Continuing Education

Counsellor certification from CCPA is for a period of three years only and is renewable through an application process.

To assist all members in obtaining their 24* continuing education credits (CEC) required for certification renewal, CCPA has established a national continuing education program. This program reviews a wide variety of professional events, including: workshops, conferences, webinars, institutes and courses, and grants credit to those events that provide quality information for continued education.

The Continuing Education program maintains a continuous record of credits. These credits may be issued as an official Continuing Education transcript upon request. One transcript per year per member is available free of charge.

*Commencing September 2012, all new certified members will be required to obtain 36 CEC's every 3 years. For existing certified members, the 36 CEC requirement will be instituted at the commencement of their next 3-year CEC cycle.*

Members Seeking Continuing Education Credits (CEC)

• What are the benefits of Continuing Education?

  • 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 which is sent free of charge to CCPA members upon request
  • 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.
• How do I apply for CECs?

  1. Research continuing education opportunities that are of interest to you.
  2. Determine whether the event is pre- approved for continuing education credits with CCPA (check with the provider, check on the CCPA website under Continuing Education Credits, check with CCPA National Office.
  3. Attend the event.
  4. Complete the Continuing Education Credit Application Form and have the facilitator sign your attendance at the event or submit a proof of participation (e.g. copy of the University transcript, certificate, signed letter from presenter, etc.)
  5. Submit a proof of the length of the event (e.g. copy of the program, certificate with the hours of attendance, etc.)
  6. Submit the form to CCPA National Office (insert address / e-mail etc.)

  
  Notes: Attendance at the National CCPA Conference (annual event) automatically generates Continuing Education Credits that are then included in your record of CECs.

  Incomplete applications may be returned to the sender. CCPA reserves the right to determine the number of CECs awarded after reviewing the CEC Application Form.

  If you have more than 24* Continuing Education Credits for a three year period, the extra Continuing Education Credits cannot be applied to the next three years.

   

• How many Continuing Education Credits Do I Need?

  As a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) you must obtain Continuing Education Credits (CECs) in order to maintain your certification. The requirement is 24* CECs over the course of each three year period that you are certified. The CECs must be obtained in a relevant counselling or psychotherapy area.

  Please note that while your certification expiration date is every three years, membership fees and certification fees are payable annually.

  Upon request, CCPA can send you an official CEC transcript. Additionally, you may print an unofficial CEC transcript for yourself by logging onto our website.

   *Commencing September 2012, all new certified members will be required to obtain 36 CEC's every 3 years. For existing certified members, the 36 CEC requirement will be instituted at the commencement of their next 3-year CEC cycle.*

• How are Continuing Education Credits awarded?

  The following table shows you how Continuing Education Credits are assigned.

   *Please note that this chart is currently under construction*.

  Type of Continuing Education Event	Continuing Education Credits
  Workshop (includes webinars)	1 credit for each hour
  Preparation time to present a workshop	1 credit for each hour
  Course attended at the College or University level	15
  Preparation time to teach a College or University course	15
  Preparation time to teach a course at the Masters level	15
  Preparation time to write an article	50
  Preparation time to write a book	100

• How are events for Continuing Education Credits reviewed?

  Counselling educational events are reviewed and approved by CCPA. Approval of events as eligible for CEC's occurs in two ways:

  1. In most cases, some educational events are pre-approved as eligible for CEC's by the event sponsor. The promotional material or registration form will indicate whether the event has been pre-approved.
  2. You can apply for approval of an educational event for CEC's before the event occurs. You can also apply for approval up to three (3) years after you attend the professional development activity, Apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. The Continuing Education Credit Accreditation Form is available for this purpose. You must provide proof of attendance when application for CEC's is made after the event was attended.

              *Important: Please note even if an event if approved for CEC's, it will only count towards your 24* required hours for certification if the event has taken place within your current certification period.

• What do I do if my Continuing Education Credit is rejected?

  Appeals Procedure
  If you wish to appeal a decision regarding your application for CEC's, 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 CEC's awarded after considering each CEC application.

• What are relevant counselling or psychotherapy areas for Continuing Education Credits?

  CECs shall be oriented to the enhancement of a professional counsellor’s self-awareness, knowledge, and skills and competencies. CCPA promotes engagement in counselling-related and psychotherapy-related activities that link directly to the entry-to-practice counselling and psychotherapy competencies. These competencies are structured into domains that emphasize professional development related to therapeutic alliance/core conditions, assessment, treatment, consultation, referral, supervision, theories of human development and functioning, systems theories and approaches, recordkeeping, and research. Professional activities related to ethics, group counselling, diversity and social justice, supervision, and current trends in counselling and psychotherapy are deemed particularly relevant

• How do I Access my Continuing Education Credit Transcript?

  A cumulative record of your CEC transcript listing all the CEC's 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 Continuing Education Credits:

  • Event name.
  • Event dates and total hours involved.
  • The leader's name and sponsoring organization (if applicable).
  • The amount of Continuing Education Credits.

  All CEC 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 CEC system at no cost.

  Non-members are required to pay the following fees:

  Event application for CEC credit	$30.00
  Issue of CEC transcript to a third party	$30.00

• How do I Distinguish Counselling-related and Psychotherapy-related Continuing Education from Personal Insight/Self-Study Activities?

  Counselling-related and psychotherapy-related continuing education opportunities are diverse. For example, training in Somatic Experiencing and Hakomi are recognized approaches to therapy for clients and are clearly counselling-related. Other areas of training, such as Reiki and meditation may be related to counselling or psychotherapy if the therapist uses these methodologies in conjunction with established counselling and psychotherapy approaches. In some cases, the direct linkage is explicit in the training session outline. In other cases, the session more accurately is described as devoted to personal wellness and mindfulness.

Providers of CEC's

• What is the Application Procedure for Professional Learning Session Pre-Approvals?

  Individuals or organizations who offer counselling educational events to counselling practitioners can apply to have these events pre-approved for Continuing Education Credits (CEC's). Application can be made by using the Pre-Accreditation Form. Once approved for CEC's, the following statement can be included in the promotional material and/or the registration form:

  "Continuing Education Credits available from the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association".

  Conferences or workshops that are offered on a regular basis can apply for pre-approval of Continuing Education 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 CEC's, the event provider will be notified of the number of CEC's awarded to each participant at the pre-approved event. A form will be transmitted to the event provider for distribution at the event. The form provides information about the event and what the participant must do to receive credit. Participants can then mail the form to CCPA National Office. Alternatively, the forms can be collected and sent by the organizers of the educational event to National Office on behalf of the participants.

  There is no fee charged to have an educational event approved for CEC's.

• What are the Eligibility Requirements for CCPA Continuing Education Credits?

  The following criteria are required for the activity to be eligible for CEC's:

  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 topic area, the educational goals, and level of information being disseminated.
  3. Participants are provided with high quality, up to date information.