Professional Development Policy
Ongoing professional development is a well-recognised requirement for most professions and for many years it has been a criterion for QCA membership renewal.
It is necessary for counsellors but it also assist clients build trust in their competence.
For counsellors there is the recognition of the value and refreshment of life long learning, the option to select the learning most appropriate for self-development, and the openness to self-directed review and peer review.
For those who place their trust in counsellors, there can be some measure of assurance that, as individuals and as members of QCA, their counsellor has a commitment to ongoing professional development. This includes the willingness to provide evidence of the content and processes of that development.
Definition
While it is recognised that professional development takes many forms, QCA adopts a definition similar to that of PACFA: workshops, seminars, lectures, training courses, and conferences meet this requirement. Supervision, another major professional development activity, is a separate requirement.
Requirement
Fifteen hours of professional development per year is the minimum requirement for ongoing clinical and associate membership. Members are advised to keep documentary evidence of professional development activities in the event of such documents being requested for audit purposes.
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Professional Development 
