify for one of the new regulatory titles through the state Department of Health.

Reforms are designed to better protect consumers from unscrupulous and untrained practitioners, said Rep. Don Barlow, D-Spokane, sponsor of the legislation and a licensed mental-health counselor with a master's degree.

The 2006 Times series "License to Harm" revealed that state regulators repeatedly failed to adequately investigate and penalize health-care practitioners accused of sexual misconduct. From 1995 through 2006, more sexual-misconduct complaints were filed against registered counselors than any other health-care profession, state records showed.

In the past decade, the state dismissed one-third of all sexual-misconduct complaints without any investigation.

The new law requires entry-level practitioners, called certified advisers, to possess at least a two-year associate degree in a counseling-related field. In addition, they have to be supervised by a higher-level mental-health professional who has a master's degree or doctorate.

The next level, certified counselors, must have a bachelor's degree. Both of these positions also require proficiency testing, ethics training, written disclosures to clients and continuing education.

A third new classification, agency-affiliated counselor, applies to registered counselors currently working at state-licensed mental-health agencies. Most of these facilities already require counselors to have college degrees.

Another classification was created for trainees who are pursuing a certificate as a chemical-dependency professional. The new law also created "associate" designations for those studying to become mental-health counselors, marriage and family therapists, advanced social workers and independent clinical social workers.

"This is a good beginning, depending on how the health department implements it," said Laura Groshong, a clinical social worker and lobbyist for mental-health organizations.

Many mental-health professionals have been appalled by the lack of meaningful standards for registered counselors, she said.

About a third of registered counselors have college degrees and are working toward a higher-level license, according to a state-commissioned survey. Another third are employed by mental-health agencies. Those without college degrees will be hardest hit by the new law. The state is uncertain how many registered counselors will fail to qualify under the tougher rules.

The state health department now investigates sexual-misconduct complaints more aggressively. For instance, on Tuesday, the health department placed a Snohomish County registered counselor, Carli R. Brown, on temporary suspension, acting on allegations that she had a sexual relationship with a client at a facility for homeless young adults with mental illness.

Brown could not be reached Tuesday, and the case is pending.

Michael J. Berens: 206-464-2288 or mberens@seattletimes.com