Learning continues long after academic and licensing requirements are met. Continuing education for mental health professionals is important to help ensure that clinicians continue to expand their knowledge base and stay current with the best practices as the field evolves. How mental health professionals can be competitive in the industry is also of concern to many therapists. Continuing education, if planned well, can also be help a clinician document their advanced training in an area.
Continuing Education Requirements
All mental health professionals must be licensed for their specific state and continuing education courses are a required in order to maintain the license. Requirements for continuing education for mental health professionals vary by license as well as by state. The number of credit hours required, licensure renewal schedule, mandated topics, and formats allowed vary as well.
For example, California currently requires that licensed psychologists complete 36 hours of approved continuing education (CE) every 2 years and that they remain current in ethics and laws for the field. Most of these hours may be taken online, which provides clinicians with access to affordable and convenient resources. Most state licensing boards, agencies, professional associations, and private institutions—in the United States as well as internationally—recognize courses taken from institutions that are approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education.
Increased Competition
The mental health field is increasingly competitive. Keeping pace with current changes in policies, procedures, and practices is essential. Having specialized knowledge in highly sought after areas of mental health can gain a mental health professional a competitive edge, especially if the training can be documented by a certificate of advanced study.
Value of Continuing Education
The work of a mental health professional demands that the clinician continually assess and develop new skills and areas of knowledge. Continuing education is important to furthering these goals.
Our courses explore best practices and such crucial clinical issues as working with the therapeutic relationship, and managing the transference, countertransference, resistances, and defenses. They include case studies to deepen the clinician’s understanding and appreciation of the subtleties involved in clinical work. And they allow mental health professionals to broaden their education by sampling new approaches as well as to pursue areas of expertise if they choose, by applying CE credits to certificates of advanced study. Continuing education courses that earn a certificate of advanced study in a specific area can be very helpful to therapists who are concerned with how mental health professionals can be competitive in the industry.
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By taking a course with us, you expand your knowledge base, while enhancing your skills. All of our classes are online, efficient, convenient, and affordable.
The Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
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