All professional complementary therapists are required to complete Continual Professional Development (CPD) every year to demonstrate keeping up to  date  with  industry standards and to expand their skills set.

The case for online learning

Having delivered face-to-face workshops globally for 7 years, I have had many complementary therapists approach me describing their personal obstacles to attending and completing CPD training. These range from their living remotely; CPD training not provided in their locality, the cost of travel to courses, the cost of accommodation and meals on top of the cost of the course itself. Add to that the loss of earnings while away from their business and clients, time away from home, child-care, health restrictions, learning disabilities, the list goes on.

What does this mean for therapists? For those who are not located close to city centres, where most training courses are provided, they face an inequality in their opportunities for career advancement and development. Additionally, their financial and personal lives are affected due to increased cost of training and travel, as well as time away from home and work.

There are so many reasons a therapist can be restricted by personal  circumstances; there are amazing complementary therapists who are juggling life as carer to their partners, children or parents. They love their therapies and wish to develop their skills further, feeling it is part of maintaining their own identity and lives, but travelling even a day away from home causes so many practical difficulties that attendance is virtually impossible for them.

The answer for· many of these problems is CPD elearning, which represents an accessible learning pathway to keep abreast of industry practices, while improving skills and learning new techniques. It provides a training platform which aligns with many other healthcare systems such as the NHS and caters to the individual’s learning style and pace of learning.

Is elearning better than  face  to face  training?    I do  believe our initial training should contain a high level of direct teaching, and some people really value learning in person as a modality. However, once we are qualified and  looking to add to  our skills set, elearning for CPD opens another pathway to training. It provides a level playing field for those therapists who are not close to training programs or who are restricted because of other issues.

Providing the course is developed using the same high-quality content and integrity to modality best practices as an in-person CPD course, I do think elearning can be as good as face to face training. I can vouch that all the online Massage, Reflexology and Reiki CPD course which evolved from my face to face workshop for cancer care required far more thought,  time and work. This was essential to create a learning program suitable for all therapists, all learning styles and catering for each individual’s learning pace.

Am I saying elearning is the best choice for everybody? No, of course not. Some therapists are going to love this learning pathway, while others prefer to attend face to face training; many, however, are happy to have a mixture. Many therapists like to attend face to face courses to meet other therapists and expand their circle of support, and I must admit I love this element too. However, even this can be easily addressed by the trainer providing personal and technical support via email, calls or facetime as needed during the training program and a private forum for those therapists who have completed the training.    That way we all stay  in touch and support one another.

Online learning or face to face workshop? There is no right or wrong  way,  it is all down to giving therapists a choice.