Preparing Mental Health Clinicians to Change the Game of Mental Health in Sport

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Sport Licensed Social Worker (SPLSW)

LCSW’s, LMSW’s and other provisionally licensed social workers can acquire the SPLSW designation after successfully passing the SPLSW exam.
 
For example John Smith, MSW, LCSW, SPLSW.
 
It is important to understand that the SPLSW exam includes content from the three leading sport social work programs – UM, ASWIS & CCSSWI.
 
Candidates can prepare for the certifying exam by completing the CCSSWI Immersion Program, the Alliance of Social Workers in Sports Certificate Program, and/or and the University of Michigan Sport Social Work Certificate Program – or they can simply sit for the exam. Join our list serve to receive information on the next administration date.
 
Currently, the next exam will be administered in the second week in December 2026.
 
The SPLSW Exam is a 150-175 multiple choice exam covering athlete mental health; specific scenarios; policies of athletic governing bodies; and other content related to athlete well-being at the high school, college, Olympic and professional levels. For more information join our listserv and see our FAQ’s
 
The SPLSW designation will be valid for two years and in order to renew, SPLSW’s will be required to complete 10 CEU’s specifically on athlete mental health and/or wellness.
 
To acquire the SPLSW designation, must be provisionally or independently licensed. We do not provide advice on whether your professional and education experiences are a good fit for the SPLSW exam. 

FAQ

No. You can be licensed or unlicensed, and from any discipline (i.e., psychology, social work, counseling, etc.) and sit for the exam.

We aim to administer the first exam in November 2024. Join our listserve below to receive updates.

We will not provide a study guide but will provide a thorough overview of the content to be covered in June 2024. We will also have live webinars in August, September, and October 2024 with additional information on the certification exam. There will be a cost for the study sessions.

The exam will be 150-175 questions. Questions will be multiple choice and true/false. Some exams may have 10 more or ten fewer questions because some test questions will be included, but not scored.

Some questions are weighted more heavily than others for example – scenarios are weighed more than multiple choice, and multiple choice are weighed more than true/false. Thus, a passing score can range from 110 to 122 correct answers (approximately 80 percent of the questions right).

  • The direct practice portion of the exam will cover depression, bipolar, ADHD, anxiety, and personality disorders among athletes as well as trauma informed care, Black/Brown athletes, Substance Use Disorder, International Athletes, Mental Health in High Collision Sports, and Disordered Eating. Any additional themes will be announced before September 2024. There will be scenarios (similar to an LCSW exam), research, and best practices questions.
  • The policy/history portion of the exam will include high school, college, professional, and Olympic mental health provision policy (and relevant health policies) & history of mental health across these domains. 

We are still working those details out but we expect the exam will be “live-proctored” (more information on how this works is forthcoming) – virtually or in-person. Again, we are currently working on the details.

There will be 75 slots for the first administration. We suggest you sign up early. 

 

No refunds are provided.

Athlete Clinical Mental Health (ACMH)

Complete the form below to request information about ACMH Certification.

Check all that apply

FAQ

The SPLSW designation is for independently or provisionally licensed social workers. However, anyone can enroll in the CCSSWI Immersion Program. 

The next exam will be administered during the second week of December 2026.

There is a study guide available on this site. Visit the PAY FEES tab to purchase. The study guide is a reading list for CCSSWI Immersion Program, the UK/ASWIS Certificate Program and the University of Michigan Sport Social Work Certificate Program.

The exam will be 150-175 questions. Questions will be multiple choice and true/false. Some exams may have 10 more or ten fewer questions because some test questions will be included, but not scored.

Some questions are weighted more heavily than others for example – scenarios are weighed more than multiple choice, and multiple choice are weighed more than true/false. Thus, a passing score can range from 110 to 122 correct answers (approximately 80 percent of the questions right).

  • The exam covers content from the three leading sport social work certificate programs – UK/The Alliance of Social Workers in Sports, The University of Michigan, and CCSSWI.
  • The direct practice portion of the exam will cover depression, bipolar, ADHD, anxiety, and personality disorders among athletes as well as trauma informed care, Black/Brown athletes, Substance Use Disorder, International Athletes, Mental Health in High Collision Sports, and Disordered Eating. Any additional themes will be announced before September 2024. There will be scenarios (similar to an LCSW exam), research, and best practices questions.
  • The policy/history portion of the exam will include high school, college, professional, and Olympic mental health provision policy (and relevant health policies) & history of mental health across these domains. 

The exam is a paper and pencil exam. Once candidates register for the exam, they are required to locate a local live proctoring site. The best options are typically public libraries, and community colleges. Once the candidate has registered for the exam and submitted a potential proctoring site, the site will be approved by CCSSWI . Five days before the exam, it will be forwarded to the approved proctoring site and ready for the candidate to successfully complete the exam. The exam period last for five days so that the candidate can take the exam any day of the week in accord with the proctoring sites hours of operation.

Again, the exam represents material from the three leading sport social work certificate programs – ASWIS, Michigan and CCSSWI. The exam does not include content from the NYU Sport Social Work Certificate program. 

No refunds are provided, but the candidate can take the exam during the next exam period.

SPLSW – Sport Licensed Social Worker