Continuing Education Requirements for Registered Drama Therapists

For questions, or to request accessibility updates to the new CE reporting process:
please email the NADTA office at [email protected] or Education Chair at [email protected]

Instructions for Submitting 2023-2024 CEs

1. Renew your NADTA Professional (RDT or BCT) Membership - active membership is required to access CE reporting forms
2. Click the "CONTINUING EDUCATION" tab in your member profile and complete the form
3. While you are there - update your professional member profile information, contact details, and preferences

Example:

• Prepare your CE certificates by converting, scanning or saving as PDF documents, with file names that include your credential number, name, and date of CE activity. For example: RDT000_CE_Firstname.Lastname_2024-05-27.pdf
• (Suggested) Organize the required CE reporting information for each certificate in a spreadsheet for easy referencing when you are reporting activities in the form. Include a tally of your CE totals to confirm your form responses are correct and to maintain a backup record. Note: This document is NOT the reporting piece but is suggested for your own personal records. 
• CE Form required information includes:

• Date CE Activity Occurred: Date Started and Completed (Month/Day/Year)
• Event or Session Name
  
• Credit Hours
• Location of CE Activity (i.e.: Zoom, NADTA Conference, etc.)
• Provider/Instructor Name and Credentials
  
• Code for CE Content Area (1-11). This is where you will identify the content as CHED, BCT, or other content. see details below
  
• Description: Type the Code for CE Method (A-O) in the box. see details below
  
• Expiration Date: Select Jan 1 of the odd numbered year following the end of the CE Cycle (eg: 1-1-2025 for the current cycle)

• Log-in to your member account through the NADTA website and click the "My Profile" tab to find the Continuing Education Tab in the header (see example image above)
  
• For each certificate, fill in all of the fields with the CE information. Click the "upload certificate" button to add the PDF document, click "save" and return any time to add more. Be sure to add the Code for the CE Method (A-O) in the description section.

Example:

Codes for Approved CE Content Areas and Methods

Each CE activity, must fall into one of the following content (1-11) and method (A-O) areas that reflect NADTA Knowledge Competencies. To organize and track of your CE credits, you may want to use a spreadsheet, (see example linked here). When reporting your CEs, in your NADTA Member Profile, please use the following content area and method codes in the CE Form:

CONTENT AREAS:

1. BCT Only - (3 required hours)
2. Cultural Humility Equity and Diversity (15 required hours)
3. Ethical Practice and Standards
4. Leadership for the NADTA
5. Performance, Theater Perspectives, and Aesthetics
6. Psychodiagnostics & Assessment
   
7. Psychological & Psychotherapeutic Theories & Practice
8. Related Modalities: Expressive or Creative Arts Therapy, Psychodrama, Playback, and Others
9. Research & Evaluation
10. Supervision of Students, Interns, or RDT's (clinical or modality)
11. Theories & Core Processes of Drama Therapy

METHODS:

1. Conference or Symposium: Attending or Presenting DT or CAT
   
2. Cultural Humility, Equity, and Diversity (CHED) Racial Justice and Equity Call
   
3. Dissertation, re: DT, Psych, or Theater
   
4. NADTA Education Committee CE Workshop Series
   
5. Performance and Theater Training
   
6. Post-Master's College or University Credits or Auditing
   
7. Publication Written by You (can also count for BCT CE Credit)
   
8. Self-Study
   
9. Seminar or Workshop You Attended
   
10. Service to the NADTA (Board or Committee - can also count for BCT CE Credit)
    
11. Supervision Received (Individual or Group)
12. Teaching: Presentation, workshop, course taught by you (can also count for BCT CE Credit if you developed original content for the course)
13. (BCT ONLY) NEW! Required yearly in January: Complete Annual BCT Survey and Student Roster Update Form (0.5 CE)
14. (BCT ONLY) Attendance at NADTA sponsored BCT trainings, conference calls, or meetings related to alternative training, education, or credentialing
15. (BCT ONLY) Mentorship/Supervision of new BCT's

Further Information About Methods:

CEs may be earned for the following activities, provided that they fall within the eligible Content Areas. It is typical for you to earn one (1) CE per clock hour for attendance at lectures, workshops, and other professional educational venues. Continuing education activities need to be taught by credentialed professionals. For example, creative art therapy sessions taught by a credentialed or licensed creative arts therapist, mental health session taught by licensed or credentialed mental health professionals and drama therapy workshops taught by RDTs. Sessions at the NADTA conference only are vetted by the conference committee and may be used even if not led by an RDT.

Purpose of Continuing Education

The North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA) views continuing education as an essential activity to ensure quality of services delivered by Registered Drama Therapists. Continuing education is a self-directed process which requires drama therapists assume responsibility and accountability for their own professional development. The NADTA CE Requirements provide guidance and resources for its members to be able to match their continuing education with professional expectations.  The purpose of Continuing Education is to ensure that Registered Drama Therapists stay up to date on the information in the field and continue developing skills in drama therapy, psychotherapy, and theater. These requirements are intended to be utilized by individual practitioners, DT educators, by providers of continuing education, and by agencies who have a responsibility for drama therapy staff. It is the hope of the NADTA that by establishing standards for continuing education that the individuals and communities we serve recognize drama therapists for their commitment to continuous education and professional development.

Further Information About Content:

Cultural Humility, Equity, and Diversity (CHED)

As an organization who upholds cultural response/ability in training, research, practice, supervision, advocacy, and organizational change, it is necessary to create a practice of accountability to ensure all members are committed to the same extent. Any CE opportunity that addresses cultural humility, equity, and diversity (as per the NADTA Code of Ethics and Cultural Response/ability) would be pertinent. Most CE opportunities in CHED have the words (cultural humility, equity, diversity, social justice, etc.) in their titles, content description, and/or program objectives. The focus of the CE opportunity does not need to be exclusively in a CHED content, but does need to speak to how the main topic intersects with CHED content area. CHED CEs can be awarded for attending presentations by professionals in drama therapy or a related mental health field (includes counseling, social work, marriage and family therapy, addictions counseling, psychology, psychiatric nursing and psychiatry). If a presentation or workshop is sponsored by the NADTA, it will denote its eligibility for CHED CEs. RDTs and BCTs can also receive CHED CEs for conducting CHED workshops, presentations, panels, academic courses and publishing on a CHED topic.

• NADTA Annual Conference: Each year, conference proposal applicants are requested to demonstrate how their workshop or presentation contributes to cultural humility. As we continue to identify tracks for conference presentations, those workshops, presentations and performances who are marked with CHED track count towards CHED CEs. For example, if a participant attends the typical All Conference Event CHEDC Forum event, they will receive the listed continuing education credits towards CHED CEs.
• CHED Racial Justice and Equity Calls: About once per month, CHEDC hosts diversity dialogues on a series of topics related to social justice and equity. Diversity Dialogues are community conversations about social equity concerns, where members can share together, improve practice, and strategize for a more equitable future. Each Diversity Dialogue will qualify for CHED CEs.
• NADTA Education Committee Continuing Education Workshop Series: A series of low cost CHED CE workshops will be announced for each year. Workshops will support members in achieving a variety of CEs. Members of the NADTA community, and beyond, can submit proposals for CHED CE workshops that they would like to host. These workshops will be virtual to accommodate member participation from across the nation.
• Self-Study: A number of peer-reviewed articles from the Drama Therapy Review (DTR) have been identified as meeting the requirements for 1.0 CHED CE credit. The CHED CE subcommittee has created a self-study worksheet that must be completed and submitted at the end of the cycle along with your CE Form. No more than 2.0 CHED CE credits can be from self-study and members are only allowed to complete a self-study on an approved article once.

As a reflection of their roles as educators, knowledge creators, and Alternative Training facilitators, RDT/BCTs are expected to earn at least 3 of their 30 CE hours through the following BCT-specific activities:

• REQUIRED YEARLY IN JANUARY: Complete the annual BCT survey and student roster update form (0.5 CEs)
• Attendance at BCT trainings, conference calls, or meetings sponsored by the NADTA about alternative training and drama therapy education or credentialing.
• Mentorship/supervision of new BCTs
• Publication of article/book chapter or (As in Methods #G for RDTs)
• NADTA committee service related to drama therapy education or credentialing (As in Method #J for RDTs)
• Development of workshop, class, or media related to drama therapy practice or theory (As in Method #L for RDTs)

Required Hours and Cycle Review Parameters

30 hours of Continuing Education are required for RDTs and RDT/BCTs within a 2-year cycle, 15 hours of which need to be in the content area of Cultural Humility, Equity, and Diversity (known as CHED CEs). It is typical to count one (1) CE per clock hour for attendance at lectures, workshops, and other professional educational venues.

The 30 hours represent contact hours and do not include breaks, commuting time, meals, etc. The same content cannot be used for credit more than once, either within a 2-year cycle or in consecutive 2-year cycles.

• You can count second terms of office on the NADTA Board or continuing membership on an NADTA committee as the content of the work will be different each cycle.
• You can get credit only once for a presentation or workshop which you present for more than one conference/organization, or for a course you teach on a regular basis.
• You cannot count taking the same title course again, unless it is taught by a different instructor and covers different topics. Send both syllabi to document there was different content, if you are in this situation.

Note to New RDTs

Because a member’s education is current at the time of submitting the RDT application, new Registered Drama Therapists are not required to submit CE hours in the cycle in which they received their RDT.  CEs will not need to be submitted until the CE cycle following the receipt of your RDT. For example, members who are granted the RDT credential in 2023 or 2024, would not need to start accruing CE hours until the 2025-2026 cycle. New graduates with a provisional (P-RDT) credential are not required to report CEs.

Audit

A certain number of individuals (approximately 10%) will be randomly audited each Continuing Education Cycle. RDTs who submit their CE hours late will automatically be audited.

• Hours of Continuing Education over and above 30 within each 2-year cycle can only count for credit within that 2-year cycle. Hours cannot be “rolled over” to the next 2-year cycle.
• The cycle begins January 1 in odd numbered years and ends December 31 of the second (even numbered) year. Gathering of CE hours for new RDTs will commence in the first odd-numbered year after the receipt of their RDT. In this way all CE hours will be due at the same time.

Noncompliance

Any RDT who does not complete the required 30 continuing education hours, inclusive of the 15 CHED CE requirement, or who fails to submit CE documentation in a timely manner stands to forfeit their Registry status. The Continuing Education Committee will communicate in writing with RDTs who have not complied with instructions and/or deadlines on how to rectify the missing hours.

FAQs for CHED ED Requirements

Q. How many of my CE hours need to be in CHED ED?

A. Each Registered Drama Therapist is required to complete 15 of their 30 Continuing Education hours (per 2-year cycle) required to maintain their RDT credential to activities in the category of Cultural Humility, Equity, and Diversity (CHED CEs). We are not asking you to complete more CEs than usual, but instead asking you to make intentional choices with your continuing education to ensure the topics you select intersect with cultural humility, equity, and diversity.

Q. Why require continuing education in the content area of Cultural Humility, Equity, and Diversity?

A. As a member of the NADTA, you have committed to uphold the best practices of a drama therapist as outlined in our Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Cultural Response/ability in Training, Research, Practice, Supervision, Advocacy, and Organizational Change. By having each active RDT/BCT commit 15 hours of their continuing education to CHED, we will be able to better uphold our Code of Ethics, practice cultural response/ability, provide more competent care and professional services and establish these discussions as community-wide norms.

We ask members to hold in mind the following commitments in the Guidelines for Cultural Response/ability when making CHED ED Continuing Education choices:

• Drama therapists demonstrate commitment to the treatment of all persons with dignity and respect, regardless of differences in age, ethnicity, geographic region, gender identity, gender expression, military status, physical, mental, or developmental capacity, nationality, political views, race, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and historical experiences with the dominant culture.
• Drama therapists actively seek out knowledge and understanding about how cultural oppression (e.g. racism, homophobia, transphobia, poverty, sexism, religious intolerance, ableism, sizeism, ageism etc.) affects them personally and in their work.
• Drama therapists are encouraged to seek out educational, consultative, and training experiences including language acquisition to enrich their understanding and effectiveness in working with clients who have historical and cultural backgrounds and experiences that are different from their own.
• Drama therapists also take responsibility for educating themselves about relevant identity development models, historical and current discriminatory practices at the societal level (i.e., racism, classism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, sizeism, ageism, transphobia, etc.), and global sociopolitical and intergenerational issues (i.e., wars, occupation, and natural disasters in country of origin) that may be affecting the psychological welfare of clients in care.
• The simple truth is that needing to center these issues through mandates is a reflection of the ways in which white supremacy/dominant culture is already at play in our training programs and the NADTA at large, and it is our collective obligation to be actively dismantling systems of oppression in all areas of our field. By making intentional choices around our continuing education, we commit to engaging in the necessary education and ongoing self-reflection to hold ourselves and each other accountable for delivery of culturally responsible care.

Q. How do I know if a continuing education activity I want to teach meets CHED ED requirements?

The easiest way to know if your workshop or lecture meets CHED CE criteria is to review the learning objectives and content of your presentation. If your learning objective incorporates a CHED content area and/or speaks to how the main topic of your presentation intersects with a CHED content area, then it qualifies for consideration as a CHED CE workshop. We ask that when preparing a workshop you utilize an intersectional and equity lens when determining the content of your presentation.