CEUs for social workers

There’s no shortage of opportunities to get continuing education units as a social worker. The Association of Social Work Boards recognizes over 250 accredited CE providers, including PESI, Medbridge, and the Psychotherapy.net.

You may choose to pursue additional training in modality you already practice, such as dialectical behavioral therapy. Or, you may want to invest in a new treatment method, such as internal family systems. 

You can also choose to pursue CE that equips you to work with a specific population, such as LGBTQIA+ or BIPOC individuals or youth and teenagers. Either way, Jarrold says CE can offer a fresh perspective that can help you better care for your clients.

You may also choose to brush up on non-clinical skills, such as mental health documentation. “Many of us don’t get training on compliant documentation in school like we do for interventions and theoretical orientations,” says Michael Heckendorn, LPC and Headway’s clinical lead of clinician education. “The PESI documentation course explains how to document from intake to treatment plan and progress notes, while also pulling in information on differential diagnosis and medical necessity.”

Before choosing a CE target, take time to reflect on the needs of the client population you serve and want to serve, along with your personal interests as a clinician. “The most valuable thing you can do is take CEs rooted in modalities and themes that allow you to support people in a way that’s interesting to you,” says Jarrold.