So, what are the most valuable CPD topics for therapists right now? Below, we’ve identified ten areas that reflect both the growing evidence base and the clinical realities therapists across the UK are encountering in their practices today.

1. Trauma-Informed Practice

Trauma-informed practice has moved from specialist niche to mainstream expectation over the past decade, and for good reason. Research into the prevalence and long-term impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), combined with a broader cultural shift in how we understand mental health, means that clients across all presenting concerns are increasingly understood through a trauma lens.

You don’t need to be a trauma specialist to benefit from training in this area. Understanding how trauma affects the nervous system, how it shows up in the therapy relationship, and how to work in ways that don’t inadvertently retraumatise clients is now considered good practice across modalities.

Key areas to explore within trauma CPD include:

• Polyvagal theory and its clinical applications
• Somatic approaches to trauma
• Working with complex or developmental trauma
• Trauma-informed approaches to specific presentations such as anxiety, dissociation, and eating disorders

Browse the ThEO video library for trauma CPD here

2. Neurodiversity

Awareness of neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia, has grown significantly in recent years, particularly following a sharp rise in adults seeking diagnosis. Many therapists are finding that clients present with undiagnosed or newly diagnosed neurodivergence, often accompanied by years of confusion, shame, or misattributed struggles.

CPD in this area helps therapists to adapt their practice to genuinely meet neurodivergent clients where they are, adjusting session structure, communication style, and therapeutic expectations in ways that are affirming rather than inadvertently pathologising.

• Understanding autism in adults, including late diagnosis
• ADHD in therapy: what it means for the therapeutic relationship
• Adapting therapy for neurodivergent clients
• Intersections of neurodivergence with trauma, anxiety, and identity

Browse the ThEO video library for neurodiversity CPD here

3. Working with Men and Masculinity

Men remain significantly underrepresented in therapy despite bearing considerable mental health burden. Suicide remains the leading cause of death for men under 50 in the UK. CPD in this area helps therapists to understand the specific cultural, relational, and psychological factors that shape how men experience and express distress — and how to create a therapeutic environment that is genuinely accessible and effective for male clients.

This is an area where thoughtful, evidence-informed training can have a real impact on who seeks help and whether they stick with it.

4. Menopause and Women’s Hormonal Health

Menopause has entered public conversation in a significant way in recent years, and its psychological dimensions are increasingly recognised. Many women experiencing perimenopause or menopause present to therapy with symptoms that may not initially be linked to hormonal change: anxiety, low mood, brain fog, changes in identity and relationships, and loss of confidence.

CPD in this area allows therapists to work with greater knowledge and sensitivity with clients navigating this life stage, avoiding misattribution of symptoms and providing genuinely informed support.

Explore the ThEO CPD library for “Working with the Menopause in Therapy”

5. Online and Hybrid Therapy Practice

The shift to online therapy, accelerated by the pandemic, has become a permanent feature of the therapeutic landscape. Many therapists now work entirely online, or offer a hybrid model — but relatively few have received formal training in the specific clinical and ethical dimensions of remote practice.

CPD in this area covers:

• Therapeutic presence and relationship-building in online settings
• Managing risk and safeguarding remotely
• Technology, security, and ethical practice
• Working with clients across time zones and international contexts
• Understanding what the evidence says about online therapy effectiveness

6. Working with Grief and Loss

Grief is one of the most universal human experiences, yet it is also one of the areas where therapists most frequently report feeling under-equipped. Contemporary understandings of grief have moved considerably beyond stage models, encompassing continuing bonds theory, prolonged grief disorder (now a recognised clinical diagnosis), and the complexity of grief responses to non-death losses such as relationship breakdown, infertility, and identity change.

For therapists working in private practice or community settings, a solid grounding in grief and loss work is invaluable regardless of your primary orientation.

Browse the ThEO video library for bereavement CPD here 

7. Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating

Eating disorders have among the highest mortality rates of any mental health condition, and disordered eating exists on a spectrum that extends well beyond diagnosable conditions. Therapists regularly encounter clients with complicated relationships with food and body image, often without the presenting concern being named explicitly as an eating difficulty.

CPD in this area develops both the clinical knowledge to recognise and understand eating difficulties and the skills to work therapeutically in a way that is safe, evidence-informed, and aligned with current best practice around medical collaboration and risk management.

Browse the ThEO video library for food and eating disorders CPD here 

8. Sleep and Its Impact on Mental Health

The relationship between sleep and mental health is significant. Poor sleep exacerbates almost every psychological difficulty, and psychological difficulties in turn disrupt sleep. Despite this, many therapists have little formal training in sleep science or evidence-based approaches to sleep difficulties.

CPD in this area, covering the neuroscience of sleep, the evidence base for CBT for insomnia (CBT-I), and how to integrate sleep-focused work into broader therapeutic approaches, is increasingly relevant for therapists working with anxiety, depression, trauma, and chronic illness.

9. Working with Chronic Illness and Health Anxiety

The intersection of physical health and psychological wellbeing is a rich and growing area of practice. Clients living with chronic illness, pain, or life-limiting conditions bring a complex combination of practical, emotional, and existential challenges. Equally, health anxiety, a presentation that has increased in visibility in recent years, requires specific clinical understanding to work with effectively.

CPD in this area helps therapists to hold the psychological and physical dimensions of a client’s experience together, and to work collaboratively within health-focused systems of care.

10. Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Therapy

AI is beginning to feature in mental health care, from AI-assisted CBT tools to chatbots designed to provide psychological support between sessions. While this is an emerging area, it raises significant ethical, clinical, and professional questions that therapists would benefit from engaging with now, rather than waiting for the implications to arrive fully formed.

CPD in this area doesn’t require technical expertise. What matters is developing a thoughtful, informed perspective on how AI tools intersect with the therapeutic relationship, ethical practice, and professional responsibility, so you can respond with confidence when clients raise these questions, as increasingly they will.

Choosing From This List

You don’t need to tackle all of these areas and you certainly don’t need to do so at once. The most effective approach is to identify which one or two topics are most directly relevant to your current practice and client groups, and to invest meaningfully in those first.

If you’re unsure where to start, take your questions back to supervision. The topics that have surfaced most often in your clinical discussions over the past year are usually the ones worth prioritising.

Explore our CPD courses for therapists at all career stages at therapyeducationonline.com.

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The post Best CPD Topics for 2026 first appeared on Therapy Education Online.

You know CPD matters. You know you need to complete your hours. But when you sit down to actually plan your professional development for the year, where do you start? The sheer volume of courses, workshops, webinars, and training events available can feel overwhelming. Not all of it will be right for you, your practice, or your clients.

This guide is designed to help you cut through the noise and make CPD choices that genuinely serve your growth as a practitioner.

Start With Your Practice, Not the Prospectus

The most common mistake therapists make with CPD is browsing lists of training before they’ve reflected on what they actually need. This tends to result in choosing whatever looks interesting or convenient, which isn’t the same as choosing what will make you a better therapist.

Before you look at a single course, take some time to reflect honestly on your current practice. Ask yourself:

• Which client presentations do I find most challenging or anxiety-provoking?
• Are there areas where I feel my theoretical knowledge is thin?
• Have I turned away referrals recently because I didn’t feel equipped to work with that client group?
• What patterns am I noticing in my work that I’d like to understand better?

Your answers to these questions can form the foundation of your CPD plan. Training that directly addresses a gap in your knowledge or skill is almost always more valuable than training that covers familiar ground.

Use Supervision as a Compass

If you’re engaging well with clinical supervision you already have access to one of the best CPD planning tools available – your supervisor! A skilled supervisor will observe patterns in your case presentations that you might not see yourself, and these observations are rich with CPD direction.

Wisely you may pay particular attention when your supervisor:

• Suggests a particular theoretical lens that might help you understand a client’s presentation
• Notices that you consistently find a certain dynamic or issue difficult
• Recommends a book, paper, or approach you haven’t explored
• Points to a recurring theme across several of your clients

It’s worth keeping a simple note of these observations between sessions. Over time, they’ll reveal a clear picture of where your development energy should go.

Balance Depth and Breadth

There’s an ongoing tension in therapist CPD between going deep into one area and building broad, transferable skills. Both have value and most practitioners benefit from a mix of the two.

Depth: specialist training

Specialist CPD, in areas like trauma, eating disorders, bereavement, addiction, or working with a particular age group, can transform your practice and open up new referral streams. If you’re considering specialist work, look for training that is:

• Substantial enough to genuinely develop your competence (a single one-day workshop rarely suffices for complex areas)
• Recognised or recommended by relevant professional bodies or specialist organisations
• Delivered by practitioners with direct clinical experience in the specialism

Breadth: transferable skills

Broader CPD, such as training in reflective practice, working with diversity and difference, or understanding neuroscience, can enrich your work with all clients, not just a specific group. This kind of training often produces the most unexpected and rewarding shifts in how you think and work.

Evaluate Course Quality Before You Commit

Not all CPD is created equal. The market for therapist training is largely unregulated, which means the quality of what’s on offer varies enormously. Before booking any course, take a few minutes to assess it properly.

Questions worth asking:

• Who is delivering it? Are they a qualified, practising clinician with genuine expertise in this area, or primarily a trainer without a clinical background?
• What are the learning outcomes? Can you clearly identify what you will know or be able to do differently as a result of this training?
• What do other therapists say? Peer recommendations, from colleagues, supervision groups, or professional forums, are often the most reliable quality signal. Testimonials can be helpful to check out too.

Consider Format as Well as Content

The best course in the world won’t serve you well if the format doesn’t suit how you learn or fit around your life. Be realistic about this.

Live, in-person workshops offer immediacy, peer connection, and the opportunity to practise skills in real time. For some types of training, particularly experiential or skills-based work, there’s no substitute. However, they require travel, often cost more, and demand you to be free on a specific date. They are also becoming rare for some types of CPD in the post-CoVid world.

Online CPD has expanded dramatically in recent years and now encompasses everything from recorded on-demand modules to live interactive webinars. For many therapists, online learning offers a practical way to fit CPD around a busy caseload without compromising quality. The key is to engage actively rather than passively, watching a recording while doing the washing up is unlikely to count as meaningful professional development!

Reading and self-directed study also counts as CPD for most professional bodies and shouldn’t be underestimated. Engaging seriously with a well-chosen book or journal article, and reflecting on its implications for your practice, can be as developmental as any formal course.

Don’t Just Collect Hours, Also Reflect on What You Learn

Perhaps the most important principle in effective CPD is this: the learning happens in the reflection, not just the attendance. Many therapists tick the CPD box by logging hours without pausing to consider what those hours have actually changed in their thinking or practice.

After any CPD activity, take time to ask yourself:

• What did I learn that I didn’t know before?
• Has this changed how I think about any of my current clients?
• Is there anything I want to do differently as a result?
• What further questions has this raised for me?

Recording these reflections in your CPD log not only satisfies professional body requirements, it also consolidates the learning and makes it far more likely to actually influence your practice.

Plan Ahead, But Stay Flexible

A CPD plan doesn’t need to be a rigid document, but having some sense of direction for the year ahead can be helpful. At the start of your CPD year how about…

• Identifying two or three priority development areas based on your practice needs
• Allocating a rough budget for training (and factoring in time as well as money)
• Mixing formal courses with informal learning activities
• Building in time for reflection and log-keeping throughout the year, not just at the end

Life, and practice, changes. A new client presentation, a supervision observation, or a chance encounter with a compelling piece of research might shift your priorities mid-year. That’s fine. The point of planning is to give you a starting direction, not to lock you in.

Making the Most of Online CPD

At Therapy Education Online, we’ve designed our CPD courses with practising therapists in mind. We understand that people are busy, clinically curious, and want training that connects directly to their work with real clients. Our courses are:

• Evidence-informed: grounded in current research and clinical best practice
• Practically focused: with clear links to how the learning applies in the therapy room
• Flexible: available on demand, so you can learn at a time and pace that suits you
• Certifiable: with certificates of completion to support your CPD log

Whether you’re looking to develop a specialism, fill a knowledge gap, or simply deepen your existing practice, we’re here to support your ongoing growth as a practitioner.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right CPD is ultimately an act of professional self-awareness. It requires you to be honest about where you are, curious about where you want to go, and discerning about the routes that will take you there. When CPD is chosen well and engaged with genuinely, it doesn’t feel like an obligation, it feels like one of the most rewarding parts of being a therapist.

Browse our full catalogue of CPD courses for therapists at therapyeducationonline.com.

If you enjoyed reading this, you may also enjoy some of our other articles:

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The post How to Choose the Right CPD as a Therapist first appeared on Therapy Education Online.

What Does CPD Stand For?

CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development. It refers to any learning, training, or educational activity you undertake after your initial qualification that helps you maintain, deepen, or broaden your professional skills and knowledge.

In short: it’s how you keep growing as a therapist, long after you leave training.

Why is CPD Important for Therapists?

Therapy is not a static field. Research evolves, new approaches emerge, and our understanding of mental health continues to develop at pace. CPD ensures that therapists stay current and that clients receive the highest standard of care.

Here are the key reasons CPD matters:

• It protects your clients. The most important reason. We trust therapists with a quiet depth of experience and knowledge. CPD ensures you have up-to-date knowledge, refined skills, and an awareness of best practice, all of which directly impact the quality and safety of your work.
• It’s a professional requirement. Most professional bodies in the UK including the BACP, UKCP, and NCPS, for example, require members to complete a set number of CPD hours each year as a condition of membership and registration.
• It supports your accreditation. If you are accredited with, or working towards accreditation with, a membership organisation such as the BACP or the NCPS, CPD is a mandatory component of maintaining that status.
• It builds your confidence and competence. Ongoing learning helps you feel more capable and assured in your work particularly when dealing with complex presentations or client groups you haven’t encountered before.
• It can grow your practice. Specialist CPD in areas like trauma, addiction, working with young people, or bereavement can open new client groups and referral pathways, helping you build a more diverse and sustainable practice.

How Many CPD Hours Do Therapists Need?

Requirements vary depending on your professional body, but as a general guide BACP, NCPS and the UKCP require members to undertake 30 hours of CPD per year.

It’s worth checking the specific requirements for your membership level directly with your professional body, as these can change and may differ based on your level of experience or accreditation status.

What Counts as CPD for Therapists?

CPD is broader than most people realise. It isn’t just formal courses or workshops; it encompasses a wide range of learning activities. Most professional bodies divide CPD into formal and informal learning.

Formal CPD typically includes:

• Accredited training courses and workshops
• Online courses and webinars
• Conferences and professional events
• Further qualifications or postgraduate study

Informal CPD can include:

• Reading professional journals, books, and research papers
• Peer consultation or group supervision
• Reflective practice and personal development work
• Writing articles, case studies, or self-reflection logs
• Watching educational lectures or presentations

The key principle across most professional bodies is that CPD must be relevant to your practice, purposeful, and reflected upon. Simply watching a documentary about mental health is unlikely to count, unless you also evidence your reflections about what you learnt from your viewing and how it has influenced your clinical practice.  Engaging with a research paper and reflecting on how it applies to your client work almost certainly count as CPD.

How Should I Record My CPD?

Most professional bodies require you to keep a CPD log or portfolio. This doesn’t need to be complicated, but it should typically include:

• What the activity was
• When it took place and how long it lasted
• What you learned from it
• How you applied or plan to apply it to your practice

Some professional bodies have their own online CPD recording tools or templates. Others accept any format, provided the information is clear and complete. You may be asked to submit your CPD log if your membership is audited, so consistent, accurate record-keeping really does matter.

Choosing the Right CPD as a Therapist

With so many courses and training events available, it can be hard to know where to focus your CPD efforts. A useful starting point is to ask yourself:

• What are the gaps in my current knowledge or skill set?
• Are there client presentations I find particularly challenging?
• Is there a specialist area I’d like to develop?
• What do my clinical supervisor’s observations suggest about areas for growth?

Your supervision sessions are a particularly valuable guide here. A good supervisor will help you identify both strengths and development areas, and these naturally point towards meaningful CPD choices.

It’s also worth considering the format that suits you best. Some therapists thrive in live workshop environments; others prefer the flexibility of online learning they can fit around their existing caseload. Neither is inherently better; what matters is that you engage meaningfully with the material.

Online CPD for Therapists

Online CPD has grown enormously in recent years, and for good reason. It offers flexibility, accessibility and, often, excellent value for money. Many therapists now complete the majority of their CPD online, through a combination of live webinars, on-demand courses, and recorded lectures.

When choosing an online CPD provider, look for:

• Courses developed by qualified clinicians with relevant expertise
• Clear learning outcomes that relate to your practice
• Content that is evidence-based and up to date
• Certificates of completion you can include in your CPD log

At Therapy Education Online, we offer a growing library of CPD courses designed specifically for therapists and counsellors in practice. Our courses are practical, developed by clinicians with decades of experience, and crafted to fit around a busy caseload.

Final Thoughts

CPD isn’t just a box to tick. It’s one of the most important investments you can make in your professional life and in the wellbeing of your clients. The therapists who approach CPD with genuine curiosity and reflective engagement tend to be the most confident, most effective, and most fulfilled practitioners.

Whether you’re just starting out or have decades of experience behind you, there is always more to learn, and that’s one of the things that makes this work so rewarding.

Ready to explore our CPD courses for therapists? Browse our full catalogue at therapyeducationonline.com.

If you enjoyed reading this, you may also enjoy some of our other articles:

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The post What is CPD for Therapists and Why Does it Matter? first appeared on Therapy Education Online.