What is the BCD?

In the profession of Clinical Social Work, the Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (BCD) is the premier advanced practice certification. Those who hold it have met the highest standards in clinical education, training and experience, and they are recognized for quality practice by courts, other professionals, consumers, government agencies, insurers and healthcare companies.

To search a directory of individuals who have earned their BCD certification, click the 'Find a BCD' link below.

Find a BCD

Overview of the ABCSW

The American Board of Clinical Social Work (ABCSW) is the national standard-setting organization for the profession of Clinical Social Work. The ABCSW sets and promotes national practice standards, publishes position statements, issues the Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (BCD) credentials for advanced clinical generalists, clinical supervisors, children/families practitioners and psychoanalysts, and maintains an online directory of certificants.

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What is Clinical Social Work?

Clinical social work is a healthcare profession based on theories and methods of prevention and treatment in providing mental-health/healthcare services, with special focus on behavioral and bio-psychosocial problems and disorders. Clinical social work’s unique attributes include use of the person-in-environment perspective, respect for the primacy of client rights and strong therapeutic alliance between client and practitioner. With 250,000 practitioners serving millions of client consumers, clinical social workers constitute the largest group of mental-health/healthcare providers in the nation.

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