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Continuing Education for Mental Health Professional: How to Keep Growing in Your Practice

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If you’re a therapist or mental health professional, you’re required by your state board to obtain ongoing continuing education. You must know the guidelines your state requires and what type of continuing education credits you need. Continuing education is not reciprocal and may be dependent on the state you live in.

The mental health field is so robust that methods and interventions are constantly changing, and mental health professionals must adapt and grow in their profession. One of the benefits of being in the mental health field is that there are always new things to learn.

Some states require that you gain additional training in certain areas. For example, I’m a therapist, and I’m licensed in two different states; I practice virtually in each of these states. I have additional requirements regarding the amount and type of continuing education I obtain. One state requires me to have 2 hours of suicide prevention for licensure renewal. The other state requires 6 hours of Ethics before I can renew my license. Checking the requirements of your state licensing board is essential so you don’t have problems at licensure renewal time.

There are many benefits of continuing education for mental health professionals. If you need help with where to look for continuing education, start with your local mental health professional agencies, look online, and consider applicable professional organizations.

Benefits of Continuing Education

Continuing Education has many benefits. Continuing education can help counselors and mental health clinicians learn new skills, fulfill requirements for licensure, and help therapists better serve their clients. You can also obtain certification or become skilled in specialized modalities such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), and many more.

Continuing education can also help you grow professionally along with advancements in the field. For example, when the pandemic started, many mental health professionals switched to providing telehealth services, and there were more regulations and rules about how to practice. These regulations eventually made it easier for many people to open private practices. Therapists have to adapt to changing societal events. Obtaining continuing education on telehealth requirements and updated laws and regulations was helpful for many people during that time.

For some mental health professionals continuing education can advance your salary. For example, improving your skills or learning a new modality can help you better serve clients; your specialized skills may allow you to charge more for your expertise.

The growth of knowledge and skills you can gain by obtaining continuing education can help you feel more confident when working with clients. In addition, professional development through continuing education can benefit you and your clients by improving the therapeutic relationship.

Technological Advancements and Continuing Education

Many mental health clinicians use technology in their practices. There are all sorts of advancements in technological tools that can help therapists do their job more efficiently. Ensuring the technology you use is HIPAA compliant and following all rules and regulations is critical. It’s essential to stay current on continuing education and learn of advancements in the field.

One such technological tool is the use of AI in mental health practices. AI can help clinicians spend less time on documentation. Mentalyc is one tool that allows mental health professionals to complete their documentation more quickly. Mentalyc works by taking a recording of your Psychotherapy session, summarizing it, and providing a note in less than two minutes. Although Mentalyc is not the only AI option for notes, it is one of the advancements making things more accessible. If you’re interested in trying Mentalyc, you can sign up here.

Professional Organizations and Continuing Education

Many professional organizations offer continuing education programs. For example, the American Counseling Association (ACA) offers 12 free continuing education credits annually if you’re a member. So, if you’re a member of ACA, you can access one free continuing education credit monthly. Other organizations may also offer continuing education credits.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) offers discounted continuing education credits for its members through online continuing education institutes. The American Psychological Association (APA) also offers many continuing education credits online at a discounted price for their members.

The American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) offers an online education system that members and non-members can access. The AAMFT offers discounted courses for members.

The American Psychiatric Association also offers an online learning center that anyone can access. They offer live events and pre-recorded events on their website.

Continuing Education by Topic

In addition to looking at applicable professional organizations in the mental health field, you can obtain continuing education by searching by topic. For example, if you wanted to learn more about emotionally focused couples therapy, you would search for “emotionally focused couples therapy” or see if your professional organization offers training on that topic.

You may also be a part of social media groups where other professionals share or talk about upcoming training. Networking with other therapists online is a great way to discover new training and improve your skills.

I am a member of the Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities (SAIGE). SAIGE is a branch of the American Counseling Counseling Association. I chose to be a member of SAIGE to expand my knowledge of working with LGBTQIA+ communities.

I work with many LGBTQIA+ clients in my private practice and want to stay current on working with these populations. SAIGE offers many live webinars throughout the year. They also provide recorded self-paced webinars that I can complete for continuing education credit. If you’re a mental health professional and work with specific clients, you may tailor your training to the clients you serve the most. Specifying your continuing education can help you grow and expand upon knowledge that’s relevant to your caseload.

Continuing Education in Your Area

If you’re seeking continuing education opportunities, see if any mental health organizations near you have upcoming training opportunities. Many mental health agencies offer continuing education for their clinicians, and they invite people outside of their agency.

Sometimes facilities will sponsor training or speakers to come and present on a topic. But, again, learning about the opportunities in your area is an excellent way to learn new skills.

Continuing Education on a Budget

There are various websites where you can find free or low-cost continuing education online if you’re a mental health professional. Also, if you’re on a budget, there are some places where you don’t have to pay a fortune to find an education.

Some potential options include:

These sites often offer package deals where you can buy a bundle of continuing education credits at a low price or purchase a subscription to these providers for a year and have unlimited continuing education credits.

Self-Reflection

The therapist’s ability to self-reflect and understand their strengths and limitations in the field is essential. Not only does continuing education keep you up to date, but it helps you identify the gaps in your knowledge. You can then fill in the gaps with additional education and skills

If you want to gain a new perspective on your case, consider trying generative AI tools such as Mentalyc, as it can help you catch details in your sessions that you may have missed. This can help you reflect and grow as a therapist, as the AI analyzes your recordings of sessions and conceptualizes and documents your notes for you.

Self-reflecting helps you stay self-aware. Clinicians who stay self-aware can better serve their clients. Continuing education also allows professionals to stay current on new procedures and policies that affect counselors, social workers, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and psychiatrists.

If you want to be trained in additional modalities, such as EMDR, obtaining certification may be time-consuming and costly. Many professionals find these additional trainings worth it for the quality of the training they receive and the knowledge they can apply with their clients.

Licensing boards and regulatory agencies

You must be aware of your licensing board requirements when seeking continuing education. Not only do specific licensing boards want you to meet particular needs, but they also may disapprove of continuing education credits from other organizations.

Some state licensing boards accept continuing education credits if that board approves training. For example, Marriage and Family Therapists may be able to have APA-approved training count towards their continuing education, but other licensing boards may not accept this. It is up to you to know what your licensing board does and does not accept regarding continuing education.

Overview of Continuing Education

Continuing education is a necessity for many mental health professionals to maintain licensure. Not only does continuing education help keep mental health clinicians up to date on new developments in the field, but it allows them to increase their skill set.

The field constantly changes; improving your knowledge can help you improve your work with your clients. Continuing education also allows you to learn new modalities and gain additional certifications to expand your niche within the field, increase your salary, and earn new credentials.

It’s always wise to self-reflect, understand your current skill set and set goals for how you want to grow professionally. There are many ways to obtain continuing education. You can go online, find in-person continuing education, or take a self-paced training from professional organizations. You can also look at any mental health facilities around your area to find new and exciting continuing education opportunities.

About the author

Marissa Moore

Marissa Moore is a mental health professional who owns Mending Hearts Counseling in Southwest Missouri. She specializes in providing affirming counseling services to the LGBTQIA+ community. Marissa has 11 years of experience working in the mental health field, and her work experience includes substance use treatment centers, group homes, an emergency room, and now private practice work.

Learn More About Marissa