Practising Licence Programme: Special Needs Educational Therapist (ONLINE)
This programme aims to qualify any trainee who has passed all the programme’s requirements of International Association of Counselors & Therapists (IACT) and be admitted as a licenced special needs educational therapist. We may understand that traditional teaching deals specifically with academics. An educational therapist understands both the academics and the processing of information by a person.
Officially recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Educational Therapy has been classified under the procedure code 93.82 since 1986 in the International Classification of Diseases, Clinical Modifications-ninth revision, Volume 3 (ICD-9-CM, V-3). It is the gold standard, non-pharmacological and the most holistic by far as it treats a wide range of learning difficulties, disorders, differences and deficits.
Individuals with learning differences & difficulties may find it challenging to learn in normal settings as s/he may process information uniquely arising from various disabilities and disorders including emotional, cognitive, neurological and physical. An educational therapist is required to understand all the learning challenges faced by the individual through a comprehensive diagnostic assessment and offers a wide range of individualised intensive educational interventions or therapy procedures, unique to the individual. An educational therapist may have different professional backgrounds such as special education, psychology, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and counselling etc.
The IACT is the largest and a highly prestigious professional body based in the USA that admits any person who have fulfilled the rigorous requirements of the practising licence programmes to obtain practising membership as a counsellor or therapist. The membership with the IACT is a mark of high standard and excellence. Practising members are not only clinically skilled and bound by high ethical standards, but are also highly respected as well. They are eligible to work in many countries such as North American, Asian and European countries etc.
The three tiers of the IACT’s practising licence are Credentialed (Interventionist), Registered (Assessor) and Board-Certified (Diagnostician). Board-Certified (Diagnostician) members hold the highest status of the membership of the IACT.
As a requirement of the IACT, all coursework, assignments and essays of a trainee must be supervised and verified by an approved instructor of the IACT. All works of the candidate are required to be submitted by the instructor to the IACT’s Assessment Board based in the USA for final assessment.
Merlion Academy is authorised to supervise and verify trainee’s work seeking to gain admission as an IACT member. Trainee will also be supported by both the IACT Singapore and Malaysia chapters.
Admissions for the programme are conducted on a rolling basis and can begin any time.
Individual member of IACT who qualify as a special needs educational therapist will qualify as a professional educational therapist of the Association of Educational Therapists (Singapore). This dual certification highlights both organisations’ expertise and dedication, opening doors to a broader professional network and enhancing their credibility in the fields of educational therapy and intervention.
Course Modules:
- Module 1: Introduction Educational Therapy
- Module 2: Lifespan Human Development (From Birth to Late Adolescence)
- Module 3: Nosology of Disabilities & Disorders
- Module 4: Introduction to the 3 Praxes in Educational Therapy
- Module 5: Screening through Assessment to Intervention
- Module 1: Advanced Nosology of Disabilities & Disorders
- Module 2: Screening and Assessment Tools in Educational Therapy
- Module 3: Introduction to Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Theory
- Module 4: Advanced Praxis 1: Core Basic Skills
- Module 5: Advanced Praxis 3: Sensory, Adaptive & Socio-Emotional Behavioral Skills
- Module 1: Design of an Individualised Therapy Program
- Module 2: Design of an Individualised Education Plan
- Module 3: Design of a 504 Plan
- Module 4: Case Review & Evaluation In Educational Therapy
- Module 5: Case Studies in Educational Therapy
Assessment:
1. Assessment is assignment based, mainly submission of publishable journal articles and papers.
2. Guided learning hours to fulfil: 30 hours per module (150 hours per tier).
3. Non-guided learning hours (research, assignments and journal papers writing for publishing): 30 hours per module (150 hours in total).
Practicum:
220 hours of internship under clinical supervision at a counseling center or therapy clinic or hospital.
Duration:
8 months per tier
Entry Requirements:
Age
21 years and above
Minimum qualification
Minimum a bachelor’s degree in
i. special education, education, teaching, psychoeducational therapy, biology, medicine, counselling or psychology; or
ii. any discipline with postgraduate diploma in teaching, education, educational therapy, counselling, social work, nursing, psychology etc.
English requirement
1. IELTS 6.5 (reading and writing must be at 6.5); or
2. A pass in English Language paper at GCE Ordinary Level
3. Equivalent (Pearson English Test, TOEFL).
Course Fees:
(Non-refundable one-time application fee of SGD 95.00 is payable upon application)
Program fee
SGD 1,500.00 per module
Marking fee
SGD 50.00 per module
Payment mode
Stripe / Credit card / Alipay
Refund Terms
90% – more than 28 days before course commencement
50% – less than 28 days before course commencement
10% – less than 3 days before course commencement
0% – more than 3 days after the course commencement
