Continuing Professional Development

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements for DMT Practicing Members

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the means by which practitioners broaden and deepen their knowledge, skills and awareness, to develop the personal and professional qualities necessary for the effective practice of dance movement therapy. All DMT practicing members are required to comply with CPD requirements and reporting to ensure that they meet their professional obligations as determined by the Association, as well as abiding by Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Practice.

DTAA’s CPD requirements support the obligation of all DMT practicing Members to maintain currency of practice in the dance movement therapy field. All DMT practicing members are expected to adhere to these requirements, regardless of the percentage of their professional practice devoted to DMT. This helps to ensure agencies and clients of a competent standard of service from DTAA’s DMT practicing members.

Logging CPD and Providing CPD Evidence

Members are responsible for maintaining and storing evidence of their completed CPD until it is requested for an audit.

Acceptable CPD evidence includes:

certificates of attendance;
receipts showing the course name, course duration and the attendee’s name;
screen shot photos of on-line participation;
or other documentary proof which verifies the course name, course duration and the attendee.

Each year at the time of membership renewal Associate, Provisional Professional, Professional, and Clinical members will be asked to complete a one page summary of the CPD and supervision they have received during the previous membership year. To renew the summary sheet will be required along with fee payment and a copy of professional indemnity insurance The hours recorded on the summary sheet for CPD must meet the minimum standards for your membership level. The annual minimum requirements for CPD are discussed below.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR CPD REPORTING FORM 2023

Annual CPD requirement – minimum 20 hours

There are two categories from which the annual 20 hours of CPD required for renewal may be accrued:

Category A: Minimum annual requirement – 15 hours. The whole of the annual requirement of 20 CPD hours may be accrued from Category A only.

Category B: Maximum claimable annual allowance – 5 hours

CATEGORY A

A minimum requirement of 15 hours per year, accumulated by:

Imparting knowledge relating to dance movement therapy through formal presentations, teaching, research and publications.
Contributing to DTAA activities – sub-committees, publications, etc.
Attendance at person-to-person courses, workshops, seminars and conferences.
Participation in online facilitated learning. Online facilitated learning takes place in an online learning environment. The presence and contribution of an online facilitator is required, providing synchronous* or asynchronous* interaction between the facilitator and the participants. This involves interactive learning where participants carry out a number of learning activities rather than passively listening to a lecture or presentation. Examples of online facilitated learning are online courses that include facilitated online discussions or forums, and may also include assessment components.

*Synchronous interaction takes place during the online training

*Asynchronous interaction takes place at another time, for example via an online forum, or email

CATEGORY B

A maximum claimable annual allowance of 5 hours per year, accumulated by:

Personal dance practice: participation in dance movement activities that reinforce therapeutic skills
Participation in peer learning groups
Participation in online non-facilitated learning.
Reading and taking notes on dance movement therapy journals and books .

Peer learning groups are groups of peers who meet to discuss and explore dance movement therapy related topics or resources, without a formal facilitator.

Online non-facilitated learning takes place in an online learning environment without synchronous or asynchronous interaction with an online facilitator. For example, recorded webinars or webinars that are not substantially interactive in nature.

The 20 hours of CPD must be accrued between 1 July and 30 June of the previous 12 months. The CPD requirements for a registration period of less than 12 months can be taken pro rata in the first year of membership or registration. Pro rata CPD will be calculated on a monthly basis, for example, for 6 months of registration, the requirements will be halved to 10 hours.

Auditing of CPD Evidence

To provide surety to the public and employers that our members are undertaking and documenting their CPD, in line with best practice for health professions, DTAA will randomly audit CPD evidence. Members selected for audit will be notified in writing.

If the required CPD has not been logged or the evidence provided to DTAA is incomplete or insufficient, members will be required to submit further documentation. Members who do not meet audit requirements may have their DTAA registration suspended.

Content for CPD Activities

CPD activities must be relevant to the member’s professional practice and/or the research evidence base for their practice. CPD activities should expand or extend the practitioner’s current skills or introduce new skills and knowledge in dance movement therapy or other topics related to the area of practice. In addition to CPD activities provided by the DTAA, CPD may also include activities offered by PACFA, other creative arts therapy organisations, and/or other professional organisations or government.

Guidelines for CPD Presenters

This guideline aims to ensure that CPD activities are led by suitably qualified and experienced practitioners, and that CPD undertaken by members is of sufficiently high quality to make a contribution to their development as practitioners.

DTAA-recognised CPD activities should be presented by those who are:

Clinical or Professional Members of DTAA; or
recognised members of PACFA or a PACFA Member Association, other DMT or creative arts therapy professional associations; or
recognised by the DMT profession as having advanced expertise in the topic being addressed. In this instance, members should provide a brief justification for why a particular leader is skilled in the topic that they are claiming as CPD.

If you want to apply for your event to be endorsed by the DTAA as CPD please download and complete the following form:

Application for DTAA Endorsement for CPD Activities