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SB 5452

Allowing board-certified psychiatric pharmacists to be licensed as agency-affiliated counselors.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by T'wina Nobles and 1 co-sponsor

SBP 5452 would allow board-certified psychiatric pharmacists to qualify for agency-affiliated counselor licenses, expanding interdisciplinary behavioral health teams.

First reading, referred to Health & Long-Term Care.
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Bill Summary · SB 5452

Summary of SB 5452 (2025) – Allowing board-certified psychiatric pharmacists to be licensed as agency-affiliated counselors

Overview

  • Bill: SB 5452
  • Title: Allowing board-certified psychiatric pharmacists to be licensed as agency-affiliated counselors
  • Status: First reading, referred to Health & Long-Term Care
  • Introduced: January 23, 2025
  • Primary focus: Amend RCW 18.19.090 to expand eligibility for agency-affiliated counselor credentials to include board-certified psychiatric pharmacists (BCPP), within the broader agency-affiliated counselor licensure framework.

Purpose and intent

  • To broaden the pool of professionals who can be licensed as agency-affiliated counselors by explicitly including board-certified psychiatric pharmacists among the qualified health-care professionals for certain counselor credentials.
  • This change is intended to integrate psychiatric pharmacists more fully into behavioral health care teams, recognizing their specialized training in pharmacotherapy and psychiatric care.

Key provisions and changes

  • Scope of credentials: Keeps the existing credential structure for agency-affiliated counselor, certified counselor, certified adviser, and hypnotherapist, and modifies eligibility criteria to incorporate health-care professionals with board certification in psychiatry/pharmacology as eligible for certain counselor licenses.
  • Eligibility pathway (licensed agency affiliated counselor):
    • Requires an advanced degree in counseling or a health-care field with specific coursework (as determined by the secretary) and at least two years of direct treatment experience with a mental disorder, supervised by a mental health professional who can independently provide assessments and diagnoses.
    • Specifically includes board-certified psychiatric pharmacists as meeting the “health-care degree” criterion and as part of the two-year behavioral health care experience requirement.
  • Eligibility pathway (certified agency affiliated counselor):
    • Continues to require a bachelor’s degree in counseling or social sciences with relevant coursework, plus at least five years of direct treatment experience under supervision.
  • Coursework requirements:
    • For certified or licensed status, applicants must have health-care or counseling coursework specified by the department in rule.
  • Legacy provisions and transition:
    • Certain applicants who qualify under legacy criteria may have waivers or exemptions if they meet pre-existing conditions; however, new applicants after rules are adopted must meet the current subsections (3) and (4).
    • Legacy provisions require eligible applicants to apply before July 1, 2027. After that date, new applicants must comply with the standard subsections.
  • Timing and rules:
    • New rules implementing the coursework specifics are anticipated to be adopted after the bill’s passage, defining the exact coursework and eligibility rules.

Who is affected

  • Board-certified psychiatric pharmacists seeking licensure as agency-affiliated counselors.
  • Other professionals currently pursuing or holding agency-affiliated counselor, certified counselor, or certified adviser credentials under RCW 18.19.090.
  • Washington State Department of Health, which administers licensure and determines credentialing rules, including coursework requirements.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Status: First reading; referred to Health & Long-Term Care (as of January 23, 2025).
  • Implementing changes would depend on subsequent readings, committee action, and eventual passage and signing into law.
  • Legacy provisions imply transition considerations for applicants who relied on preexisting waivers or waivers granted before 1986 or 2001.

Potential impacts

  • Expands interdisciplinary collaboration in behavioral health by formally recognizing BCPPs as eligible clinical counselors in agency settings.
  • Could affect staffing models in mental health agencies, reducing gaps between pharmacotherapy and psychosocial care.
  • Requires the department to adopt rules establishing specific coursework and eligibility criteria, including how BCPP training maps to “health-care coursework” for licensure.

If you’d like, I can outline a side-by-side comparison with current RCW 18.19.090 requirements or provide a concise one-page briefing for stakeholders.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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