Continuing Education

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 36 Continuing Education Credits for a three year period, the extra Continuing Education Credits cannot be applied to the next three years.

As a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) you must obtain Continuing Education Credits (CECs) in order to maintain your certification. The requirement is 36* 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.

View a table on how CEC’s are awarded.

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

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.
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 36* required hours for certification if the event has taken place within your current certification period.

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.

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. Professional activities related to ethics, group counselling, diversity and social justice, receiving supervision, and current trends in counselling and psychotherapy are deemed particularly relevant

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.

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

Learn about the CEC Research Project.

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.

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

• The educational event provides knowledge and skills to enhance counselling practice.
• The qualifications of the event leader are suitable and relevant to the topic area, the educational goals, and level of information being disseminated.
• Participants are provided with high quality, up to date information.