Preamble:

Article 6 of the Psychotherapy Profession Act (Chapter 587) stipulates:

(6)A warrant issued under this Act shall continue to have effect, provided that the warrant holder shall, every three years, prove to the satisfaction of the Board that he has carried out such programme, or programmes, of continuing professional development as may be prescribed.

 

Definition:

Continuous professional development (CPD) is the ongoing process of developing, maintaining and documenting your professional skills, knowledge and development. CPD is mandatory for all warranted psychotherapists. It benefits clients, psychotherapists, employers, other stakeholders and society as a whole. 

Psychotherapists have to update and develop their knowledge and skills on an ongoing basis. This commitment demonstrates and ensures professional competence, high standards, good quality service and accountability for the public.

 

CPD requirements and procedures:

All psychotherapists are to maintain a continuous, up to date and accurate record of CPD activities. The official ‘CPD Activity Log’ form must be used. Activity logs are to be submitted once every three (3) years to the Board for the Psychotherapy Profession in Malta.

In the case were evidence of the required CPD hours is not provided and/or not satisfied, the warrant may be suspended.

  • In order for the warrant to continue to have effect, psychotherapists in full-time professional practice are required to complete one hundred and fifty (150) hours of CPD over a period of (3) three years.
  • Its equivalent is required for part-time professional practice, whereby not less than a minimum of half the amount established is required. Meaning, for example, that should part-time professional practice be of thirty (30) hours, then one-hundred (112.5) CPD hours are required over the three years. Meaning also that, in the case of part-time practice professional practice that is of twenty (20) hours or less, seventy-five (75) hours of CPD are required over the three years.
  • Psychotherapists resuming practice after a career break of less than three years shall have to complete twenty (20) hours of CPD (per year of the career break) prior to reactivation of their warrant. If the break exceeds three (3) years, the Board for the Psychotherapy Profession in Malta will advise on the requirements prior to reactivation.
  • The ‘CPD Activity Log’ Form acknowledges that there are several different forms of CPD that may contribute to one’s professional development and offers the possibility to record the various forms of CPD carried out. It is not necessary however to acquire CPD in all the sections outlined. You could for example, fill in only four of the sections if you did not carry out other forms of CPD over the three years. What is important is to ensure that:
    • Not more than 35% for each CPD category is accounted for in the log
    • All the Supervision hours required are fulfilled per year
    • Any training received or provided must be carried out by a warranted professional in psychotherapy or a related field.
  • One of the various forms of CPD is Supervision [Table 2 in the CPD Activity Log]. This is defined as follows:

Supervision for Psychotherapy practice/clinical/group work offers a reflective space led by a registered supervisor that ensures standards, enhances quality, advances learning, stimulates creativity and supports resilience and sustainability of the work undertaken. You may refer to the ‘Supervisors List’ for an updated list of supervisors registered under the Psychotherapy Act.

Peer Supervision does not require the presence of a registered supervisor but refers to peers working one-to-one or in a group for mutual benefit where developmental feedback is emphasised, self-directed learning and evaluation is encouraged. Members take mutual responsibility for supervising and being supervised with the aim of increasing the quality of service provided.

  • In this regard, psychotherapists in full-time professional practice are required to fulfil a minimum of twelve (12) hours of ‘Supervision for Psychotherapy practice/clinical/group work’ per year, adding up to thirty-six (36) hours over three years.
  • Its equivalent is required for part-time practice, whereby not less than a minimum of half the amount established is required. Meaning that, for example should part-time practice be of thirty (30) hours, then a minimum of nine (9) hours per year of supervision is required, adding up to twenty-seven (27) hours over three years. Meaning also that, in the case of part-time practice of twenty (20) hours or less, six (6) hours per year of supervision is required, adding up to 18 hours over the three years.
  • All Registered Supervisors are required to receive hyper-vision (supervision of supervision) that is part of, or in addition to, the supervision hours required to practice.

 

Different forms of CPD:

CPD can be taken in the following forms:

  • Advanced or additional post qualification professional psychotherapy training. (Please list these; include detail of the provider and a synopsis of the course; indicate the number of hours for each course; and attach copies of attendance certificate/s).
  • Professional supervision for psychotherapy practice/clinical/group work and peer supervision. (Please indicate name of supervisor/institute; hours of supervision; and the total number of hours; attach a letter of attestation from the supervisor/s/peer group members).
  • Personal therapy (Please list the name/s of the therapist/s and provide a letter attesting to the duration of the therapy, frequency of sessions and total number of obtained hours of personal therapy)
  • Attending or presenting at: psychotherapy conferences, symposia, workshops, seminars, video-conferences, organised/presented by recognised bodies and/or warranted professionals in the related field (Please list title, date and organisation for each and indicate number of hours of session time attended in each. Please attach copies of all attendance certificates or a letter from the organiser/s attesting to your attendance/presentation).
  • Professional activities in psychotherapy including being elected to a Board or a Committee and attending meetings. (Please indicate organisation, dates of committee/board meetings, and number of formal hours of each meeting.)
  • Participation in extra psychotherapy training as a supervisor/researcher/teacher (Provide letters of attestation and/or other evidence of this).
  • Writing, editing, publishing or delivering of research papers; on-line professional activities related to the profession; articles in the media (magazines; newspaper; newsletters etc) that are of educational value to the public, service-users and to clients.

 

While not all of the above CPD forms are necessarily required, CPD hours should not consist of more than 35% from any one listed CPD category.

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