APA Continuing Education
The American Psychological Association administers a program to provide credits for psychologists that are required by some states to maintain their licenses. There are some topics like ethics, that might seem not to be very interesting to some people but are important and required. There are also other topics that psychologists might find of personal interest like learning a new skill or testing method.
APA continuing education training is available in different formats which have pros and cons.
Books, newsletters, and articles are low tech and may be considered old-school. They are also low cost, simple, and you can go at your own pace for the most part. After you read the material you take an exam to make sure that you comprehend it.
Online and video on demand courses offer a higher tech experience than books, newsletters, and articles. Online courses can provide interaction between instructor and students as well as use of graphics, video, live image of instructor, and audio. This can make the experience much more engaging. Although on demand courses do not provide live interaction with the instructor since the material is pre-recorded they do provide a similar higher tech experience with graphics video, and audio, etc.
The other types of APA continuing education training that are available are workshops and seminars. These are programs that are usually conducted in groups at a central location where people attend from various places. These can be sessions that are planned and take place at venues like hotel and convention center meeting rooms. They may be individual events or they may be part of a conference. National or regional organizations like the APA, state psychology chapters, or other non-psychology organizations like the AAPB (Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback), ISNR (International Society for Neurofeedback and Research), NRBS (Northeast Regional Biofeedback Society) each of which include members who are psychologists, often offer sessions that offer APA Continuing Education Credit, Arizona These sessions tend to cost more than the formats previously discussed. The tuition is higher, you may also need to pay to attend a conference, and there are the travel and hotel expenses. On the other side you also get to learn along with other like-minded people. The other students often add to your learning experience. Comments, questions, and teamwork can enhance the learning process. You also get live interaction with the instructor and all types of graphics, video, and audio can be included. Physical props can add to the experience and group exercises can make the material even more meaningful.
Official APA continuing education information is available at http://www.apa.org/education/ce/type/index.aspx
Harry L. Campbell
President, Biofeedback Resources International Corp.
Author of What Stress Can Do
