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Continuing education hours
Participants receive a CEU certificate upon completion of each workshop.
For mental health therapists there are 100 contact hours of continuing education available for the whole program. For child welfare professionals there are 74.5 contact hours of continuing education available. CE hours may be used toward Oregon and Washington counseling or social work licensure renewal. They may also be appropriate for Oregon psychology continuing education and are NBCC certified. Continuing Education Units from Portland State University are typically accepted in all states. Check with your licensing board or professional association to verify.
Postgraduate training certificate
For mental health therapists, a postgraduate certificate (100 hours of CEUs) can be earned by completing all program components. To earn the full certificate, mental health therapists must be admitted to the program and successfully complete all requirements in two years. The Certificate can be completed in one year if the program is started in September and all workshops/courses are taken in consecutive order. All courses are offered one time per year. Professionals can enter the program at any time during the year except May.
| Activity | Hours |
| Workshops (on campus/video streaming and online) | 88.5 |
| Case consultation | 7.5 |
| Program DVD | 2 |
| Final paper | 2 |
| Total | 100 |
See the Admissions link on the left for an application packet and admissions requirements.
Oregon directory: Mental health professionals who earn the certificate are part of a core group of clinicians who are available to serve adoptive and foster families throughout Oregon. In December 2008, adoptive families were receiving adoption assistance on behalf of 10,737 Oregon children. In addition, there are between 9,500 and 9,800 children in foster care on any given day. A directory of mental health professionals who have completed this training is available from Oregon’s Department of Human Services, the Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC), Oregon licensed private adoption agencies, and this website. See the Directory of Therapists for more information.
Certificate program requirements: As part of the program, mental health therapists have an exciting opportunity to participate in case consultation immediately following several of the workshops. Consultation is a unique clinical skill-building opportunity for therapists to integrate learning with the course instructor. While CEU hours are given, the consultation isl not recognized by licensing boards as supervision hours.
The 100 CEU hour Postgraduate Training Certificate requirements include:
- Admission to the program
- Certificate program DVD (2 CEU hours)
- Seven on-campus workshops (8 days, 48.5 CEU hours total), also available through video streaming
- Four online courses (10 CEU hours each, 40 hours total)
- Five case consultations (1.5 hours each, 7.5 CEU hours total). These consultations immediately follow five of the workshops.
- Final Paper: four-page paper (2 CEU hours)