In the news this week: an Alberta physician, who had their licence revoked by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) for sexual abuse of a patient, is now offering services as an addictions counsellor. And it’s perfectly legal.
I know nothing of this former physician personally. But I do know that in any province where counselling and psychotherapy is regulated (such as Ontario or Nova Scotia), a recent history like that would most likely make this former physician ineligible for licensing as a counsellor.
But Alberta doesn’t regulate counselling and psychotherapy, leaving the public vulnerable to situations like this one.
What’s more concerning is that the Alberta government was actually on track to licence our profession. The enabling legislation had passed in 2018 and consultations had been completed. The government had worked with the Association of Counselling Therapists of Alberta (ACTA), which is the association that would form the new regulatory college. All that needed to happen next was for the government to proclaim the legislation, so that ACTA could become the College of Counselling Therapy of Alberta (CCTA).
But in September 2021, the government unexpectedly stopped the process, and we don’t really know why. Recently, the current Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, Dan Williams, claims the delay in proclaiming the CCTA was because further consultation was requested by Treaty 6 First Nation and some other stakeholders.
However, this response makes little sense.
First, it’s the same response we’ve heard from various ministers for well over two years.
Second, ACTA has been building meaningful relationships with Indigenous leaders throughout Alberta for the past several years.
ACTA has stated that it “has attended many meetings with First Nations and Métis Health Directors and Chiefs, inviting authentic relationship and collaboration into the CCTA.” I know that ACTA is committed to ensuring that the CCTA will continue to be guided by diverse First Nations, Métis and Inuit participation.
And yet, the government continually refuses to commit to any timelines.
In the meantime, anyone can continue to call themselves a counsellor in the Province of Alberta without any education, training or certification in mental health and addictions. Most jurisdictions in North America have regulatory oversight of counselling and psychotherapy. There’s no reason why that shouldn’t be the case here, so Alberta is an outlier.
If you’re seeking a counsellor or psychotherapist in Alberta, or currently seeing one, I encourage you to let the Government of Alberta know that this province is out of step with the times. When so many other professions are regulated (think optometrists, chiropractors, midwives, pharmacists, etc.) it’s concerning to see a government not acting on something so fundamental to the public’s safety during a time when we’re experiencing a nationwide crisis in accessing good mental health care.
Please write to your MLA (find yours here), as well as the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, the Honourable Dan Williams. You can contact him by post at 4403 Legislature Building, 10800 - 97 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5K 2B6. You can also email him at mha.minister@gov.ab.ca.
Until proper regulation and oversight is created in Alberta, I also encourage you to seek counsellors and psychotherapists who are certified by the Canadian Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (CCPA) as a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC). You can also check if a psychotherapist is registered and certified with ACTA (look for the ‘CT’ designation).
Both the CCPA and ACTA require that certified members have a graduate degree (with practicum), in an appropriate field of training, from an accredited institution. Individuals must have a minimum number of direct client contact hours and supervision hours. They must also be able to provide professional references and a clean criminal record check and vulnerable sector check provided by a police service.
The CCPA has provided professional credibility to mental health professionals in unregulated provinces for almost 60 years, and its members must adhere to its code of ethics and standards of practice. ACTA has formulated its own code and standards comparable to regulatory bodies in other provinces such as the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO).
ACTA and the CCPA aren’t the only self-governing associations of mental health helpers. You can find similar standards and ethics codes with the Association of Cooperative Counselling Therapists of Canada (look for RTC, ACC or MTC), or the Canadian Professional Counselling Association (look for RPC or MPCC). In British Columbia, which is also currently unregulated, qualified members of the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors have an RCC accreditation.
I realize this is confusing for those seeking help, especially when you throw other mental health helping professions into the mix, like psychologists and clinical social workers. If you have any questions, or need further clarification about anything, please reach out to me anytime.
