HB 1729 - DIGEST

Requires the department of health to: (1) Develop training standards for the certification of the following licensed health care providers as chemical dependency counselors: Psychologists, independent clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, and mental health counselors;

(2) In developing the training standards, consult with the examining board of psychology, the Washington state mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and social workers advisory committee, and educational institutions that train psychologists, marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, and independent clinical social workers;

(3) Contract with an educational program to offer the training; and

(4) Contract with an entity to provide a telephonic consultation service to assist health care providers with the diagnosis and treatment of patients with co-occurring behavioral health disorders.

Requires the department of health to reduce the total number of supervised experience hours by three months for an applicant for a psychologist license, and by ten percent for an applicant for a mental health counselor license, a marriage and family therapist license, or a social worker license who has practiced as a certified chemical dependency professional for three years in the previous ten years.