Specialties and lifelong learning

Continuing education: what keeps the license

Every state requires licensed therapists to keep learning, and every state sets its own rules: how many hours, how often, which topics, and which providers count. Ethics and law are the most common required topics; some states add suicide prevention, cultural competence, supervision (if you supervise) or telehealth.

California

36 hrs / 2 yrs

LMFT, LCSW and LPCC. Includes 6 hours of law and ethics, plus one-time courses in suicide risk assessment and telehealth.

Texas (LPC)

24 hrs / renewal

Includes 6 hours of ethics and 3 of cultural diversity or competency (the board’s renewal page now says distinct populations and competency). Supervisors also need 6 hours on supervision.

New York

36 hrs / 3 yrs

LMHC and LCSW. Not required during the first three-year registration.

Your state

Varies

Check your board’s current rules before each cycle; required topics change more often than totals.

See your state’s requirements or find it on the map. Then plan your pace:

Certifications: deepening, not licensing

Specialty trainings are where many therapists find the work they want to do for decades. They are offered by private organizations, often cost thousands of dollars over months or years, and usually require a license or associate status to enroll. Common ones:

EMDR

Trauma

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Basic training (EMDRIA-approved) includes practice and consultation; EMDRIA certification is a further step.

DBT

Emotion regulation

Dialectical behavior therapy, a structured program of individual therapy, skills groups and coaching. Clinicians can be certified through the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification.

Gottman Method

Couples

A research-based couples approach taught in levels by the Gottman Institute, leading to certification.

Play therapy (RPT)

Children

The Association for Play Therapy’s Registered Play Therapist credential requires a mental health license, 150 hours of play therapy instruction and supervised play therapy experience.

Somatic approaches

Body-based

Somatic Experiencing, sensorimotor psychotherapy and others, usually multi-year trainings. Some practitioners trained in them are not licensed therapists, so ask.

National certification

Professional

Credentials such as NBCC’s National Certified Counselor or board certification through ABPP for psychologists. Respected, voluntary, and still not a license.

Choosing a specialty

You don’t need one to start. Many therapists spend their associate years as generalists and notice which clients they look forward to. Specialties then follow the work: a trauma caseload leads to EMDR, a couples practice to a couples model, a school job to play therapy. A specialty also helps clients find you, which matters if you go into private practice, covered in where to work and getting paid.

Your ethics code is the guardrail. Every major code (ACA, AAMFT, NASW and APA) requires you to practice within the boundaries of your education, training and supervised experience. A weekend workshop rarely meets that bar for a complex method on its own; consultation afterward usually does.

Renewal, without the panic

• Know your dates. Renewal cycles differ by state, and some tie the date to your birthday rather than your license date.
• Spread the hours. A little each month is cheaper and calmer than a last-week scramble, and lets you choose courses you actually want.
• Watch for required topics. Boards add them, and a full total without the required ethics hours still fails.
• If you move or add a state, each license has its own cycle and rules. Compacts and telehealth are covered in telehealth and state lines.
• Taking a break? Many states offer an inactive status with lower fees, and a defined route back.

Myths worth dropping