Communiqué

July 2023

version française

Public Consultation on Practice Standards

CRPO is seeking feedback on draft revised Professional Practice Standards.



The original standards were approved in 2014. Work on updating the standards has been ongoing since 2021 with the goal of ensuring they adequately protect the public, reflect evolving evidence, are fair to registrants and applicable across practice areas.

The document containing a summary of changes as well as the full draft revised standards can be accessed here.

Please provide feedback by completing this survey by September 17. Feedback will be posted publicly. Personally identifying information will be removed except for individuals writing on behalf of organizations, e.g., psychotherapy professional associations or education programs.

Upcoming Clinical Supervisor Definition

On June 22, CRPO Council approved an updated definition of who is considered a clinical supervisor. This definition does not take effect until April 1, 2026. CRPO will develop supporting information and communicate with system partners well before the upcoming definition comes into effect.

Will Insurance Cover This?

Registrants and insurance companies sometimes ask CRPO if a certain activity is part of the practice of psychotherapy. Read our Practice Matters article for information about how we approach this situation.

Case-Based Assessment (CBA) Update

2023 Spring CBA - Results

794 registrants completed the CBA between May 26 and June 5, 2023. The results were resoundingly reassuring and in line with Pilot result projections.  

These results support the notion that the CBA is working as an effective screening tool to 1) identify RPs who are at risk of breaching Standards because of gaps in their knowledge or understanding; and 2) provide RPs whose knowledge is solid with reassurance and guidance to support their professional development.

The CBA is the first stage of a peer and practice review (PPR), and all registrants are required to participate approximately every five years. As the cornerstone of the College’s Quality Assurance Program, the CBA is intended to be an educational activity for registrants as well as a screening tool for the College to determine if a registrant’s knowledge and understanding of the Professional Practice Standards is adequate for safe, effective, and ethical practice. The CBA will support Registered Psychotherapists (RPs) to engage with the Professional Practice Standards and continue to think critically about their practice, their professional growth, and their obligations as regulated health professionals. It supports reflective practice and life-long learning, critical components of providing safe and effective care.

All registrants who completed the 2023 Spring CBA have received feedback on their CBA result. 

Registrants in the “successful” category have concluded their peer and practice review and no further action is required. These registrants can expect to complete the CBA again in approximately five years.

Registrants in the “Self-directed review” category are required, under their own initiative, to address the potential gaps identified by the CBA as part of their usual 40 hours of professional development (PD). At the end of the relevant PD reporting cycle, these registrants are required to submit their learning record for review. These registrants can expect to complete the CBA again in approximately five years.

Registrants in the “Peer-assisted review” category will be provided with support and a second opportunity to complete the CBA. If their second attempt is also in the peer-assisted review category, they will be assigned a peer coach, who will provide further support and help the registrant develop a learning plan for their next cycle of 40 hours of continuing education.

The 2023 Fall CBA is scheduled between October 27 and November 5, 2023. All registrants have been notified if they were selected to complete the 2023 Fall CBA.  

QA: Will this professional development activity count? 

All registrants are responsible for completing 40 hours of professional development (PD) activities and reporting to the College every two years. Many registrants ask whether specific activities qualify as a PD activity or if the College approves of certain activities. 

CRPO does not “pre-approve” activities. Instead, registrants are expected to rely on their own judgment to invest their time and resources in learning activities that meet their individual learning needs. Learning activities should be as follows:

• Relevant to the practice of psychotherapy.

• Credible and require some form of participation. Examples include the following: courses that require attendance/participation in lectures, course readings, and evaluation; seminars or workshops, where a registrant attends/participates in lectures, discussion groups or role playing; reading/study groups, where a registrant must interact with learning materials and discuss the subject matter with others in the group; and so on. In the case of independent study, participation may involve reading materials and engaging with other kinds of learning resources.

• Verifiable where some form of documentation exists that enables a registrant to demonstrate that they have completed the activity. Ideally, this would be a letter or certificate of completion that identifies the following: the activity; the organization’s contact information; the date or period in which the activity occurred; the duration of the activity; and the name of the participant. When a registrant engages in independent study, they should maintain careful records of any learning resources that were used. Registrants are asked to maintain a personal portfolio of evidence that corroborates the information they are submitting to the College to show they have completed the required 40 hours of learning activities. Registrants are not required to submit this evidence of participation unless explicitly requested by staff, but registrants must ensure their participation is verifiable. 

There are a wide variety of options for registrants to earn PD hours. Learning activities are not limited to activities that have an associated cost (e.g., paid workshops or conferences). PD hours may also be earned through engaging in independent study such as reading books/articles at home; watching a free recorded webinar; participating in peer consultations, receiving supervision; or even through receiving your own psychotherapy. Here are some further examples of learning activities that can be counted towards your 40 hours of learning activities: 

Please note that paid work (e.g., providing psychotherapy or teaching a course) does not qualify as a PD activity for Quality Assurance Program purposes. However, time spent preparing for teaching would be an acceptable PD activity.   

If you have any questions about the professional development (PD) requirements, please feel free to contact the Quality Assurance department at qa@crpo.ca.

For CRPO registrants: Please do not unsubscribe. CRPO uses email to communicate with registrants about important College updates. If you choose to unsubscribe, it is then your responsibility to regularly check our website to keep yourself informed about your College obligations. It is the responsibility of each registrant to make sure CRPO has your current contact information, updated within 30 days of a change, and ensure that the organization you work for does not block CRPO emails. CRPO may collect information about whether a recipient has read a message. CRPO may use this information for communication planning and record-keeping.