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2nd Question- How Do I Locate the Criteria for Approved Providers of My State Board?

I have already addressed the question, “What CE requirements do I have for my particular license?”, LMFTs specifically. I will answer within this article the next logical question, “How do I find out what CE providers are acceptable by my state board?”, using licensed MFTs as the running example. This information will make searching for a CE provider more effective. First you must know what your own CE requirements are, 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. It is important to know what your state board accepts as an approved CE provider. Prior to showing where the information is found for this question, let’s look at how the state boards’ requirements for providers differ.

There are some states where the board requires the CE provider to apply for approval from them specifically. Providers will then have a unique provider number issued by the board of that state. As an example, if you hold an MFT license in California, the provider you use must be approved by the CA BBS and have been issued a PCE#. If your state board has this requirement, Solicit for the provider number granted by your state board from each CE provider you investigate.

There are other boards that will accept CE from providers with certain national board approvals. For example, an LMFT in Arizona can use a provider who has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). So, those providers who have earned national approval, such as from the NBCC, can provide CE to those licensed in states that acknowledge such national approval, like Arizona.

A third variant to this are those state boards that accept approval from other state boards that govern the same profession. For example, MFTs in Colorado can earn continuing education from a provider who has received approval in California from the 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. Once on their site, look for a link for their rules, statutes, laws, or something similar. In this document you will want to go to the section for continuing education. Here you will read about what your board deems to be acceptable means of continuing education. If you are an MFT in Texas, find the section called “Types of Acceptable Continuing Education”. This area will tell you which scenario described above your state board falls into (accepting a nationally approved provider, a provider approved in another state, or one that is approved by them only).

Once you have this knowledge you can begin your next quest of finding the best provider of continuing education. This will save you much frustration knowing this upfront. On each provider’s site, look for their approvals. If you can’t find them, request it from the directly. 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 an LMFT looking for Online CEUs for MFTs, visit AspiraCE at http://www.aspirace.com. AspiraCE is an online CEU provider for MFTs in most states. Select from a large list of courses with a competitive pricing structure accompanied with the best customer service. Visit AspiraCE for your MFT Online CEUs today!