Ensuring Continued Excellence: Exploring Social Work & Professional Counseling CEU Courses
License renewals are an important part of quality control in the social work and professional counselor professions. One of the many reasons that the renewal process exists is to maintain professional competence and ethical standards of the profession. A key element of maintaining competence within the profession is Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in the license renewal process. Today we are going to discuss the benefits and options available for social work and professional counselor continuing education (CEU) courses.
Why Do License Renewal Continuing Education Courses Matter?
The rationale behind social work and professional counselor’s license renewal including a requirement of continuing education units is accountability in maintaining ongoing professional development within the profession. In order to ensure this level of quality and accountability state boards of licenses make CEUs legal and regulatory requirements for license renewal. This meets the ethical principle of competence that is built into the values of the profession.
So what are the benefits of continuing education in license renewal?
There are actually a number of benefits that come from the requirement of continuing education (CEUs) as a part of the license renewal process. One of the main benefits of this requirement is accountability in staying updated with the latest research, best practices, and ethical guidelines. CEUs can be an important part of expanding a social worker's or professional counselor’s knowledge and skills, enabling them to better serve their clients and communities. For those working more specifically in therapeutic work, continuing education can offer therapists the opportunity to learn new interventions, gain training in additional therapy models, and increase certifications or niches for therapy practice. Specific training in DBT therapy, EMDR therapy, CBT therapy, PE therapy, ACT therapy, Gottman Therapy, play therapy, TBRI and more can help equip a therapist to intervene in a highly effective way with their population of interest.
What are the types of continuing education Courses?
There are many different types of continuing education courses. Some license renewals require that a certain number of continuing education hours be completed on certain topics including:
Ethics
Special topics like human trafficking
Cultural competency
Or supervision specific courses for board-approved supervisors
There are also a variety of formats for obtaining CEUs including
Live, in-person courses
Online live webinars
Asynchronous online courses that are self-paced
Self-study options (may vary by license and state)
Teaching or completing university courses in professional topics (may vary by license and state)
How can you choose the right courses?
There are many things to consider when selecting the right course for you but here are a few things to consider:
What types of continuing education courses are required for your license and state (ethics, cultural competency, supervision CEUs, etc.)
What format is best for your schedule, personal needs, and learning style?
What are your professional goals or needs for your professional growth?
What populations are you working with them most and what are areas that you need to improve your skills and knowledge?
Continuing education, though a legal requirement of the state boards for maintaining a mental health license has great benefits to the license holders and the profession as a whole. Taking these continuing education requirements as an opportunity to develop professional skills and learn more about topics of professional interest will help make the process more enjoyable and ensure professional growth and competence.
