CAMFT is providing further information on offering continuing education courses related to psychotherapists’ self-care. CAMFT appreciates that some of our CE providers may want to offer courses which support and promote the well-being of psychotherapists as a way of improving practitioners’ competence while positively impacting the client experience. As a result of feedback from CAMFT members and approved-providers, we recently sought further clarification from the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) regarding standards for self-care CE courses.

Below are some guidelines to keep in mind should you be interested in offering such courses:

• CE courses must be related to the profession of psychotherapy or the scope of practice of psychotherapists; and
• Any training, education and coursework by approved providers shall incorporate one or more of the following:

1. Aspects of the discipline that are fundamental to the understanding of the practice of psychotherapy;
2. Aspects of the discipline in which significant recent developments have occurred;
3. Aspects of other disciplines that enhance the understanding of the practice of psychotherapy; and

Be related to the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of the client population being served .

This means that the course must relate back to the client in some way. Here are some questions to consider about your course:

• Does the course improve the experience of the client?
• Does the course improve the relationship between the therapist and the client?
• Does the course contribute to the overall safety of the client?
• Is the course for the sake of consumer protection?

It is important to be aware that self-improvement courses, courses designed for non-practitioners, and courses created exclusively for the benefit of psychotherapists’ and/or psychotherapists’ businesses are not acceptable courses for CE credit. Therefore, the following may be viewed as potential “red flags” to the BBS:

• Course title suggests the focus is not on consumer protection, legal, ethical or clinical practice;
• Course is geared solely toward psychotherapist’s self-care with no clear connection or possible application to the work done with clients;
• Course pertains solely to psychotherapists’ finances;
• Course relates solely to the marketing of psychotherapists’ practice;
• Course is focused exclusively on how to build a practice;
• Course is appropriate for/could be attended by a lay person.

CAMFT realizes many of our providers are interested in offering courses that contain CE-related and non-CE related content. The BBS accepts these types of “hybrid” courses as long as providers clearly advertise which portion of the courses are dedicated to CE-related content and issue CE credits only for the time spent on CE-related material.

CAMFT’s Continuing Education Provider Approval Agency (CEPA) is committed to giving its CE providers the support needed to ensure the delivery of quality continuing education which meets the BBS’s CE requirements. If you have questions about the content of your continuing education offerings, please do not hesitate to contact us (cepa@camft.org) or visit our website for more information about course content requirements.

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ⁱ Calif. Bus. & Prof. Code §§4980.54(b); 4989.34(a); 4996.22(a)(1); 4999.76(a)
ⁱⁱ Calif. Bus & Prof. Code §§4980.54(h)-(i); 4989.34(c); 4996.22(f)-(g); 4999.76(f)-(g)
ⁱⁱⁱ Board of Behavioral Science’s Continuing Education Information brochure which can be found at https://bbs.ca.gov/serp.html?q=continuing+education+requirements

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