Board of Behavioral Sciences

  In 1945, California became the first state to register social workers with the formation of the Board of Social Work Examiners. Jump ahead 18 years to 1963, and this young regulatory agency received a new responsibility: administration of the Marriage, Family, and Child Counselor Act (later renamed the Social…

Watch for warning signs, get assistance, and file a complaint if you have concerns Consumers: Professional therapy never includes sexual contact between a therapist and a client. UNETHICAL, ILLEGAL, AND HARMFUL Sexual contact of any kind between a therapist and a client is unethical and illegal in California. In addition,…

The Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) has partnered with the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) and its healing arts boards to collect important health workforce data. The workforce survey will be available for licensees to complete during the electronic licensure renewal process. Licensed health care professionals are…

Happy New Year from the California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)! If you rang in 2021 with a New Year’s resolution, we hope you’re sticking to it. But if you need a little inspiration, here are five resolutions DCA and its licensees can help you with: See a doctor regularly.…

Study: Engaging with surroundings while out and about makes a positive difference A just-published study by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), finds that engaging with surroundings while on walks, instead of focusing on thoughts, made a positive difference in study participants’ well-being. As outlined in the journal Emotion,…

Contact a licensed mental health professional for assistance Feeling anxious or depressed these days? You are far from alone, according to a new study from San Diego State and Florida State universities. As published in the journal Depression & Anxiety, researchers compared nationally representative samples of U.S. adults from the…

The world can be a very scary, unkind place. If you were gone, would anyone notice? Would anyone miss you? You bet they would. And there are people who have been to that dark place and have come back and who fight to stay out of it. Every day. And…

In March, Nintendo released Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the fifth title in the popular video game series. In the game, you, the buyer of a vacation getaway package, have just set up your tent on a natural resource-rich deserted island. With you on your adventure are a few cute anthropomorphic…

Change can be stressful—and there’s been a lot of that lately. The restlessness caused by change can manifest as poor sleep—but there are ways to get back on track. Staying indoors all day may affect your sleep cycle—particularly if you’re working from home for the first time. Getting outside during…

DCA Director Waives Requirements for Veterinary Telemedicine and Prescription Refills The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) issued new waivers regarding the veterinarian-client-patient relationship to give pet owners more options when seeking treatment for their pets during the COVID-19 pandemic. The waivers authorize veterinarians to diagnose and treat new or different…