What we will not claim
A license belongs to a clinician, never to a practice. These clinicians have none.
AI-generated illustration. Not a real office.
In New York the title and the letters LCSW belong by law to the person New York has licensed, and a practice is not "licensed" at all. These clinicians are invented, so the site describes the license and prints none.
What you will see advertised
“Board-certified, licensed specialists at a fully licensed clinic.”
Quoted in order to be refused: this practice never says it, and the rest of this page says why.
Why a practice says it, and why it misleads
A reader cannot judge a clinician from a web page, so sites reach for credential words: each one sounds like an examination passed, and a string of them sounds like a rank.
It misleads in two ways. First, the words get run together: a license belongs to a person, so a credential attached to a building or a company describes nothing a regulator issues. Second, ranking words imply a verified standing that a title alone does not give. The only credential a reader can really use is one they can check, which is why a real practice's page should say which license each clinician holds and where to look it up.
Here the clinicians are invented. A made-up license number would be worse than none, because a number is the one credential a reader will go and check. So the site explains what the title means and prints no number at all.
What the law says
As it read in October 2026.
Only a person New York has licensed may use the title licensed clinical social worker or the letters LCSW (Education Law § 7702).
Licensed clinical social work includes the diagnosis of mental, emotional, behavioral, addictive and developmental disorders, and psychotherapy (Education Law § 7701).
Every member of a professional limited liability company formed for clinical social work must be a licensed clinical social worker (LLC Law § 1203(b)).
Only a licensed psychologist may describe their services as psychological (Education Law § 7601).
A licensee may not use the word Doctor without saying in which profession the doctorate is held (8 NYCRR § 29.2(a)(4)).
A licensed professional may not claim professional superiority it cannot substantiate (8 NYCRR § 29.1(b)(12)), and a business may call something certified only against criteria another body set, and must say who (6 RCNY § 5-14).
- N.Y. Education Law § 7702 (opens the source in a new tab) Only a person New York has licensed may use the title licensed clinical social worker or the letters LCSW.
- N.Y. Education Law § 7701 (opens the source in a new tab) Licensed clinical social work includes the diagnosis of mental, emotional, behavioral, addictive and developmental disorders, and psychotherapy.
- N.Y. LLC Law § 1203(b) (opens the source in a new tab) Every member of a professional limited liability company formed for clinical social work must be a licensed clinical social worker.
- N.Y. Education Law § 7601 (opens the source in a new tab) Only a licensed psychologist may describe their services as psychological.
- 8 NYCRR § 29.2(a)(4) (opens the source in a new tab) A licensee may not use the word Doctor without saying in which profession the doctorate is held.
- 8 NYCRR § 29.1(b)(12) (opens the source in a new tab) A licensed professional may not advertise in a way that is false or misleading, guarantees a service, makes a claim it cannot substantiate, claims superiority, or offers a bonus or inducement other than a reduced fee.
- 6 RCNY § 5-14 (opens the source in a new tab) A business may call something "certified" only against criteria another body set, and must say who.
What this practice does
On a real practice's site, every clinician's license can be checked on the New York State Education Department's public verification page. These clinicians would not be found there, because they are invented.
Nobody here is called a specialist, a doctor or board-certified, and nobody offers psychological testing.
Licensed, one person at a time. The title "licensed clinical social worker" and the letters LCSW belong only to people New York has licensed (Education Law § 7702), and a license belongs to a person, never to a practice. On a real practice's site, every clinician's license can be checked on the New York State Education Department's public verification page. The clinicians on this demonstration site are invented and hold no license, so none is claimed and no number is shown.
Why the name ends LCSW, PLLC. A New York therapy practice can't be an ordinary company: a practice of licensed clinical social workers is a professional limited liability company, and every one of its members must be a licensed clinical social worker (LLC Law § 1203(b)). That is why the name ends "LCSW, PLLC", and why everybody here holds the same license.
Keep reading
- The five clinicians and their days
- How to choose a therapist in New York
- Questions people ask before booking
The other things this site will not claim
Book a free call
Book a free fifteen-minute call, or go straight to a first session if you know what you want. Nothing is paid online, and nothing on the form asks why you're coming.