Mental Health Continuing Education Key Terms

Find out about continuing education terms for mental health professionals

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.

 

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

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