Continuing Education:

General Information:

The Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure recognizes the American Counseling Association (ACA), or any of its affiliates including the Oklahoma Counselors Association (OCA), American Psychological Association (APA), or any of its affiliates including the Oklahoma Psychological Association (OPA), American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), or any of its affiliates including the Oklahoma Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (OKAMFT), National Association for Social Workers (NASW), the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC), or any of its affiliates including the Oklahoma Drug and Alcohol Professional Counselor Association (ODAPCA), or any other nationally recognized professional organization in the mental health field, or a program approved or offered by a state or federal government agency with responsibility for mental health and substance abuse services, including but not limited, to Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors (LADC), Board of Licensed Social Workers (LCSW), and the Board of Examiners of Psychologists.

These organizations are pre-approved by the Board to be continuing education providers and do not require any additional review.

Click here for a list of additional Board approved continuing education providers: Board Approved CE Providers

*All Licensed Behavioral Practitioner (LBP) continuing education must be pre-approved by the American Association of Masters in Psychology (TAAMP).

Requirements:

On April 16, 2021, the Board adopted a motion to no longer provide reviews of continuing education that do not require Board approval in accordance with the Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC). The OAC requires that continuing education in counseling/therapy ethics, counseling/therapy supervision, and continuing education provided through technology-assisted means be approved by the Board.

Continuing education that is not in counseling/therapy ethics, counseling/therapy supervision, or continuing education provided through technology-assisted means must meet the OAC requirements outlined in acceptable continuing education but does not require Board approval. To assist licenses in navigating the acceptable CE requirements, we have a created an easy to review guide of the acceptable continuing education requirements. You may review the guide at the following link: Click here to download the continuing education requirements for approval of LPC and LMFT

Becoming an Approved Continuing Education Provider:

As of July 1, 2022 the Board will no longer accept applications for approval of individual continuing education presentations. However, you may apply to become a continuing education provider.

Continuing education provider status shall be approved prior to presenting continuing education programs.  To apply to become an Approved Continuing Education Provider, please use the following link: Continuing Education (CE) Provider Application Form

A continuing education provider status shall be granted to continuing education providers who satisfy the following requirements:

1. Provider must verify that the continuing education provided will take place in the context of one of the following: workshop, in-service, institute, seminar, workshop, conference, college course or technology-assisted learning.
2. Provider must verify that the content of the continuing education provided will approximate at least one of the following knowledge areas: Research, Clinical  Supervision, Gerontology, Counseling Theories/Methods, Professional Orientation/Ethics, Human Growth and Development, Group Dynamics/Techniques, Consultation, Crisis Intervention, Personality Theories, Marriage/Family Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling, Abnormal Human Behavior, Life Style/Career Development, Psychopharmacology, Human Sexuality, Physical & Emotional Health, Appraisal/Assessment Techniques, Children/Adolescents, Social and Cultural Foundations, or Theoretical Foundations of Marital and Family Systems
3. Provider must verify the all presenters of continuing education will meet one of the following requirements: Presenter is a LPC, LMFT, or other person licensed or certified by other counselor/therapy professions, a licensed or certified member of a non-counseling/non-therapy field if the content of the program is counseling/therapy related and falls within the presenter’s area of training, a professor with experience teaching in a graduate program at a regionally accredited university in any of the contexts outlined in Rules and Regulations under Academic Requirements, presenter is presenting or has presented in a national mental health conference sponsored by ACA, AAMFT, APA, or NASW, or presenter is presenting a program sponsored or provided by a state or federal agency with responsibility for mental health and substance abuse services. 
4. When providing continuing education in Ethics, provider must verify that each presentation will meet all of the general continuing education requirements (outlined in Subchapter 17. of the LPC Regulations and Subchapter 15. of the LMFT Regulations). In addition, I verify that each continuing education for Ethics will also approximate one of the following categories: Competence, Client welfare, Discrimination, Record keeping, Confidentiality, Dual relationships, Invasion of privacy, Advertisement, Clinical responsibility to Supervisees, Fees and bartering, Professional standards, Violations of other laws, Drug or alcohol use, Sexual contact, Public statements, Misrepresentation/Credentials, Failure to comply, Relations with the public and other professions, Rebates, Evaluations, Referral, Updating, or Accepting fees from agency clients.
5. When providing continuing education in LPC Supervision, provider must verify that each continuing education for LPC Supervision will approximate one of the following categories: Ethical and legal considerations in the practice of clinical supervision, Theoretical models of clinical supervision, Clinical supervision intervention methods and modalities, or Research in clinical supervision.
6. When providing continuing education in LMFT Supervision, provider must verify that each continuing education for LMFT Supervision will approximate one of the following categories: Overview of a supervision model, Supervisors’ areas of focus and roles in supervision, Supervisors’ process and practical application, Ethical dilemmas involved in therapy supervision, Methods of effectively addressing and preventing ethical dilemmas in therapy supervision, Overview of AAMFT standards of supervision, or Overview of Oklahoma LMFT Rules and Regulations regarding therapy supervision.
7. Provider must verify each continuing education provided will be targeted towards a professional audience.
8. Provider must verify that a verification of attendance will be provided to each attendee and will accurately reflect the number of continuing education hours accrued. The documentation shall contain the participant’s name, provider’s name, title of program, date of the program, number of hours of continuing education credits earned, and the signature of the sponsor or its representative.
9. Provider must agree to notify the Board within ten days of any change in the information contained within this application.
10. Provider must agree to comply with all audit requests within 21 days of receipt of such requests from the Board.
11. Provider must declare that the foregoing is true and correct. I agree to ensure that each program to be presented or approved by the provider for continuing education credit satisfies the Continuing Education rules as required in the Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) for Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Licensed Marital and Family Therapist (LMFT).

Disapproval of a Continuing Education Provider:

Upon the failure of a provider to comply with any of the continuing education requirements the Board may revoke the sponsor’s approval status.

The Board shall deny continuing education provider status to any applicant who submits false, misleading, or deceptive information or documentation to the Board.

The Board shall rescind the provider status or reject individual programs given by a provider if the provider disseminated any false or misleading information in connection with the continuing education programs or of the provider failed to conform to and abide by the written agreement and rules of the Board.

Activities Unacceptable as Continuing Education:
The following list includes, but is not limited to, activities the Board will not award continuing education credit hours for:

• Banquet speeches.
• Education incidental to the regular professional activities of counseling and therapy, such as learning occurring from experience or research.
• Organizational activity such as serving on committees or councils or as an officer in a professional organization.
• Any non-counseling or non-therapy related content not directly related to enhancement of counseling and therapy skills or performance. (Example: Computer, financial or business management courses designed to enhance the business of private practice.)
• Staff orientation, administrative staff meetings, case management meetings and training specifically related to policies and procedures of an agency.
• Book reports or critiques of professional journal articles.

Request for Approval of Individual Continuing Education Presentations:

Until July 1, 2022, you may request a Board review of continuing education in counseling/therapy ethics, counseling/therapy supervision, or continuing education provided through technology-assisted means, please complete an application form at the following link. Please note, you may have to download the form to complete all fields. Click here to download the application form  Application form

In order for this office to review your workshop, you must complete and submit an application for approval to this office. You may submit the completed form by e-mail to: Info.BehavioralHealth@bbhl.ok.gov

To ensure a prompt response from the Agency, please allow adequate time for processing. Your application will not be approved if it is not completed in its entirety. 

Application will be reviewed at the next available meeting of the Board. You may review the Board's meeting calendar at the following link: Board Meetings