Common Questions About CCPA’s
Certification pathways Monika Gal, M.Ed, C.C.C.
September 2013 marks a landmark moment in CCPA’s certification program. The certifi- cation requirements were re-organized into the “Pathways to Certification” and sepa- rate application pathways were created for recent graduates and experienced practitio- ners. The clarification is especially important for experienced practitioners because they can now clearly determine their certifica- tion requirements and application procedure as distinct from those of recent graduates. I’ve written about these updates in previous editions of Cognica; please consult the Sum- mer 2013 edition for detailed information regarding the updates. The current require- ments have also been updated on CCPA’s website, under the “Membership” and then “Certification” tabs. Please take a look and send your thoughts to
certification@ccpa-accp.ca.
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Just before the certification updates and requirements came into effect, I presented a free webinar presentation on the Pathways to Certification. The presentation reviewed the upcoming certification requirements and application procedure and was attended mainly by practitioners interested in apply- ing for certification, as well as representa- tives from counselling programs. Due to the positive feedback received, CCPA will be regularly offering these free webinar pre- sentations in both English and French. If you are interested in applying for certification, please join in! You can find information on these webinars at
http://www.ccpa-accp.ca/en/freewebinars/.
A number of wonderful questions were raised by the participants of the webinar. I’ll take a moment to answer some frequently asked questions that may be useful informa- tion to other certification applicants:
Q: I haven’t graduated yet from my Masters degree in counselling. Could I qualify for the “C.C.C.-Qualifying” title while I finish this course?
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A: No. The C.C.C.-Qualifying title is only available to practitioners who have satis- fied all of the education requirements. This includes completing all of the required coursework and having the Masters degree in counselling conferred. An applicant’s training is not considered to be complete until they have been awarded their degree.
However, if the applicant has successfully completed all of the program’s coursework and the senate has reviewed the program completion with a set date for the conferral of the degree, the applicant may still be able to apply for certification. To do so, the appli- cant should ensure that his or her transcript indicates that the grade and credit were awarded to all courses required for certifica- tion, and in addition provide a letter from the counselling program’s director or Univer- sity Registrar confirming that the applicant has successfully completed the program requirements and indicate the date on which the degree will be awarded.
For example, if Jane Doe successfully com- pleted all courses required for her program by the end of the Fall semester in Decem- ber 2012, but is waiting to have her degree conferred at the June 2013 graduation cer- emony, she can still apply for the Canadian Certified Counsellor title if she provides her transcript where the grade and credit were awarded to all courses required for certifica- tion as well as a letter from the University Registrar confirming that Jane will have her degree conferred at the Spring convocation ceremony.
However, if John Smith successfully complet- ed all the courses required for certification by the end of the Fall semester in December 2012 but is still working on completing his thesis, he cannot apply for the Canadian Cer- tified Counsellor title because his program is incomplete and he could not yet provide the required letter confirming that the program is completed and identify the date on which
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