Specialized Certificate - Psychotherapy for Advanced Counselling Practitioners

This specialized Certificate is geared to counsellors with prior training and/or experience who wish to incorporate advanced techniques into their scope of practice.   

The Certificate can be completed online in 7 months- 30 study hours per week.All textbooks, videos, and study materials are included with the cost of tuition. 

Course objectives:

• Personal and professional challenges of building a therapy practice
• Integrating advanced theories and techniques into a counselling practice
• Evaluating the efficacy of your therapeutic orientation
• Assessment, strategic treatment planning, and psychopharmacology applied to DSM V disorders
• Ethics and multiculturalism
• Professional correspondence and report writing
• Applications of research to clinical practice

REQUIREMENTS:

9 courses, totaling 540 hours, plus 90 hours supervised experience as an employee or volunteer in a mental health setting.

3 Pre-requisite Courses

• Introduction to Applied Psychology and Ethics, (IAP-400), or equivalent.
• Assessment of Psychological Disorders (APD-400)
• Applied Counselling Skills (ACS I-400)

3 two-part advanced courses

• Theory and Practice of Psychotherapy, I & II (TPP-600) 
• Evidence-based Treatment Planning and Psychopharmacology, I & II (ETP-600)
• Challenges of Clinical Practice, I & II (CCP-600) 

What will I learn?

The course objectives correlate with advanced therapeutic techniques that can be incorporated into the scope of practice of amid-level professional counsellor.  (Click on the course titles for details.)

Counsellors with less than 2 years of clinical experience are advised to consult a supervisor when applying advanced techniques.

Upon successful completion of this specialized certificate, you may include the following skills as part of your Professional Portfolio.

1. Awareness of the personal challenges of being a therapist and building a practice.
2. foundations of clinical practice.
3. Ability to compare and contrast advanced evidence-based models of therapy and to incorporate the techniques into your therapeutic style.
4. Ability to assess and evaluate symptoms, and develop strategic treatment plans for mental disorders classified in the DSM-V.
5. Apply basic elements of psychopharmacology to disorders in the DSM-V.
6. Write professional reports and research papers consistent with APA guidelines.
7. Ability to research and measure the efficacy of your own therapeutic approach.

This Certificate introduces advanced therapeutic techniques to be usedunder supervision by an experienced professional counsellor.

Note:Provinces that have regulated the title, “Psychotherapist,” do not permit application of advanced techniques by counsellors who are not registered.  See the CPCA website for more information about your provincial regulations.