CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY

Transcription

1 CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY PACFA CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) REQUIREMENTS These requirements are effective from the renewal year commencing 1/7/2014. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the means by which practitioners broaden and deepen their knowledge, skills and awareness, to develop the personal and professional qualities necessary for the effective practice of counselling and psychotherapy. The PACFA CPD requirements are intended to support the obligation of Registrants to keep up to date with their profession and new developments in counselling and psychotherapy practice. Annual CPD requirement 40 points There are 3 categories from which the annual 40 CPD points may be accrued. Category A: MANDATORY One hour of CPD = 2 points. Minimum annual requirement 30 points Category B: OPTIONAL One hour of CPD = 1 point. Maximum annual allowance - 10 points Category C: OPTIONAL One hour of CPD = 1 point. Maximum annual allowance - 5 points The annual requirement of 40 CPD points may all be accrued from Category A. GUIDELINES AND DEFINITIONS OF CPD ACTIVITIES CATEGORY A A minimum requirement of 30 points per year via: Person-to-person courses, workshops, seminars and conferences. Participation in online facilitated courses At least 10 points must be person-to-person activities. The remaining 20 points may be accumulated from person-to-person OR participation in online facilitated CPD. Online facilitated courses take place in an online learning environment. The presence and contribution of an online facilitator is required, providing a component of synchronous or asynchronous online learning. An example of online facilitated learning is an online course that includes facilitated online discussions.

2 CATEGORY B A maximum allowance of 10 points per year via: Participation in facilitated learning groups. Imparting knowledge relating to counselling and psychotherapy through formal presentations, teaching, research and publications. Supervision participation above the annual renewal requirement Facilitated learning groups are groups that discuss and explore counselling and psychotherapy topics or resources, with the presence and leadership of facilitators. CATEGORY C A maximum allowance of 5 points per year via: Contributing to the counselling and psychotherapy profession through involvement in the PACFA Board and committees or PACFA MA committees that supports the development of the professional identity of counselling and psychotherapy in the wider community. Self directed learning, logged in a reflective journal, including: Reading and taking notes of psychotherapy and counselling journals and books; Participation in online non-facilitated courses Participation in peer learning groups Online non-facilitated courses take place in an online learning environment without the presence and contribution of online facilitators. For example, webinars. Peer learning groups are groups of peers who meet to discuss and explore counselling and psychotherapy topics or resources, without a facilitator. A reflective journal is a written record, based on the PACFA pro forma, that reflects on the learning activity undertaken and how it relates to and enhances professional practice. CONTENT FOR CPD ACTIVITIES CPD activities must be directly relevant to ongoing clinical practice in counselling and psychotherapy. CPD relating to other fields of practice besides counselling and psychotherapy are not accepted: Training in mindfulness or meditation (for example) is accepted only where the training is directly applicable to the therapeutic use of these skills in the context of counselling and psychotherapy practice. Ongoing practice attendance in mindfulness or meditation (for example) is not accepted Training in natural or complementary therapies such as naturopathy, nutrition, massage therapy, Reiki and other similar therapies are not accepted. Training in theology or wellness practices, such as yoga, is not accepted. GUIDELINE FOR CPD PRESENTER/s Professional development activities should be presented by those who are: Appropriately qualified members of a PACFA Member Association, or Eligible for membership of a PACFA Member Association, or Recognised by the profession as having advanced expertise in the topic being addressed.

3 This guideline aims to ensure that professional development activities are led by suitably qualified and experienced practitioners, and to ensure that professional development undertaken by Registrants is of sufficiently high quality to make a contribution to their development as practitioners. PACFA recommends that Registrants also consider undertaking some CPD on a regular basis relating to: Ethics in counselling and psychotherapy practice; Legal requirements relating to record keeping and case notes; For practitioners who work with children, the legal requirements relating to working with children. CPD POINTS ALLOCATION To renew PACFA registration, there is an annual requirement of 40 points (equating to a minimum of 20 hours) of CPD (1 July to 30 June each financial year). At least 30 points of the CPD must be from Category A. The additional 10 points may be completed from either Categories A, B or C. For Mental Health Practitioners, a requirement is that 10 points of their CPD relates specifically to mental health practice. This 10 points of CPD may involve activities from Category A, B or C. For Accredited Supervisors, it is recommended that 10 points of their CPD relate specifically to supervision. This 10 points of CPD may involve activities from Category A, B or C. Pro Rata CPD Points Allocation The current annual requirement is the accumulation in the previous twelve months of 40 points of CPD. In the first year of registration, however the CPD requirements can be pro rata. For example, for 6 months of registration, the requirements are halved to 20 points. MAINTAINING CPD DOCUMENTATION It is the responsibility of all Registrants to maintain a Professional Portfolio, which is to be submitted to PACFA at regular intervals for auditing. The Professional Portfolio is to include: 1. CPD documentation. 2. Supervision documentation. 3. Proof of current professional indemnity insurance. 4. Proof of current MA membership. 5. Details of any ethics breaches or other ethics issues that may have arisen. The following CPD documents must be kept in the Professional Portfolio: 1. A schedule of CPD activities, based on the PACFA pro forma, setting out all CPD activities undertaken in the reporting period.

4 2. Supporting evidence such as certificates of attendance, receipts or other documentary proof that can verify that the CPD has been undertaken. 3. Reflective journal entries, based on the PACFA pro forma, for CPD activities completed from Category C. The Professional Portfolio with CPD documentation should be kept securely by the Registrant for a period of no less than three years, or until copies of the Professional Portfolio with CPD documentation has been submitted to PACFA during the audit of the portfolio. AUDITING OF CPD DOCUMENTS All registrants will have their Professional Portfolio audited at random once every three years to ensure compliance with PACFA s Register renewal requirements. Further details are available at Registrants will be notified in writing when they are selected for audit, at which time they will be required to submit: Their CPD documentation. Their supervision documentation. Proof of MA membership. Proof of professional indemnity insurance. Details of any ethical breaches or other ethics issues that may have arisen. Consequences of an unsuccessful audit Failure to comply with the CPD requirements will usually result in removal from the PACFA Register. In exceptional circumstances, an unsuccessful audit may be referred to the Register Committee, which may consider some other sanctions, for example requiring additional CPD activities to be undertaken. Registrants have the right to appeal audit decisions, using PACFA s Register Appeal Process.

5 PACFA Continuing Professional Development CPD LOG NAME: MEMBER ASSOCIATION: REPORTING PERIOD: Date CPD Activity Provider Category Hours Points Total Hours/Points All supporting documents must be held in a professional portfolio until requested by PACFA for audit purposes. A minimum of 40 CPD points is required annually Category A 30 points minimum 1 Hour = 2 points Category B 10 points maximum 1 Hour = 1 point Category C 10 points maximum 1 Hours = 1 point

6 PACFA Continuing Professional Development REFLECTIVE JOURNAL Your Name: Activity Name: Activity Description: Reflection (suggested 150 words): Reporting Period: Signed: Dated: Your Name: Activity Name: Activity Description: Reflection (suggested 150 words): Reporting Period: Signed: Dated: