CPD Process

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Each year a member chooses 2 from a list of 10 Competencies as their focus for professional development. A plan on how to achieve these is submitted at the beginning of the year and at the year's end a reflection on the chosen competencies is required. The chosen competencies are discussed at least 3 times within Supervision during the year. The competency Puawānanga is required to be completed every 3 years.

Principles of CPD

The main principles of the CPD requirements of NZAC members are a demonstration of your ongoing commitment to continuing professional development during the year of practice by intentionally planning, undertaking activities related to your practice, recording reflections on new learning, and showing how your practice has improved or been updated.

Timeframe for CPD completion

The timeline for completing your CPD record is from March 31st – April 1st the following year. Hence it is a retrospective record of your professional development. Your future CPD is a brief flexible plan for the coming year.

Instructions on completion of your CPD

You are free to change your original plan and focus during the year as needed as you meet new client groups or identify areas in personal awareness, knowledge, or skills you wish to develop.

In recording CPD activities the emphasis is less on the content but more on the further development of self-reflective practice in reviewing and reflecting on the new learning, especially how the learning is or could be applied in practice to benefit your clients.

During the year, briefly record your CPD activities with your reflections on practice and application to your practice as they happen. Record supervision discussions on the CPD, as it happens. By the end of the year, when you complete the online CPD record and form, you will have your notes to refer to.

If you are a member of another allied professional body and have undertaken professional development to meet their requirements in such a way that also meets NZAC criteria, you may cut and paste these experiences into your record or plan for your NZAC CPD.

Choose CPD activities that meet these five criteria:

• Relate to your own personal, and professional development and learning needs.

• Meet the needs of your particular client groups.

• Are appropriate to your individual workload, experience, and situation.

• Focus on any two of the following 10 areas of competence each year.

• Competence is defined as awareness, knowledge, skills, and application.

Suitable and sufficient CPD

There are many suitable learning opportunities that can be counted as CPD activities without incurring financial costs. They include attending hui or wananga, consulting with a specialist or advisor, reading, learning from online information, discussion, peer support or supervision or study group, journaling, practice and feedback, undertaking academic learning, doing research, taking part in NZAC activities and functions, presentations and/or case studies to colleagues.

The recommended guidelines for sufficient CPD activities are to engage in varied learning activities for each competency. However, this also depends on the Counsellor’s particular employment context.