Continuing Education and Professional Development
Domain 9 tests how counselors maintain competence after licensure.
Renewal CE
Maryland uses a two-year renewal cycle. The Board requires 40 continuing education hours per cycle, including specified ethics hours and, for approved supervisors, supervision-specific hours. CE must be from Board-approved providers or activities; the counselor keeps certificates and a log in case of audit. Some carryover may be allowed, but it is limited, and it does not excuse missing a required category. Teaching, publication, and professional service may count only within Board limits.
Professional development
CE is not just clock hours. The counselor should use the cycle to address gaps in competence, cultural humility, telehealth, recordkeeping, and supervision. Approved supervision training is separate from general ethics hours.
Worked example
A counselor submits 40 hours at renewal but none in ethics. The renewal is deficient even though the total is correct. The counselor must complete the ethics hours before the license can be renewed or may face a late or conditional renewal.
Traps
- Counting the same workshop twice.
- Assuming any online webinar is approved.
- Waiting until the last month and discovering the ethics or supervision hours are missing.