Counselor & Therapist Professional Liability Insurance in Maryland

Maryland at a glance

Primary regulator

Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists; separate social work board

Counselors/MFTs and clinical social workers are licensed by different boards.

Border exposure

Proximity to Washington, D.C. and Virginia

Raises frequent telehealth jurisdiction questions for border-area practices.

Duty-to-warn posture

Protective-action duty for credible, identifiable threats

Confirm current application with the board or counsel.

Multi-board practices

Group practices often mix counselor and social work licensees

Each license type follows its own renewal and supervision rules.

Separate boards for counseling and social work

Maryland licenses clinical professional counselors and marriage and family therapists through its Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists, while clinical social workers are licensed through a separate social work board, and each sets its own supervised-experience and continuing-education requirements. A group practice employing both counselor- and social-worker-licensed staff needs to track two sets of renewal and supervision rules rather than assuming one board's requirements apply to everyone.

D.C. metro border exposure

Maryland's suburbs around Washington, D.C. put many practices within easy commuting distance of Virginia and the District, and clients who work in one jurisdiction but live in another create frequent questions about which license or compact privilege governs a telehealth session. Practices in this corridor benefit from a documented process for confirming client location before each session rather than relying on assumptions from the client's home address alone.

Duty-to-warn posture

Maryland recognizes circumstances where a mental health professional may need to take protective action for an identifiable person facing a credible threat from a client, consistent with the general approach followed in much of the country. Clinicians should document the risk-assessment process contemporaneously and confirm the current legal standard with the board or counsel, since the precise application can be fact-specific.

Board investigations and discipline

A Maryland board complaint can proceed through investigation and, where warranted, a formal charging document and hearing, and the licensee bears responsibility for responding at each stage. Licensing-defense coverage that activates at first notice of an investigation, rather than only after formal charges, helps a practice respond without delay.

Who we write this for in Maryland

Counselor liability FAQs for Maryland