California Archives - Page 4 of 13

Get notified if your supervisor’s license status changes

January 16, 2019 by Ben Caldwell

Here’s a quick and easy lifehack for California mental health professionals working under supervision: Get automatic email notifications if your supervisor’s license lapses or changes status.

This has been available for a few years, and I’m surprised how few people seem to know about it. If a supervisor’s license lapses, any hours you gain while that license isn’t active will not count toward your own licensure. Unfortunately, I’ve known several folks who lost hours for precisely this reason. It’s imperative — and really easy! — to make sure your supervisor’s license remains current and active while you’re under their supervision.

When should you take your California Law & Ethics exam?

August 29, 2018August 29, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

Once you register as an Associate MFT, CSW, or PCC with the Board of Behavioral Sciences, you have a year to attempt the California Law and Ethics Exam for your profession. There are basically two schools of thought about when you should take that exam. One of them is wrong.

If you’re in your first year as an associate, you should take the exam right now.

Most complaints about the BBS are wrong

July 11, 2018July 11, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

Look, I’m not here to defend the BBS (California’s Board of Behavioral Sciences) or any other licensing board. They’re not your friend. They require deeply flawed exams that even they know don’t work. Their disciplinary guidelines, especially around substance use issues, are unreasonably punitive. They are notoriously unresponsive. There are a lot of problems there. But it’s also true that most complaints about the BBS are based on flat-out falsehoods.

Therapist shortage, or saturation? Depends who (and how) you ask

May 30, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

California suffers from a severe and worsening mental health workforce shortage. In fact, much of the US is in the same boat. There simply aren’t enough qualified mental health professionals to meet our country’s needs.

At the same time, therapists in private practice often complain about their local markets being saturated. There are so many therapists in some places, it seems, that it’s hard to get a career off the ground.

As it turns out, there’s truth to both of these perspectives.

Advocacy for prelicensed therapists: A conversation with LA-CAMFT

March 29, 2018March 28, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

LA-CAMFT and Ben Caldwell In late 2017, I sat down with my friends at LA-CAMFT for a wide-ranging discussion of issues that impact prelicensed therapists. Advocacy is sort of my jam, so we knew that advocacy would be a big part of the discussion. But we also got to talk about interviews, health insurance, employment, exams, and a lot of other issues relevant to early-career therapists.