In brief, from a regulatory perspective, maintaining abreast of the most recent developments in counseling additionally helps safeguard shoppers by sustaining skilled requirements and guaranteeing that practitioners’ competencies are usually assessed and up to date (Gazzola & Smith, 2007). The next sections overview a spread of continuous training programs for counselors on a regional foundation.
Finest Programs for Counselors
With a spread of counseling {qualifications} and specialties out there worldwide, this part outlines persevering with training choices supplied by nationwide regulatory our bodies and their necessities of licensed counselors.
Some international locations have multiple skilled affiliation for counselors, so the next have been curated to supply a consultant cross-section in fact choices for counselors.
Every skilled physique stipulates a spread of programs and/or studying actions which are formally acknowledged by way of persevering with training credit required to resume a counselor’s license to apply.
Nonetheless, the restricted scope of this text means it’s not a definitive information. When selecting programs, counselors want to contemplate their specialty, skilled objectives, and whether or not their selection is acknowledged by the related skilled our bodies and/or licensing boards of their particular subject earlier than signing up (Hiebert et al., 1992).
1. United States: The American Counseling Affiliation’s Skilled Improvement Heart
Most licensed counselors in the USA are regulated by the American Counseling Affiliation (ACA). The ACA provides a spread of programs for counselors at its on-line skilled improvement heart, which is able to most likely be accepted in lots of different international locations as accredited persevering with training (CE) models.
You’ll be able to study in quite a lot of codecs, together with brief video programs, webinars, and text-based choices like journal articles.
Counselors also can earn CE credit by attending the ACA Convention & Expo — their flagship skilled improvement occasion. The convention consists of instructional classes and workshops on self-care for practitioners, finest apply, and the most recent instruments and assets to help your shoppers.
You’ll be able to browse the course catalog of 224 choices, overlaying subjects as extensive ranging as working with addictions, couple counseling, suicide prevention, and ethics in counseling apply. Every counselor course provides 1 or 1.5 credit, so you possibly can combine and match programs to construct a singular persevering with training portfolio in response to your skilled pursuits.
2. United Kingdom: The British Affiliation of Counselling and Psychotherapy CPD Hub
The British Affiliation for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) is a UK-based regulatory and licensing physique, and additionally it is one of many largest counseling associations in Europe. Its persevering with skilled improvement (CPD) hub provides over 300 hours of accredited on-line assets on quite a lot of counseling subjects.
Some great benefits of BACP’s on-line CPD are that it’s self-paced, may be accomplished at dwelling, and suits in round different commitments. The training content material is recorded at stay BACP occasions and consists of displays from internationally acknowledged counseling specialists. Video and audio course content material is up to date month-to-month. All assets embody a downloadable CPD certificates.
BACP additionally organizes varied stay (on-line and in-person) workshops, seminars, and coaching occasions all year long. These occasions cowl various subjects similar to therapeutic methods, moral concerns, working with particular shopper populations, and trauma-informed care.
You’ll be able to take a look at the occasions listings right here.
3. Australia: The Australian Counselling Affiliation’s OPD occasions
Working towards members of the Australian Counselling Affiliation are required to finish 25 factors of ongoing skilled improvement (OPD) a yr.
These may be earned by means of subscribing to their journal; making skilled displays; publishing in peer-reviewed journals; and collaborating in conferences, native chapter conferences, coaching workshops, and programs for counselors.
You’ll be able to learn extra in regards to the Australian necessities and what qualifies as OPD of their on-line coverage doc right here.
4. Canada: The Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Affiliation’s CEC program
The Canadian Licensed Counselling and Psychotherapy Affiliation’s (CCPA) Canadian-certified counsellor standing grants membership for a three-year interval.
Certification should then be renewed by means of a proper software course of, which incorporates submitting proof of 36 persevering with training credit (CECs).
The CCPA’s CEC program features a vary of workshops, conferences, webinars, and counselor programs, that are evaluated by way of two pathways: the overall persevering with training credit program and the Indigenous persevering with training credit program.
Whereas the overall program focuses on the event of specialties primarily based on core counseling abilities and competencies, the Indigenous program consists of conventional teachings and therapeutic ceremonies that help CCPA members in offering culturally acceptable companies to First Nations, Métis, and/or Inuit shoppers, households, and communities.
You could find out extra by visiting their Common Skilled Improvement occasions timetable right here and by downloading the Indigenous CE Credit score Program brochure right here.
5. EU-wide organizations
In Europe, counselors are regulated by a spread {of professional} our bodies, every with its personal set of requirements, certifications, and pointers. These are usually nation particular. Nonetheless, there are two notable European counseling organizations which are aiming to standardize skilled apply pointers EU-wide.
- European Affiliation for Counseling (EAC)
The EAC promotes counseling as a career in Europe and offers a networking platform for counseling professionals. Whereas it doesn’t instantly difficulty certifications, it units pointers for moral apply {and professional} improvement. - European Board of Licensed Counselors (EBCC)
The EBCC is the European arm of the US Nationwide Board for Licensed Counselors. It goals to advertise the federal government recognition of counseling as a stand-alone career, to destigmatize the usage of psychological well being companies by increasing the provision of counseling, and to offer skilled training for counselors.
When searching for programs for counselors working in Europe, it’s important to grasp that certifications, requirements, and regulatory our bodies differ considerably throughout European nations due to the completely different authorized {and professional} frameworks in every nation.