Learn About CRPO

CRPO fulfills its mandate to protect the public interest by:

• maintaining a Public Register of members;
• holding registrants accountable for their conduct by investigating and addressing all complaints;
• providing funding for therapy and counselling in the event a client is sexually abused by an RP;
• developing, establishing and maintaining requirements for registration and renewal;
• developing Professional Practice Standards For Registered Psychotherapists and the Code of Ethics;
• ensuring the ongoing competence of members through the Quality Assurance (QA) Program; and
• taking action to prevent non-members from using restricted titles.

Controlled Act of Psychotherapy

The Psychotherapy Act, 2007 was proclaimed on April 1, 2015 and the controlled act of psychotherapy was proclaimed into force on December 30, 2017.

Proclamation included authorization for members of six colleges to perform the controlled act of psychotherapy in compliance with the acts, regulations and by-laws that govern each of their professions. It also included the provision permitting members of the other colleges who are authorized to perform the controlled act of psychotherapy to use the title “psychotherapist,” in compliance with certain conditions. In addition to members of CRPO, this includes members of College of Psychologists of Ontario, Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, College of Nurses of Ontario, College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario, and College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

The proclamation included an amendment that provides for a two-year transition period, ending December 31, 2019, so that individuals may become registered with the appropriate colleges or change their practices so that they do not perform the controlled act of psychotherapy. By the end of the two-year transition period, anyone performing the controlled act of psychotherapy must be registered with one of the six colleges whose members are eligible to do so.

Position Statement on Access to Care

The College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) supports measures to remove barriers that are challenging equitable access for Ontarians to the care that Registered Psychotherapists (RPs) are well-positioned to provide.

A strong regulatory environment means that all stakeholders in the healthcare system can be confident in the quality of care provided by RPs. The College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario is committed to establishing and maintaining the standards for qualified and accountable psychotherapy services in Ontario. As the provincial regulator of Ontario’s more than 8,200 RPs, protecting the public is our primary mandate.

The scope of practice of RPs is the “assessment and treatment of cognitive, emotional or behavioural disturbances by psychotherapeutic means, delivered through a therapeutic relationship based primarily on verbal or non-verbal communication.”Since 2015, CRPO has established and implemented regulatory mechanisms that provide accountability for safe, ethical and competent psychotherapy practice, including:

• ensuring anyone applying for registration with CRPO meets rigorous educational standards before they can practise as an RP or use the protected title “Registered Psychotherapist”
• establishing and enforcing standards and guidelines for the practice and conduct of registrants
• upholding the quality of care by developing a robust quality assurance program to ensure registrants continually improve their skills and knowledge
• responding to complaints and reports about the care provided by registrants

The public has grown to expect that RPs will be accessible partners on their care teams, whether in private practice, community health care organizations, or in hospitals. However, some challenges in the delivery system remain, impeding access to care that RPs are well-positioned to provide. By leveraging the growing number of RPs within the system broadly, the province’s mental health care services could be better optimized, resulting in improved access to appropriate continuity of care with providers and in the setting of choice.