CPD Requirement
The Eleven Areas of Competence for Continuing Professional Development
1. Conceptual foundation e.g. theories of: human development, cultural concepts, personality, mental un-wellness, psychological distress, the process of change and therapeutic models
2. Puawānanga Kaitiakitanga; Formerly cultural supervision
3. Self-awareness and self-development
4. Relationship – building and maintaining a therapeutic alliance
5. Assessment and report writing – Assessment, risk assessment, report writing, referral process and professional written communication
6. Collaborative goal setting, negotiating contracts and evaluation of client processes and outcomes
7. Facilitation of change – interventions and change process
8. Ethical principles and practice
9. Areas of specialist knowledge, experience and practice which may include other cultures
10. Other forms of Professional Practice e.g. supervision, group facilitation, education, training, teaching, management, research, service development, and course design.
11. Climate Change, and Te Taiao, the natural environment. What climate change means for the counselling profession: impacts, effects and responses.
Guide to understanding the areas of competencies.
The areas of competencies have been broadly developed to assist members and their supervisors to identify particular areas and focus on professional development needs. Choose two of the 11 areas of competencies. You do not have to complete professional development in all 11 areas. It is a requirement that all members do choose Puawānanga Kaitiakitanga every 3 years.
Further description and self-reflective questions for each area of competency
1. Conceptual foundation. Theoretical approaches underpinning practice informing your understanding of difficulties in contexts such as theories of human development, cultural concepts, personality, mental un-wellness, psychological distress, therapeutic models such as Te Whare Tapa Whā, CBT, EFT, TA, Family Systems etc.
2. Puawānanga Kaitiakitanga is about growing our learning and our understanding of cultural identity and relationship with Tangata Whenua in Aotearoa as NZAC members. It was previously known as Cultural supervision. Members are invited to engage in conversations that utilise Tihei-wa Mauri Ora on the NZAC website. Te Reo and Tikanga courses, marae hui, and other interactive online learning modules and texts such as Moemoeā Māori Counselling Journeys could be utilised in this learning context. As a practitioner in Aotearoa, you are required to choose this area of professional development, every three years, as evidence of your ongoing commitment Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the first object in the NZAC Constitution.
3. Self-awareness and self-development. This could include a range of personal and professional development learning activities aimed at growing your self-awareness and self-development such as personal counselling or couples/family therapy, mindfulness practice, psychodrama, self-compassion and self-care activities to benefit both practice and well-being. The evidence of growth and new learnings might include a review of your journaling, seeking supervisor or collegial feedback, and reviewing practice video recordings.
4. Relationship, building and maintaining a therapeutic alliance. This area could include learnings about Tikanga and Whanaungatanga to make and keep connections with whānau and clients. It could involve developing your use of the client’s language and meanings. Learning more about what you are doing in the counselling space to intentionally build and honour/deepen trust in the counselling relationship. Learning more to support developing relationship-building abilities with a range of clients and whānau. How do you know when you are connecting openly and steadily with clients and when the connection is changing?
5. Assessment and report writing. This area includes risk assessment, assessment processes, report writing, referral processes and professional written communication with relevant agencies and services. Through courses, online learning or other sources offering assessment tools and practices that identify client risks, vulnerabilities and needs, clarifying whether counselling is the most appropriate intervention. Considering and refining your referral practices to improve the process for your clients. Undertaking training in note-taking, professional letter and report writing for mental health practitioners and others in this field.
6. Collaborative goal setting, negotiating contracts and evaluations of client wishes and outcomes. This area could include the development and refined practice of ensuring collaborative goals, clients' wishes and needs are understood, contracted and re-negotiated as well as seeking regular client/whānau review during counselling and at the end.
7. Facilitation of change – interventions and change process. This area could include the development of change interventions and the use of new creative resources to assist your client/s in making changes, and achieving their hopes, wishes and preferred ways of living.
8. Ethical principles and practice. This area involves reviewing whether your practice is aligned with the NZAC Code of Ethics in addressing ethical dilemmas and ensuring your practice continues to be safe, ethical and professional. This area could include courses on ethical legal content, privacy training, regular case review with colleagues, peer supervision and peer support groups.
9. Areas of specialist knowledge, experience and practice may include other cultures (as distinct from Tangata Whenua). This could include trauma assessment and trauma counselling, working with children and young persons, gender and identity issues, couples counselling, family counselling, self-harm, addictions, eating difficulties, Eco anxiety, and How counsellors work with climate change incorporating this into their practice. etc.
10. Other forms of Professional Practice. Supervision, group facilitation, education, training, teaching, management, research, service development, and course design. These areas could involve developing knowledge and skills in any of the areas: supervision, group facilitation, education, training, teaching, management, research, service development, and course design. Please note for professional development of your supervision skills, you may learn supervision skills from your supervisor. However, you must complete other professional development in the supervision area such as a course on Becoming a supervisor including the practice and review of your supervisory skills.
11. Climate change and Te Taiao, the natural environment: What climate change means for the counselling profession: impacts, effects and responses. Areas to focus on and explore could include: Counsellor/supervisor own resonse to climate change and climate emergency for clients, whānau, communities. How are you preparing to best assist your clients, supervisees and services?
Focus on Climate impacts: Loss and anxiety, climate action for mitigation, Building resilience, Adaptation, Rebuilding and restoring. Post disaster (extreme weather disasters) responses in communities.
These models might be chosen: Indigenous and Ecological Therapeutic models guided by Te Tiriti O Waitangi, Papatuanuku /Nature as healer
CPD Frequently Asked Questions for Counsellors
All members must choose two out of ten competencies and then submit plans and reflections on their chosen competencies. All practising members are responsible for engaging in CPD to update and inform their practice. The emphasis is not on CPD hours completed. It is on the member to show reflection on their learning activities to continually grow and refine their personal and professional development to benefit themselves, their clients and their supervisees. The spirit of CPD is a supportive learning process and a ‘look at’ (audit) of professional standards.
You are expected to give a fully considered reflection on your learning. For example, what this learning has taught you and how this has changed you and/or improved your counselling practice. Critical reflections on your learning activity and what hasn’t worked can also be included.
To protect your confidentiality, write in generalised terms rather than divulge in-depth, personal information. For example, rather than My mother died on and this affected me…. You might prefer to say; A recent whānau death led me to reflect further on living with loss which meant…
You have a year to complete your CPD. We encourage you to give yourself ample time to discuss your learnings in supervision, reflect, write, proofread, and rewrite if necessary. Take your time clarifying and refining your self-reflections so you can provide in-depth evidence of your changed understanding.
Your CPD is due to be completed at the same time as your Annual Practising Certificate (APC) renewal in April every year.
You have until 31st May to complete your APC, your CPD and pay your invoice. After this date, a late fee will be added to your invoice.
If you have not completed all the requirements by 1st July then you will be referred to the Membership Manager for de-registration.
Consider audio recording your answers and typing them into a Word document or into your online CPD area. If you belong to a peer supervision group, this group could support and help you to verbalise answers and record them. They could also help proofread your answers. Consider asking a colleague to proofread your first draft to check that your written expression is clear and understandable. Seek feedback from your supervisor too.
CPD is only visible to you and your supervisor when they are submitted for approval, no other member has access to your CPD area. However, the National Office staff and the Audit Team Convenor have administrative access to assist members with the online process. National Office staff and the Audit Team Convenor follow NZAC privacy and confidentiality procedures and policies.
If you are selected for audit, the CPD auditors will have access to your CPD during the auditing period only. The auditors follow NZAC privacy and confidentiality procedures and policies. This includes attention to dual roles and any conflict of interest in the auditing process. To protect your confidentiality, as previously suggested, write in generalised terms rather than divulge in-depth personal information.
Yes, it is recommended that their CPD is closely linked to their membership upgrade requirements. For example, the competencies of Ethics or Puawānanga Kaitiakitanga, to minimise their workload.
If you are selected for audit, the CPD auditors will have access to your CPD during the auditing period only. The auditors follow NZAC privacy and confidentiality procedures and policies. This includes attention to dual roles and any conflict of interest in the auditing process. To protect your confidentiality, as previously suggested, write in generalised terms rather than divulge in-depth personal information.
No, provisional members’ CPD submissions will not be audited as the requirements of upgrading to full membership is like an audit process at this stage of professional development.
The amount of CPD completed will fit with the scope of your role, for example, if you are a part-time counsellor working under 10 hours per week then your completed professional development will reflect this. We ask you to indicate your recent working hours in your plan/reflection.
Dependent on the Counsellor’s role and hours, it is recommended to engage in a range of CPD learning activities for each chosen area of competency. For example, a practitioner working in a family therapy service, and wanting to upskill in couples therapy, may choose to read a textbook on couples therapy, complete a brief literature review on evidence-based practice and attend a workshop on couples’ therapy.
If you are practising, then you must continue to engage in CPD across the year to support your practice. If you are unwell at the time of the audit, email the CPD Audit Team Convenor briefly explaining your situation and request an extension. Also, tick yes on your declaration on the Request for Annual Practicing Certificate.
The 11 areas of competence have been carefully researched and intentionally developed to specifically reflect the profession of counselling. Hence your professional development will fit into these broad areas.
Choose the area that it fits most closely with. Discuss this with your supervisor for assistance.
Yes, given Puawānanga Kaitiakitanga is one of the main objects of the NZAC Constitution and a life-long learning process, all NZAC members are expected to choose this competency every three years.
Yes, you are expected to engage with a cultural supervisor to discuss, reflect and expand your cultural understanding.
Each year a random selection of 10% of practising members are chosen. As it is a true random selection it means you may be chosen for audit more than once.
You will receive an email in July and will be asked to complete a brief member profile showing your area of work and hours of work so auditors can match your completed CPD with your work and client/supervisee groups.
You will receive an email from the CPD Audit Team Convenor with the audit assessment showing your result and specific details of further development required. You have an opportunity to redevelop and resubmit within the resubmission time frame.