N.J. Admin. Code § 13:34C-5.4

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 13:34C-5.4 - Approval of continuing education courses and/or programs

(a) The Committee may disallow any continuing education contact hours claimed for continuing education credit that are not relevant to the practice of alcohol and drug counseling in the State of New Jersey.

(b) The following continuing education courses and programs shall be deemed automatically approved, as long as the courses or programs fall within the content areas set forth in (d) below:

1. Courses and programs approved by a regionally accredited institution of higher learning; the APCBNJ or any other ICRC member board; NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals; American Society on Addiction Medicine; National Board of Certified Counselors; the American Counseling Association; the American Psychological Association; the American Psychiatric Association; the National Association of Social Workers; the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy; the National Council on Compulsive Gambling; and the American Compulsive Gambling Counselor Certification Board;

2. Teaching a course or program in the related content areas set forth in (d) below;

3. Completing coursework in the content areas set forth in (d) below;

4. Completing a distance learning course or program approved by one of the organizations listed in (b)1 above; and

5. Being the primary author of a peer reviewed article published in a refereed professional journal or publication.

(c) If a licensee or certificate holder attends a course or program that has not been approved by any of the organizations listed in (b)1 above, and the applicant seeks approval for continuing education, the applicant may submit the course or program to the Committee for approval prior to the biennial renewal date.

(d) The following are acceptable course and program content areas for continuing education as long as the licensee or certificate holder distributes his or her contact hours among the following content areas:

1. Counseling theory and practice, which includes the study of basic theories, principles and techniques of counseling and their application to professional counseling settings;

2. The helping relationship, which includes studies that provide a broad understanding of philosophic bases of helping processes, basic and advanced helping skills, consultation theories and their applications, client and helper self-understanding and self-development, and facilitation or consultee change;

3. Human growth and development and maladaptive behavior, which includes studies that provide a broad understanding of the nature and needs of individuals at all developmental levels, normal and abnormal behavior, personality theory, life-span theory, and learning theory within cultural contexts;

4. Lifestyle and career development, which includes studies that provide a broad understanding of career development theories, occupational and educational information sources and systems, career and leisure counseling, guidance and education, lifestyle and career decision-making, career development program planning, resources, and career option identification;

5. Group dynamics, processes, counseling and consulting, which includes studies that provide a broad understanding of group development dynamics, group counseling theories, group leadership styles, basic and advanced group counseling methods and skills, and other group approaches;

6. Assessment of individuals, which includes studies that provide a broad understanding of group and individual educational and psychometric theories and approaches to assessment, data and information gathering methods, validity and reliability, psychometric statistics, factors that influence assessment, use of assessment results in helping process and the specific ability to administer and interpret tests and inventories to assess abilities, interests, and identify career options;

7. Social and cultural foundations, which include studies that provide a broad understanding of societal changes and trends, human roles, societal subgroups, social mores and interaction patterns, multicultural and pluralistic trends, differing lifestyles, and major societal concerns including stress, person abuse, substance abuse, discrimination and methods of alleviating these concerns;

8. Research and evaluation, which include studies that provide a broad understanding of types of research, basic statistics, research-report development, research implementation, program evaluation, needs assessment, publication of research information and ethical and legal considerations;

9. The counseling profession, which includes studies that provide a broad understanding of professional roles and functions, professional goals and objectives, clinical supervision, professional organizations and associations, professional history and trends, ethical and legal standards, professional preparation standards and professional credentialing;

10. Physiology, pharmacology, neurobiology related to substance use, abuse, dependency, chemical and behavioral addictions, genetics, chemotherapies used in treating chemical and behavioral addictions as well as mental illness and dual diagnosis;

11. Spirituality and religious issues as they relate to the client pre and post treatment, during the treatment process, religious and belief systems as they impact upon the treatment and recovery process, understanding and assessing clinical aspects of spirituality (both theistic and non-theistic approaches to spirituality); and

12. Prevention and education issues related to substance abuse which will include the six domains of prevention: program coordination; education and training; community organization; public policy; and planning and evaluation.

(e) A course or program in the subject area of social and cultural competence for the purpose of fulfilling the three contact hours of continuing education requirement shall be obtained consistent with (b) above or shall be subject to the approval of the Committee. A course or program in the subject area approved by the Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, the Board of Social Work Examiners or the Professional Counselor Examiners Committee shall be deemed acceptable by the Committee.

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:34C-5.4

Recodified from 13:34C-5.3 by 49 N.J.R. 664(a), effective 4/3/2017