Therapist Continuing Education: What are People Doing?
I love gaining new knowledge and trying to stay current with the theories, ideas and practical applications of the work of being a
psychotherapist. The problem as of late has been “time” more than anything else but I’m refocusing my energy on this important part of my practice.
I’m wondering what other therapists are doing to get their continuing education?
Are you travelling to exotic locals to try to make the most of a family trip along with the conference? Are you sticking close to home to find more affordable options? Have you tried one of these new “virtual conferences?”
This is the thing for me… I find that having a private practice can be so isolating that I enjoy actually attending speaking events, symposiums or full conferences where am surrounded by other therapists in a learning and social environment. I went to a couples conference in San Diego earlier this year that was great - it was for the weekend and I happened to have friends in San Diego that I connected with so it was also a mini-vacation.
Next on my ”learning” agenda is something a bit different. I just signed up for a 6 week course called “The Neuroscience of Attachment” which integrates “the new discipline of interpersonal neurobiology” with emotion focused therapies. I’m very interested in adult attachment myself – so this should be interesting. The course if two hours every Wednesday (right down the hall from my office which is extremely convenient).
I’ll surely post on my experience in this course.
———————————–
Lisa Brookes Kift is a psychotherapist in private practice – and the creator of Notes from a Therapist’s Chair: The Therapy and Counseling Blog.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
5 Responses »
Leave a Response
Entries(RSS)
Until this year, I hadn’t gone to many live events for several years, as there is not only the cost of the workshop, but also lost income for that day. I have done free CEUs through UBH. Magellan also offers free CEUs for providers. Last year, I discovered http://www.CE4less.com. Their credits are extremely cheap. You can get unlimited CEUs for one year for $74.99. They have some of their own courses, as well as credits for a number of published books.
That said, I have seen numerous leaders over the decades and encourage others to do so. Live conferences not only put you in the presence of many like-minded folk, but may also provide you a chance to meet and network with others, esp. for local workshops.
Last month, I traveled from Cleveland to Washington DC for training on Trichotillomania. It was well worth it and have already got several new clients since then. Traveling for specific/advanced training for your niche should be considered.
Also within the past month, I “attended” Casey Truffo’s virtual therapist marketing conference. Mostly, I have listened to the recordings after they were presented. It was OK, mostly affirming how much I have learned about these topics in the last 1.5 years or so!
I get many professional books through inter-library loan from the public library. For those who do not exploit this resource, I cannot encourage this enough.
Mike Miller, PhD
http://drmikemiller.com
Hi Mike,
Wow, you’ve been busy! I’ll check out a few of your online CEU suggestions. I’ve done a few teleconferences via GoodTherapy which have been interesting – but I have to say I think I still prefer live, in person conferences. There’s something inspiring about the energy in the room of a bunch of us therapists excited about learning (amongst those who are not so excited about just getting their CEU’s taken care of).
Thanks for your thoughts.
Lisa
I concur 100%.
Mike
Hi, I am the director of Ce4Less.com and was thrilled to see Mike’s reference to his experiences with our site. I started Ce4Less 5 years ago after a continuing ed experience I had. In Montana we need to renew our licenses every 2 years with the year determined by whether our license number is odd or even. Well, I learned that I had to complete all of my ceus in 1 week instead of in 1 year and 1 week as I had mistakenly thought. After overnight shipments of materials and faxing response sheets I thought “There has to be a better way”. We found that we could use technology (and a lot of feedback from our customers) to make a more user-friendly experience. I do believe that there will always be the need for conferences where mental health professionals can hear from leaders in the field as well as to socialize with peers (a benefit not to be undervalued in my opinion).
We are finding that folks are increasing used to getting their needs met on the web and place a premium on convenience and value. We saw our largest growth when we offered “No Book to Buy” courses for which the reading material is downloaded from the site. I think we have also seen quite a bit of growth as the result of the economic downturn. I could go on quite a bit but don’t want this to sound like an advertisement. Thanks Lisa for this forum for mental health folk.
Will
http://www.Ce4Less.com
You’re welcome Will!
Yes, people are certainly looking online for things they would never have in the past. It’s an exciting time and there are a lot of great resources out there for people!
I encourage other therapists to share their tips on other practice related (including continuing education) needs and interests.
Regards,
Lisa
http://LisaKiftTherapy.com