Now, not just anyone can be a counselor in Washington State

The Seattle Times reports:

One of the most loosely regulated health-care professions will be abolished and more than 18,000 people stripped of their counseling credentials as part of legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Christine Gregoire.

Eliminated will be the "registered counselor" profession, which state legislators created 20 years ago in response to reports of patient abuse by unlicensed practitioners. But a hastily crafted law required applicants to do little more than pay a $40 application fee and attend a four-hour AIDS awareness class.

The state taketh away.