Regardless of your career choice, pursuing continuing professional education (CPE) credits - can make a lucrative and personal difference in your professional life. Continuing professional education keeps you informed on industry updates, including the latest research and news, and makes a great impression on your colleagues, bosses and future employers. 
 
Here are three considerations in choosing your continuing professional education: 

1. Online continuing professional education is a flexible, easy way to advance your career training at your convenience - at home, at work or anywhere you have an Internet connection.
2. Check into CPE providers that offer both mandatory CPE credits and optional continuing education professional development resources (determined by professional standards).
3. Take advantage of education (professional development resources) that help you develop your 'people' skills, such as training, communication, leadership and more. 

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Earn CPE credits offered through professional organizations

Whether you work as a real estate agent, a nurse or in another professional/trade field in which continuing professional education is required, be sure to fulfill these requirements before your license/other accreditation expires.

I recommend: Visit Penn Foster Career School for more than 80 online professional development resources in the fields of health services, business, education, technology, trade, legal studies, automotive, creative/design and more.

Enroll in accounting professional development resources for CPE credits

Tax accountants must take ongoing continuing professional education courses to keep their knowledge (of ever-changing laws) sharp. Quarterly exams must be completed within two years of the date published, and new exams are published each quarter. Look for live or online CPE credits for CPAs, depending on your schedule and preferred style of learning.

I recommend: The Accounting Education Associates offer you a variety of ways to earn your CPE credits. Accountants Education Group provides continuing professional education for accountants/CPAs, with same day shipping, instant free online grading, state ethics courses and more.

Take advantage of free professional development resources

There are several respected websites with free or low-cost classes to enhance your existing knowledge and skills. Some schools will allow you to take audit or non-credit education/professional development classes for free.

I recommend: Go to the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) for an extensive list of free resources, including a variety of education, professional development, seminars and other tools to aid in your continuing professional education.

Earn additional professional designations at online continuing professional education schools

In many career fields, once you've completed your initial education and earned the required basic professional training/designation, you have the option of specializing in one career within that field by earning additional CPE credits.

I recommend: CE2GO offers industry-accredited continuing education/professional development courses online through trusted schools and professional trade associations across the country.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Many professional development resources, seminars and training opportunities are offered during weekends or evenings, or through distance learning (including online) courses for CPE credits.
• •  Some businesses will pay for, and/or allow you to take continuing professional education seminars and classes on company time.
• •  Check with the professional organization governing your profession to learn the mandated CE or CPE credits in your industry and location, and for a list of approved professional development resources.
• •  Not all continuing professional education - CPE credits included - come in the form of traditional classroom courses. Try listening to motivational or educational CDs or reading books while working out or just relaxing on the beach or attending webinars while traveling.
• •  Consider the value of learning a second language as part of your education/professional development plan, and watch your career opportunities soar regardless of your field.

Remember to offer plenty of ways to help your staff meet their mental health continuing education or mental health CE. Mental health CE requirements are often set by the state and will differ for each branch of the mental health field; for example, counseling continuing education will not be the same as the mental health CE requirements for psychiatrists.

Discuss the need for mental health continuing education with your staff members so they recognize the importance of CE not only to their own career, but in terms of the expectations you have for your department.

1. Research mental health online course catalogues for staff members.

2. Consider mental health home study course programs for staff convenience.

3. Sign up staff members for mental health continuing education seminars.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose mental health online courses for staff convenience

Look at several options when considering mental health online courses. Make sure the courses meet the standards set by the state board and will be accepted as the required mental health continuing education.

I recommend: Capella University offers mental health online courses to help keep your staff in the know. Affect Plus has a vast selection of online classes designed to help you ensure your staff is up-to-date on their educational needs.

Find mental health home study courses to allow your staff to learn at their own risk

Consider mental health home study courses as a way for your staff members to meet the need for continuing education and allow them to learn at their own rate of speed.

I recommend: Program Services Continuing Education has a variety of mental health home study courses designed to help you help your staff members succeed. Professional Psych Seminars provides you with the home study options to help your employees continue their education.

Take advantage of seminars for your staff's mental health CE requirements

Set up mental health seminars that are designed to meet specific continuing education requirements. You can enroll your staff members in seminars that are already planned, or you can contact a variety of organizations to create a seminar specific to your staff members and the topics they most need in their day-to-day professional lives.

I recommend: American Healthcare Institute boasts educational seminars for mental health professionals that meet most state board requirements for continuing education credits. MEDS-PDN has a number of seminars available for continuing education for mental health professionals under your management.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Set up webinars instead of hosting traditional mental health continuing education seminars to help your staff better manage their time as they continue their education. Webinars can be recorded and attended when convenient for your staff.

As a licensed mental health professional, you're required to get counseling continuing education annually or biennially, as required by your state. You may be worried that these classes will cost you a pretty penny, but mental health continuing education pricing and costs are generally reasonable.

Mental health online courses are convenient because you can do them instantly from wherever you are. Mental health home study courses are also convenient, yet require you to wait for the CEU package to be shipped to your home. Live courses can be very expensive, but provide hands-on learning. Also, think about which might best suit you and your profession:

1. Social work CEUs are for those in the social work field, be it a supervisor or LCSW. These are often geared toward learning to work with different age or client groups.

2. Psychologists can get mental health CE in a their own and related fields. A lateral move can greatly expand a client base.

3. Mental health counselor training is best for those registered as an LMHC, although the lines are a bit blurry and these can sometimes be used for psychology and social work CEUs.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Earn mental health continuing education credits in social work

Many social workers take mental health CE classes to learn more about dealing with issues they come across when assessing and dealing with clients. These classes typically range from about $25 per credit hour, although you can find them much cheaper, up to 14 credits for $100. Try to find big packages to combine the courses and reduce your cost.

I recommend: Find the state in which you practice social work at ContinuingEdCourses.Net and take classes about addiction and difficult clients. You can find a great selection of courses for social work at Western Schools, which is approved by both California and Florida state boards.

Take a mental health online course in psychology

APA-approved courses run anywhere from $10 to $20 per credit hour. Sometimes, large organizations will host a speaker and give education credit for attending, but these seminars are usually very expensive. Whether you see a live speaker or just take an online or home study course, you should focus on what you want to bring into your practice and expand on your existing knowledge. You can find discounted packages of classes that are geared toward certain psychological areas or disorders.

I recommend: The online CEUs from the American Psychological Association are in the $20 per credit range. Vista Continuing Education offers courses that are a bit less expensive.

Obtain continuing education training for mental health counselors

Online courses range from $10 to $65, depending on how many credits they're worth and if they include a DVD for home study. Home study courses cost more, and an entire package of CEUs can cost hundreds of dollars. Some classes for social work are okay for mental health counselors, so check into those as well, as they can be quite inexpensive.

I recommend: Check out the online courses at Affect Plus. The courses at Peachtree Professional Education are a bit more expensive as they include DVDs for home study.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Continuing education for mental health professionals often includes ethics and law classes. Check with your state to see what's required before you buy CEU packages. Ethics and law courses tend to be much cheaper than other courses since the information stays basically the same from year to year; it's often included as part of a larger package.

Continuing education helps professionals stay current with new trends and research in mental health, as well as meet professional development requirements for state licensure boards. Continuing education can be delivered in person through conferences and seminars, or online through webinars and on-demand videos or podcasts. Look for mental health continuing education providers that offer continuing education units. Such providers also should be approved by a licensing body or professional association, such as the National Board for Certified Counselors.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

CEU (Continuing education unit)

CEU is a unit of measurement for continuing education. It is defined through contact hours, which is the time spent in instruction in a continuing education course. One CEU is granted for 10 contact hours.

I recommend: For further information, see the Continuing Professional Studies program at Buffalo State University.

NBCC, National Board for Certified Counselors

The National Board for Certified Counselors certifies mental health counselors through a national examination. They also recertify mental health counselors through continuing education credits. They provide the requirements for the number of continuing education credits needed to maintain certification, as well as approve providers of continuing education.

I recommend: Visit the National Board for Certified Counselors

APA, American Psychological Association

The American Psychological Association is the largest association of psychologists worldwide. It is a good source of continuing education courses in a variety of topics relevant to psychologists, both in workshops and independent study learning formats.

I recommend: Visit the APA for further information on continuing education courses offered by the association.

ASWB, American Association of Social Work Boards

The American Association of Social Work Boards is a good source of information about continuing education requirements for licensure as a social worker. This association also approves continuing education providers and courses for social workers.

I recommend: Visit the ASWB website for information on continuing education requirements for social workers.

Videos on demand

Videos on demand is a method of delivery of continuing education courses, in which workshops or seminars are purchased or downloaded and can be watched at your convenience. This provides a good alternative to attending conferences if traveling is not an option, or if you do not have the time to attend several day workshops.

I recommend: PsyBC has examples of videos on demand for continuing education for mental health professionals.

Online courses

Another method of delivering continuing education - online courses - offers text and video streaming online so that you can learn at your own pace and own time. Like other continuing education courses, online courses offer a test at the end of the course.

I recommend: AffectPlus provides examples of online courses for mental health professionals.