clinical social work association

The National Voice of Clinical Social Work 

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Legislation & Advocacy

The Clinical Social Work Association is committed to monitoring and working on legislative issues that can affect your clinical practice. 

There are many policy issues making their way through the legislative process. CSWA will bring these to your attention and tell you how you can help. This information is constantly changing so be sure to check this site frequently to stay updated on the latest legislative activities.

Meet our Director of Policy and Practice, Laura Groshong


Laura Groshong, MSW, LICSW, received her Master’s in Social Work in 1974 from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. She received her advanced training in Adult Psychotherapy at the Seattle Psychoanalytic Institute and received a Certificate in 1979. Groshong has been in private practice for 34 years working with individuals, couples, and families.

Groshong has been a Registered Lobbyist in Washington State since 1996 for six mental health groups. Her work has resulted in the passing of legislative bills that promote access to mental health treatment. Groshong has served as the Director of Government Relations for the Clinical Social Work Association (CSWA) since 2006. 


Representing the CSWA, Groshong has advocated on behalf of clinical social workers and has worked on:

  • the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act;
  • the Affordable Care Act;
  • the Essential Mental Health Benefit;
  • the Sustainable Growth Rate reformulation;
  • and many more Federal and state bills and policies.
Groshong routinely conducts webinars and speaks nationally at conferences and meetings regarding changes to mental health practice as a result of the Affordable Care Act, HITECH, and HIPAA.

She is also the Chair of the CSWA Distance Learning Committee. As Chair, Groshong co-authored the CSWA Position Paper on the topic of distance learning for the Master’s in Social Work (September 2013). Additionally, Groshong was asked to co-edit the Clinical Social Work Journal Special Issue on Cyber Technology in Social Work (to be published in late 2014).

In November 2004, Groshong was inducted into the National Academies of Practice in Social Work (NAP). The NAP is a national group that promotes cross-disciplinary collaboration at the national level.

As an expert in the field, Groshong has had her work published in the following publications:
  • Case work studies published in Social Work Today
  • Article, “Politics in the Consulting Room: Hate in the Countertransference Revisited”, published in the Clinical Social Work Journal in 2013
  • Co-authored six editions of the HIPAA Compliance for Mental Health Clinicians: Application to Your Practice” Manual published by the Clinical Social Work Association
  • Authored Clinical Social Work Practice and Regulation: An Overview, published by University Press in October, 2009, a book summarizing clinical social work practice and comparing clinical social work licensure laws and scopes of practice across all states and jurisdictions in the United States

Additionally, Groshong has written numerous articles on integrating legislative activity into clinical social work practice and has written or contributed to social work licensure laws in 30 states.

Groshong has been married to an attorney for 44 years, she has two sons, two daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren.

PO Box 105
Granville, Ohio  43023

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