One thing that all licensed therapists are required to do is complete a certain number of continuing education credits (CEUs) throughout their career. This is to keep us sharp, grow our skills and stay up to date on the latest scientific research and evidence-based trends. In the first year of your license you get a grace period where you don’t need to take any CEUs but in my experience this is the BEST time to take them!
The journey from graduate level intern to licensed therapist is a long and arduous one and it can feel like once you “get the license” you can put your feet up, but this is not the time to slow down. You learn a lot in those pre-license years but its mostly things that you are told to learn, and you likely aren’t choosing your path, you’re adhering to the regulations to get that shiny prize. Because we have so many mandated requirements and so little time to ourselves in this phase, we often feel lost when we are autonomous and free licensed practitioners.
This is okay, and do not be alarmed if you are feeling this way. We haven’t had the experience or the freedom to try different modalities and learn them, because we’ve been locked into managed care practices or studying for exams. But once the necessary evils of licensure are behind you I can’t encourage you enough to explore explore explore. Find as many free trainings as possible, go on retreats, attend webinars, and really try and find what is true for you. You’ve been taught a lot of things in your training but it’s up to you to decide what is true for you in your practice. Education is how you do just that!
