BCD Benefits

Every healthcare profession offers board certification by which practitioners may be recognized for having achieved high standards of competence. In the profession of Clinical Social Work, the Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (BCD) is the premier advanced-generalist practice certification. Those who hold it have met the highest standards in the areas of clinical education, training, and experience; and they are recognized for quality practice by payor systems, courts, other professionals, and consumers.

The BCD certification, issued by the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work (ABE) to clinical social workers in advanced generalist practice, confers these benefits:

Professional Prestige: The BCD embodies the highest national certification standards for advanced generalists. It is widely recognized as a hallmark of quality, and raises the regard in which the entire discipline of clinical social work is held. Its standards cross all state lines and exceed state-licensing standards. Licensure protects the public from harm; the BCD distinguishes clinicians for high levels of practice competence.

Client Confidence: The public identifies BCD Clinician Social Workers as competent, experienced, and current in practice, state licensure, and continuing clinical education.

Professional Liability Insurance: BCD clinicians qualify for liability insurance at a preferred rate (a 10% discount applies for full-time practice) including highly desirable occurrence coverage in a program offered by Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO).

Referrals Directory: BCD practitioners are readily identified through the OnLine BCD Directory. It permits high-speed searches of the BCD database by a broad range of characteristics. Results may be downloaded to offer referral and contracting opportunities to BCD clinicians from fellow professionals and from insurers and payors. The connection to the BCD directory is offered gratis to user/payor systems nationwide and to the public.

Services & Support: ABE, the credentialing unit of the Center for Clinical Social Work, sets and safeguards national standards and awards and promotes the BCD and certifications in Clinical Supervision, Practice with Children & Their Families, and Psychoanalysis. ABE conducts a vigorous marketing program and publishes on clinical topics and sends out email blasts. ABE offers discount benefits and CE opportunities for its certificants; intervenes with payor systems and other entities.

Visibility and Recognition: Employers, hospitals, agencies, insurance companies, managed care organizations, EAPs, the military, and others use the BCD Directory to identify clinicians as reimbursable providers, consultants, and potential employees. Many managed care organizations recognize the BCD as the preferred designation for clinical social workers. It also confers distinction in court and university settings.

Reimbursement and Bonuses: Clients and delivery systems seeking a higher level of quality and risk-assurance tend to seek out BCD clinicians. The unique annual recertification requirement gives payors and employers good reason to extend preference to them. In some practice settings, the BCD clinician’s certification costs are reimbursed; in others, the BCD clinician is given workplace preferences, including better pay. In the U.S. uniformed services, BCD Clinical Social Workers are eligible for high levels of “professional pay.”

Verification: Those holding the BCD are eligible for NCQA-level verification of their roles as preferred providers in managed care systems and other reimbursable settings.

Other Certifications: The BCD is a companion credential to ABE’s certifications in Practice with Children & Their Families, Clinical Supervision, and Psychoanalysis. Those who hold the BCD are eligible to achieve these certifications at a discount and through a convenient process in which many of the qualifications will already have been met.

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