10 Easy Ways to Earn CPD Hours as a Psychotherapist in Ireland

Struggling to find enough CPD activities, or looking to diversify beyond workshops? Here are 10 practical ways to earn qualifying CPD hours that many Irish psychotherapists overlook.

1 Regular Clinical Supervision

If you're seeing clients, you should have supervision. For most associations it counts as CPD too — and for IACP members it's compulsory (10 hours minimum). A weekly 1-hour supervision session gives you 52 CPD hours per year from one source alone.

✅ Counts for: IAHIP (Cat F), IACP (Cat A), APCP (Cat C), ICP (Cat B)

2 Professional Reading

Reading counts as CPD! Every professional journal article, psychotherapy textbook, or research paper you read for your practice can be logged. Keep a simple reading log with the title, author, and what you learned. Even 30 minutes a week adds up to 26 hours per year.

✅ Counts for: IAHIP (Cat C), IACP (Cat E), APCP (Cat E), ICP (Cat D)

💡 Tip: Log each book or article as a separate CPD entry in MyCPDLog with a brief reflection note.

3 Peer Consultation Groups

Joining or forming a peer consultation group with fellow therapists is an underused CPD goldmine. A monthly 2-hour group gives you 24 hours per year. These informal learning communities help you process case material, share approaches, and reduce professional isolation.

✅ Counts for: IAHIP (Cat C/E), IACP (Cat E), APCP (Cat C), ICP (Cat B)

4 Online Courses & Webinars

Platforms like Counselling Tutor, BACP eLearning, Psychotherapy.net, and Coursera offer hundreds of relevant courses. Many are low cost or free. A 6-week online course on trauma, CBT, or attachment theory can yield 10–20 CPD hours with a certificate included.

✅ Counts for: All associations as Training/Workshops

💡 Tip: Always download your certificate of completion and upload it to MyCPDLog immediately.

5 Personal Psychotherapy

Ongoing personal therapy counts as CPD for all four associations. It supports your wellbeing, deepens self-awareness, and directly benefits your clinical work. If you see a therapist fortnightly, that's already 26 hours of CPD annually. Evidence isn't required by IAHIP for this category.

✅ Counts for: IAHIP (Cat H), IACP (Cat E), APCP (Cat D), ICP (Cat C)

6 Presenting or Teaching

If you present at a conference, teach on a training course, or facilitate a CPD workshop — that counts! You often spend 3–5 hours of preparation for every 1 hour you present, and all of it is loggable. Even presenting to a small peer group qualifies.

✅ Counts for: IAHIP (Cat G), IACP (Cat D), APCP (Cat E), ICP (Cat D)

7 Writing Articles or a Blog

Writing about your clinical work, research, or reflections counts as CPD. IAHIP is particularly generous: an article = 20 hours, a book chapter = 25 hours, a full book = 125 hours. Start a professional blog or submit to Inside Out (IAHIP journal) or IACP Accord.

✅ Counts for: IAHIP (Cat I), IACP (Cat E), APCP (Cat E), ICP (Cat D)

8 Professional Podcasts & Documentaries

Listening to professional podcasts like Therapy Chat, The Shrink Next Door, Therapist Uncensored or watching clinical documentaries can count as CPD under "professional reading/research" for most associations. Log each episode you listen to with reflective notes.

✅ Counts for: Most associations under Reading/Research or Other CPD

💡 Tip: Log in batches — "3 episodes of Therapy Chat on trauma-informed care = 1.5 hours"

9 Committee & Association Work

Serving on a committee for your professional association (IAHIP, IACP, APCP, ICP), volunteering at events, or sitting on an AGM panel — all count as CPD. This work is often unpaid but gives you professional visibility and CPD hours simultaneously.

✅ Counts for: IAHIP (Cat F), IACP (Cat D), APCP (Cat A/E), ICP (Cat A)

10 Self-Care Activities (IAHIP members)

IAHIP has a unique Category H — Self-Care. Activities like yoga, meditation, mindfulness practice, martial arts, and journaling count toward your 250 hours (up to a 50-hour maximum). This recognizes that therapist wellbeing directly impacts clinical quality.

✅ Counts for: IAHIP (Cat H) only — up to 50 hours max

The Most Important Rule: Log Everything

The biggest CPD mistake therapists make is forgetting to log activities they've already done. A missed workshop certificate, a forgotten reading log, or six months of un-logged supervision can put your reaccreditation at risk.

Use MyCPDLog to capture every activity as it happens — not in a panic before your renewal deadline.

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