Continuing Education Credit for Psychologists, Therapists, Social Workers, Counselors, Nurses, and Chiropractors
Testimonials:
"I love that I can come to Spirit Rock and get CE Credits as an extra benefit!"
“I came for the CE Credits and left with these profound and simple teachings, by amazingly skilled teachers. I am humbled."
“Very comprehensive, the neurophysiology/neuropsychology presentations were very science-based and specific to my goals."
Benefits of Mindfulness in Medicine
Cited in numerous studies, including the American Psychological Association, the Journal of the American Medical Association, The New England Journal of Medicine, and Annals of Family Medicine, mindfulness practices have been shown to provide many benefits for the healthcare provider:
- Reduces psychological and physiological stress – with heavy caseloads, challenging working conditions, health care professionals accumulate stress. Mindfulness can bring ease and offer practices to deal with this work-related stress.
- Reduces emotional reactivity – Mindfulness brings awareness to our emotions, and practice gives space for an appropriate response, resulting in skillful decisions and improved professional relationships.
- Reduces compassion fatigue and emotional exhaustion - working repeatedly with distressed individuals can take its toll. Without practice, meeting client after client with an open heart can be challenging. Self-care and compassion practices can be utilized between clients to develop your cultivation of compassion and empathy.
- Reduces self-criticism, anxiety, depression – With an awareness of thoughts and emotions, we are able to shift our emotional regulation strategies to better respond to situations. In practice, we are able to experience and process emotions differently- less anxiety, less depression, less self-criticism.
- Reduces rumination – being mindful of our thoughts, as they appear and reappear gives us more choice in how much we pay attention to these “reruns.” Practice can help us reduce or give less importance to undesired mental traffic, allowing us to focus on what is really important.
- Reduces professional burnout syndrome - with long hours, and stressful situations, many professionals experience burnout at some point in their careers. Mindfulness practices can offer ways to develop improved coping skills and increase job satisfaction.
- Improves focus and working memory – resulting in greater awareness and less distraction. In a clinical setting, this can improve assessment skills and accuracy during intake sessions, as well as during the performance of complex procedures, ultimately reducing errors.
- Increases cognitive flexibility – mindful meditation can lead to rewiring the brain to move from habitual reactions to intentional responses, resulting in improved decision making.
- Improves communication – mindful listening and speaking practices can improve communication between co-workers and clients and patients. This improves effective communication and results in better clinical outcomes, especially during high-stress situations.
- Improves job and relationship satisfaction – lovingkindness, compassion, and gratitude practices can redirect focus on the good, and reset our “happiness” set point.
CE Credit Providers Information:
Continuing Education Credit (CEC) is co-sponsored by Spirit Rock and the Spiritual Competency Academy. CECs are available for psychologists, and California LMFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, Nurses, Chiropractors, and may be applicable for other licenses. Please review the approval and board details below. It is the responsibility of the participant to determine if their accreditation board will accept the credits offered by Spirit Rock, Spirit Rock does not confirm applicability of credit for those with licenses different than those listed here. Please see the program description to determine license applicability as not all CEC programs are applicable to every license listed here.
American Psychological Association: CECs for psychologists are provided by the Spiritual Competency Academy. The Spiritual Competency Academy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Spiritual Competency Academy maintains responsibility for these program and their content. For more information about CECs for psychologists, please visit spiritualcompetencyacademy.com or info@spiritualcompetencyacademy.com.
The California Board of Behavioral Sciences accepts CE credits for LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFT license renewal for programs offered by approved sponsors of CE by the American Psychological Association. LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFTs, and other mental health professionals from states other than California need to check with their state licensing board as to whether or not they accept programs offered by approved sponsors of CE by the American Psychological Association.
The California Board of Registered Nursing has approved Spirit Rock to sponsor continuing education for nurses licensed in California, Provider Number CEP16905.
The California Board of Chiropractic Examiners' Code of Regulations 361(h)(2) provides that continuing education requirements may be met by taking continuing education courses by any California Healing Arts Board-approved provider, including those approved by the California BRN.
The California Board of Occupational Therapy allows for 12 of the 24 required continuing competency units to include occupation-based theory assessment/interview techniques, intervention strategies, and community/environment as related to your practice. The CBOT does not approve courses for continuing competency, and determining the applicability of course material for personal OT practice is the responsibility of the participant. Please read more about CBOT FAQs.
Note regarding Acupuncturists and Health and Wellness Coaches:
Due to changes from the California Acupuncture Board and the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching increasing fees to providers, Spirit Rock is no longer able to offer CECs for Acupuncturists and Health and Wellness Coaches. The National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching may accept programs offered by Spirit Rock if requested in advance of the program for approval. Spirit Rock does not guaranteed acceptance of credits.
Attendance Policies:
To be eligible for CE credits, participants are required to:
- Register and pay for CECs prior to the start of the program, by 5pm the business day before the program;
- Attend in full. Attendance will be tracked automatically, and verified:
- For online programs:
- Join the program, by web browser or Zoom App, not dialing in by phone, within the first 15-minutes of the start of the program;
- Join the program using the same email as used to register for the program to enable proper attendance tracking;
- Stay logged-in, and engaged, for the duration of the program;
- For non-residential, in-person programs:
- Check in at the CEC table within 15-minutes of the start of the program, each day if multiple days. This is a separate table than the registration table. Look for signage. If you do not see the table or are not directed to it, please ask!
- Check out at the CEC table at the end of the program, each day if multiple days.
- For residential, in-person programs:
- Check in for CEC instructions in the Council House at the beginning of the retreat, during the regular check-in period.
- Check in at the CEC table, in the retreat hall foyer, within 5-minutes of the start of each required session. A list of required sessions will be posted with the retreat schedule, and available at retreat check-in in the Council House.
- Complete the online CEC evaluation (different from the course survey) within 1-week of receiving the access link. The access link for the CEC evaluation will be emailed within 1-week of the end of the program to all CEC participants who attended the program in full. Certificates of Attendance will be emailed to those who complete the attendance requirements and submit the CEC evaluation within the stated time frame. Only digital certificates are available.
Important Notes:
- CEC certificates are available only for those who complete the attendance requirements, without exception, to prevent risking our provider licenses and future CEC programs.
- For online programs, it is the responsibility of the participant to ensure adequate internet reliability and bandwidth for online programs.
- Incomplete attendance nullifies CEC eligibility as board regulations prohibit partial credit for partial attendance. Participants cannot join a program late, have gaps in attendance, or leave early and be given "partial credit" for the hours that they were present.
- CEC participants with incomplete attendance will not be emailed the CEC evaluation, nor notified of incomplete attendance record. If a participant does not receive the CEC evaluation within one week of the program, it is the participants responsibility to contact Spirit Rock within one week of the end of the program if they believe their incomplete attendance record is inaccurate. CEC records are closed two weeks after the program completes.
There is a $20 fee to reissue CE certificates, and certificates are available only if the attendance requirements were met.
Cancellation Policies:
- Open credits are available for the CEC fee when requested prior to midnight the night before the program;
- No open credits available the day of the program, or later;
- Refunds are not available for the CEC fee.
To request an open credit, please contact the Retreat Registrar at: registration(at)spiritrock.org.
Spirit Rock Cancelled Programs: Spirit Rock rarely cancels a program, but in the unlikely event that we do, all registered participants will be notified by phone and email, and the cancellation notice will be posted on our website. A refund will be issued within 7-10 business days.
Grievances: If a grievance arises pertaining to continuing education programs, teachers, or processes, the complainant should write to continuingeducation@spiritrock.org, as soon as possible, so that the nature of the concern may be addressed in a timely fashion. If a grievance cannot be resolved this way, or if preferred, a participant may contact the appropriate professional association directly. The Spiritual Competency Academy is fully committed to conducting all activities in strict conformance with the American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles of Psychologists. SCA will comply with all legal and ethical responsibilities to be non-discriminatory in promotional activities, program content, and in the treatment of program participants. The monitoring and assessment of compliance with these standards will be the responsibility of David Lukoff, PhD, Director of SCA.
If you have any questions regarding CE credit, please contact ContinuingEducation(at)spiritrock.org.