Taking Additional NBCC Courses for Experience and Certifications

If you’re an experienced mental health professional and either need some additional certifications, need to renew certifications or just want to continue to learn more to enhance your credibility, consider participating in NBCC continuing education courses in person or online. All of these courses are designed to accommodate busy schedules, so don’t be intimidated. Take advantage of these flexible offerings and bolster your skills and knowledge for the benefit for your clients.

Online Classes

Many people like online classes for their immense convenience. Before choosing a provider, make sure that they are accredited by whichever organization that you need certification from, whether it be APA, ASWB, CA BBS and BRN, NBCC or CCAPP. The last thing you want to do is sign up for a class to find out that you won’t get the right certification in the end!

Some companies that offer online NBCC continuing education courses offer free samples. Take that opportunity to determine whether or not you like their teaching style or whether their content is thorough enough so that you easily understand new material and get the knowledge that you need. Since online courses tend to be relatively short and inexpensive, browse through a company’s offerings not only to look for certifications that you need but also just to see if there are any courses that pique your interest or that you think would help you in your daily practice. Most online courses can be completed at any pace, but make sure to verify that just in case you sign up for a class that has scheduled video lectures or conferences.

If you’re worried even after a free sample of a course that you won’t learn as much as you would like or that the course ends up being too difficult and time consuming, choose an education company that offers a period like 3 days or a week to determine whether or not you want to continue with the course.

Live Classes

It’s alright if you don’t feel comfortable taking an NBCC continuing education online class and would rather just take one in person. The first step to doing so is to find a company that offers a class that meets your schedule. While that may seem obvious, it’s important to not only think about what days in the week you’re available, but to think about how much work you can handle at the moment. If you’re working more than 40 hours a week and tend to be exhausted, pick a course that offers a short session at night once a week rather than one that would fill up your entire weekend. Learning comfortably is better than learning too quickly and overworking yourself.

Although this next step applies to online courses, it’s especially important when picking a live course. Carefully study the accomplishments and resume of each instructor and choose courses so that you learn from professionals in your industry that you respect. Try to see what former students thought of their courses and take that impression to inform which courses you choose.

Take advantage of all of these opportunities to enrich your understanding of mental health and to take that knowledge with you in everything that you do.

John Trinh has been writing for 10+ years. He first delved into the world of writing when he wrote his first article for his university's paper.