Continuing Education

Policies and Application Procedures for Continuing Education Credits

• Professional Development and Lifelong learning
  • Potential Benefits
• Application Procedures for Continuing Education Credits
• Appeals Procedure
• Events Eligible for Continuing Education Credits
  • Criteria for Eligibility
  • Enhanced Value
• Continuing Education Credit Transcript
• Continuing Education Credit Fees
• Application Procedure for Pre-Accreditation of Counselling Educational Events for Continuing Education Credit
• Dedication

Professional Development and Lifelong Learning

The CCPA Continuing Education (CE) program is a method for the documentation and recognition of professional development and life long learning activities individuals seek out after they have completed their initial education. Continual educational growth is the means by which qualified practitioners maintain the skills and knowledge necessary to provide high standards of counselling practice. Practitioners also participate in professional development activities to learn new developments in the counselling field or develop new areas of specialized practice. Participation in continuing education is an important activity that contributes to high standards of excellence in the provision of counselling services.

The Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) provides a national, bilingual system of recording and reporting the continuing education activities of counselling practitioners. It also provides a means by which upcoming educational events can be identified as eligible for CE credit.

Potential Benefits

The Continuing Education system provides the following potential benefits:

• documents the wide variety of counselling related workshops, conferences and other field based events often taken by counselling practitioners
• includes a transcript which records all accumulated CE credits and which is sent free of charge to CCPA members when requested
• provides educational institutions with an official record of learning outside of formal educational programs
• provides present or potential employers with an official record of learning relevant for job maintenance, career advancement or job applications
• provides official documentation for organizations such as Teacher Qualification Services who determine placement on salary scale based on training experience
• provides documentation of training or learning required for local, provincial, or national certification in the counselling profession.

Application Procedures for Continuing Education Credits

CE credits are awarded as follows:

1. One CE credit hour is awarded for participation in 1 hour of a counselling related educational event that has been approved as eligible for CE credit.
2. Some conferences and educational events have been assigned a maximum CE credit by CCPA.
3. Members and non-members of CCPA can apply for CE credit after they have participated in an educational activity that has already been pre-approved by submitting their proof of attendance to the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association national office.
4. If the counselling related educational event was not pre-approved prior to your participation in the event, complete the “Continuing Education Credit Application Form”, and submit this with your application.

Appeals Procedure

If you wish to appeal a decision regarding your application for CE credit, notify the national office in writing providing the reason(s) why you believe your application should be reconsidered. Your appeal will be forwarded for consideration to the CCPA Certification Committee.

NOTE: CCPA reserves the right to determine the amount of CE credit awarded after considering each CE credit application.

Events Eligible for Continuing Education Units

CE credits are earned by participation in counselling related educational events such as:

• Workshops
• Seminars
• Conferences
• Training events
• College/university credit courses taken after your original training
• Evidence of focused self study will include but not be limited to authorship of a book on counselling, teaching or facilitating an educational event for the first time, or demonstrating significant redevelopment of a previously offered event.

Counselling educational events must be reviewed and approved by CCPA as being an event for which participants are eligible for CE credits. Approval of events as eligible for CE credit occurs in two ways:

• In most cases, some educational events are pre-approved as eligible for CE credit by the event sponsor. The promotional material or registration form will indicate whether the event has been pre-approved.
• You can apply for approval of an educational event for CE credit before the event occurs or for up to three (3) years after you attend the professional development activity, however, you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. An application form is available for this purpose. You must provide proof of attendance when application for CE credit is made after the event was attended.

Criteria for Eligibility

The following criteria are required for the activity to be eligible for CE credit:

1. The educational event provides knowledge and skills to enhance counselling practice.
2. The qualifications of the event leader are suitable and relevant to the educational goals.
3. Participants are provided with high quality, up to date information.
4. Application for CE credits must occur within 3 years after the event.

Enhanced Value

The following qualities enhance the value of an educational event:

1. The organizer, sponsor or leader of the event is a member of CCPA.
2. There is a clear statement of the learning goals or expected outcomes for the event participants (what you will learn or be able to do as a result of the event).
3. Participants have the opportunity for experiential learning activities.
4. Feedback, coaching or performance appraisals are included in the event.

Continuing Education Unit Transcript

A cumulative record of your CE transcript listing all the CE credits for which you were awarded, is kept at CCPA national office. This transcript is issued upon request. The transcripts have a CCPA embossed seal and include the following information about the counselling related educational events for which you were awarded CE credits:

• Event name.
• Event dates and total hours involved.
• The leader’s name and sponsoring organization (if applicable).
• The amount of CE credit.

All CE records and transcripts are treated as confidential documents and access to the records is restricted. No transcript is issued to a third party without the written request of the transcript holder.

Continuing Education Credit Fees

Members of CCPA utilize the CEU system at no cost.

Non-members are required to pay the following fees:

Application Procedure for Pre-Accreditation of Counselling Educational Events for Continuing Education Credit

Individuals or organizations who offer counselling educational events to counselling practitioners such as workshops, seminars, conferences, and training events can apply to have these events pre-approved for Continuing Education (CE) credits. Once approved for CE credits, the following statement can be included in the promotional material and/or the registration form:

 “Continuing Education credit available from the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association”.

Conferences or workshops that are offered on a regular basis can apply for pre-approval of CEU credits on an ongoing basis if one of the following conditions is met:

• The organizer is a member CCPA.
• The leader(s) or instructor(s) are members of CCPA.
• The majority of participants are members of CCPA.

Once approved for CE credit, you will be notified of the number of CE credits awarded to participants of your event and will be provided with a form to be copied and distributed to all participants. The form specifies information about the event and what the participant must do to receive credit. Participants can mail the form to CCPA national office or the forms can be collected and sent by the organizers of the educational event.

There is no fee charged to have an educational event approved for CE credit.

Dedication

The Continuing Education System booklet is dedicated to the memory of Chris Campbell, a respected professional counsellor and valued member of the CCPA Board of Directors. It was Chris’ support and personal example that provided the catalyst for this booklet and continued development of the CE system.