National Approval for Counselors

Please note that our courses have not been pre-approved by the NCTRC.

The CTRS is required to complete professional level (baccalaureate level or higher) educational opportunities to maintain and enhance knowledge and skill to practice. These include completing continuing education, specifically at professional conferences, workshops, symposia and seminars. The CTRS may earn continuing education credits for internship and equivalency path application supervision, authoring professional publications, giving professional presentations, and completing academic courses. The CTRS may also earn continuing education credit for participating in officially sanctioned NCTRC test development, item writing and other certification test related activities.

The content of continuing education opportunities must relate directly to the current NCTRC Job Analysis Study. Continuing education is measured according to actual instructional time as identified on documentation submitted. Each continuing education session must be 30 minutes or longer. Sessions of less than 30 minutes will not be accepted by NCTRC, regardless of the content. If you require clarification on converting your continuing education units/points to hours, contact NCTRC. NCTRC offers an optional pre-approval process of both pending and/or completed continuing education content prior to
the submission of a formal recertification or specialization area designation application. This process allows for formal early confirmation of continuing education to certificants who are not certain if specific continuing education opportunities will meet NCTRC Recertification and/or Specialization Area Designation requirements. This process is available to all current CTRSs and can be utilized at any time during the five-year certification cycle. This is an optional process and is not required for Recertification Review. Please note that the submission of the Recertification – Education and Work Experience application will still be required in order to complete the recertification process.

The standards require that if requested to do so as part of the audit process, a CTRS must submit an official document(s) of continuing education credit which indicates their name, attendance date (which must be within the 5 year cycle), title of the course or program and contact hours (it does not have to be awarded in CEU credit). If the CTRS is unable to obtain such a document, then the sponsor or instructor of the program must provide a written statement including all the necessary information mentioned above, on agency letterhead.

Continuing Education credit earned at conferences, symposia, seminars, etc. are automatically accepted for Recertification if the continuing education was pre-approved by NCTRC via the CE Pre-Approval Programs. All other continuing education credit earned by CTRSs must be submitted to NCTRC in accordance with the NCTRC Recertification Standards. All earned continuing education credit must be based upon the current ANSI/IACET Standard for Continuing Education and Training. The title and content of the course or program, as listed on the official document, is critical to whether it can be used toward NCTRC Recertification. If it is not, the certificant will need to submit the program brochure with the continuing education materials. Certain continuing education will not be accepted toward NCTRC recertification. This includes CPR, First Aid, Infectious Disease Control, Life Saving, and activity or other skill-based courses. Intervention skill sessions/courses will be accepted only when the majority of the focus is on using the therapeutic recreation process.