Professional Development is one of the most important responsibilities for members of a given profession. Professional Development provides an opportunity for practitioners to continue engagement with their disciplines while also providing a means to enhance professional knowledge, competence, skill, and effectiveness .  As a continuing education provider, I feel that it is essential for mental and behavioral health professionals (both experienced and inexperienced) to have ample opportunities to participate in professional development activities, for such involvement indirectly promotes the advancement of the field and practices of mental health counseling.

Anissa Howard Counseling & Psychotherapy Services offers the following professional development services:

• Clinical Supervision for Licensed Professional Counselors
• Play Therapy Supervision
• Continuing Education in Counseling

The Goals of the Continuing Education and Professional Development program are as follows:

1. To assist in the promotion of knowledge generation, skill enhancement, and training opportunities in play therapy and clinical counseling for graduate students and mental health practitioners from various behavioral and mental health disciplines through the use of various educational and technological methods
2. To enhance mental health practitioner knowledge and delivery of evidence-based counseling interventions, and best-practices with respective client populations and appropriate levels of multi-cultural competence
3. To increase community awareness of play therapy, behavioral, and mental health training opportunities in counseling
4. To engage in ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of each continuing education activity provided based upon established objectives, identified professional development needs, and best-practices
5. To engage in ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness  of the overall continuing education program relative to the mission of the Association for Play Therapy and the National Board for Certified Counselors

Continuing Education and Professional Development courses are offered in the following formats to accommodate your scheduling needs:

(1) Face-to-face (live): allows the continuing education provider an opportunity to meet with mental and behavioral health professionals for a concentrated, short-term learning experience where discussion and exchange of ideas and knowledge can occur in a small group or individual setting.

(2) Live Webinar: Also referred to as “web-conferencing,” are live, distance seminars that can be accessed via the internet or telephone. These webinars can be accessed anywhere in the world. This platform can encourage interaction and active engagement from participants.

(3) Pre-recorded Workshops: These workshops may be offered as recordings of live workshops with a quiz to complete qualifying for non-contact hours for those working toward play therapy and NCC credentials. Such workshops may not qualify for licensure renewal. You will need to contact your local Board office to make that determination.

Participation in Continuing Education and Professional Development courses require the completion of a survey/evaluation for each workshop attended. Each participant will receive a Certification of Completion at the end of each workshop.

Visit the Counseling & Professional Development classes links below to read more details about the workshop’s description and to register for a workshop. Just click on the link that represents the type of course that you are interested in registering for to get started.

*All Professional Development and Continuing Education Workshops must be purchased in advance of the course date and must be paid in full at the time of course registration. Full refunds will be issued up to 3 days prior to the day of the workshop. Partial refunds, minus a $25.00 administrative fee, will be provided to individuals who cancel within 48 hours. No refunds will be issued to individuals who cancel within 24 or fewer hours. If you do not want to register online, please email me at growthhealingandchange@anissa-howard.com. I will provide you with a registration form that must be completed and returned to me with full payment 72 hours in advance of the scheduled workshop.

Please note: Each attendee will be responsible for ensuring that the local licensing board will accept the CE credit being offered. We strongly recommend that you check with your individual state regulatory agency to determine whether or not you are eligible for continuing education credit by participating in this training. Additionally, some of the CE and Professional Development workshops offered are specific to certain credentials (e.g. RPT/S, NCC, etc.) and are not appropriate for licensure renewal. For that reason, please be sure to read the workshop description thoroughly before purchasing.