State Quarter Silver

Question #2 – Where Do I Go To See What CE Providers My MFT Board Accepts?

The question posed in my earlier article was, “What CE requirements do I have for my particular license?”, as it pertained to LMFTs. In this article I will be addressing, “What is an approved CE provider according to my state board?”, using licensed MFTs as the running example. With this knowledge you will be better able to find the right CE provider. After you have learned what your personal requirements are for continuing education, next is finding out what they require of those providing the continuing education courses.

State Boards will vary in whom they determine as acceptable to provide continuing education courses for their licensees. You will need to know how your state board defines an approved CE provider. Preceding laying out where this information can be found, let’s evaluate the variations of what constitutes an approved provider of continuing education among the different state boards.

Some state boards require the CE provider to be approved by them directly. Providers will then have a unique provider number issued by the board of that state. For example, for California MFTs, the provider you use must be approved by the CA BBS and have been issued a PCE#. If your state board is similar in their requirements, ask the providers you are researching if they have a provider number from your state board.

CE providers who have earned approval from certain national boards are accepted in some states. For instance, an LMFT in Arizona can use a provider who has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). Any provider who receives approval from a national board, like the NBCC, can offer CE to licensees in states that accepts this national approval in lieu of their own state approval.

There are several states that allow their licensees to use providers approved by a similar board in a different state. For instance, an MFT in Colorado can use a provider who has been approved by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (CA BBS), given that the CA BBS regulates MFTs. Now that the different scenarios of what is accepted regarding providers has been established, where can you locate what is accepted by your particular state board?

You will want to begin at your state board’s official home page. On their website will be a link titled something like “Rules and Regulations”, “Statutes”, “Laws and Rules”, etc. After you have made it to the correct document locate the section for continuing education. Within this section will be a description on what the board views as acceptable venues for acquiring your CE. If you are an MFT in Texas, you will need to find the section titled “Types of Acceptable Continuing Education”. Here you will find if your state board accepts providers with approval from a national board, approval from another state board overseeing MFTs, or if they need to be approved by them directly.

Once you have this knowledge you can begin your next quest of finding the best provider of continuing education. You will be spared a lot of hassle knowing this ahead of time. Once at a provider’s site, look for their approvals. If this information is not available go to the next provider. The next question in my series of question and answer articles will be “What limits are there in the amount of CE I can earn online”.

If you are a licensed MFT seeking MFT CEUs, visit AspiraCE at http://www.aspirace.com. AspiraCE is an online CEU provider for MFTs in most states. AspiraCE has top-notch courses and excellent customer service with competitive pricing. Visit AspiraCE for your Online CEUs for MFTs today!