Dear Colleagues,
As you are aware, effective January 1, 2017, Section 8412 of Article 163, the Mental Health Practitioner’s law, requires LCATs to earn 36 hours of approved continuing education (CE) for every 3-year registration period. All CE must be taken from a state-approved provider, and any CE completed prior to January 1, 2017 will not be accepted.
The Regulations of the Commissioner, in subsection 79-11.8, define acceptable CE subjects and other types of educational activities. Formal courses of learning include university and college credit and non-credit courses, and professional development programs and technical sessions offered by national, state and local professional associations.
Other acceptable educational activities may include, but are not limited to:
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preparing and teaching a course offered by an approved provider of CE;
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preparing and teaching a course at a higher education institution or psychotherapy institute approved by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to offer licensed creative arts therapy continuing education;
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making a technical presentation at a professional conference sponsored by an organization that is an approved provider of licensed creative arts therapy continuing education that is in an approved subject matter area;
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completing a structured, self-study program offered by a licensed creative arts therapy provider approved by NYSED;
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authoring a first-time article published in a peer-reviewed journal or a chapter in a published book;
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authoring a first-time book in the practice of CAT;
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participating in a juried art show or performance activity.
The regulations also define hours credited for specific activities; types of individuals or organizations which are eligible to apply to become state-approved providers; outline the procedures and fees for applications; and indicate fees for practitioners. During the first triennial registration period, the number of hours each practitioner must accrue will be pro-rated. A detailed listing of pro-rated hours based on registration renewal dates, along with a lot of other FAQs, is available here:
http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/mhp/catcefaq.htm#hour
It is the responsibility of each practitioner to insure that you are adhering to the regulations, accruing the indicated CE hours, and maintaining adequate documentation in case of audit.
At their fall meeting on September 9-10, 2016, the Executive Board of the Mid-Atlantic Region of AMTA voted to apply to become an approved provider for the initial, 3-year continuing education cycle (2017-2019). Clare Arezina, MME, MT-BC, CCLS, in her role as MAR Continuing Education Coordinator, was tasked with completing the NYS approved provider application. The application was submitted on 12/12/16. While MAR-AMTA’s application was submitted to NYSED in time to meet the state’s deadline for Regional Conference (90 days before educational activities begin), it is unclear when the region will be notified as to the status of the application. We are cautiously optimistic, but it is possible that MAR-AMTA will not be approved in time for conference. In any event, the conference program and advertising materials will clearly indicate CMTE courses that meet NYSED’s stringent requirements for content and instructor qualifications so that, should the MAR-AMTA provider application be approved in time, conference attendees will know which courses will meet the continuing education requirements for renewing their NYS LCAT registration. As always, all CMTE courses will continue to meet CBMT requirements for CMTE credits.
In a meeting in early December, the AMTA Board of Directors also approved funding for the $900 application fee to become a NYS-approved provider, and Laurie Keough, M.S.Ed, LCAT, MT-BC, in her role as Co-Chair of the AMTA Continuing Education Committee, will be completing the application on behalf of AMTA.
The task force wishes to publicly thank Clare and Laurie for their efforts in helping to increase the variety and availability of quality continuing education opportunities through their work on these applications.
As of December 22, there are 10 state-approved providers for CE for LCATs (listed here in alphabetical order):
- American Art Therapy Association, Alexandria, VA
Course Type: Live In-Person and Self-Study
- Association for Mental Health & Wellness, Inc., Ronkonkoma, NY
Course Type: Live In-Person
- CE Learning Systems d/b/a CE-credit.com, Fontana, WI
Course Type: Self-Study
- Creative Alternatives of New York, Inc. (CANY), New York, NY
Course Type: Live In-Person
- Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy, New York, NY
Course Type: Live In-Person
- R. Cassidy Seminars, Santa Rosa, CA
Course Type: Live In-Person, Live Online, and Self-Study - The Art Therapy Outreach Center, New York, NY
Course Type: Live In-Person - The Center for Group Studies, New York, NY
Course Type: Live In-Person - TZK Seminars, Clarksville, MD
Course Type: Live Online and Self-Study - University at Buffalo School of Social Work, Buffalo, NY
Course Type: Live In-Person, Live Online and Self-Study
You can access updated listings of providers at: http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/mhp/catceproviderlisting.htm
We hope this informational update is helpful. We will continue to update you about MAR-AMTA and AMTA’s status as NYSED-approved CE providers. Please contact us directly at nystf@aol.com with your questions.
In the spirit of service,
The New York State Task Force on Occupational Regulation