Responsibilities of Regulated Health Professionals
As a registrant of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), you belong to a self-regulated profession, governed by the Psychotherapy Act, 2007 and the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA) to protect the public’s right to safe, competent and ethical care. Only registrants of CRPO can use the protected title “Registered Psychotherapist,” along with the professional designation, RP. Only registrants of the six regulatory colleges that are permitted to provide psychotherapy services may call themselves psychotherapists. Registrants of the 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 are legally permitted to use the title “psychotherapist” subject to specific regulatory requirements from their own college.
Along with the privilege of professional self-regulation comes responsibility. Now that you are a registrant of a regulatory body, you have responsibilities that must be met in order to remain a registrant in good standing. As a registrant of CRPO you will need to ensure you do the following each year:
- Renew your registration before the end of March (including ensuring you have sufficient professional liability insurance).
- Participate in the Quality Assurance (QA) Program within two months of your date of initial registration.
Your other ongoing professional obligations include:
- Abiding by the Professional Practice Standards for Registered Psychotherapists and Code of Ethics.
- Ensuring your information on the Public Register is current and that you are using the correct credentials in your professional practice and any advertising or promotional materials.
- Understanding CRPO’s Zero Tolerance of Sexual Abuse by Members Policy and ensuring you are maintaining professional boundaries and meeting the minimum expectations for registrant conduct, as laid out in the Professional Misconduct Regulation.
- Cooperating with the College in the event a complaint is alleged against you.
- Mandatory self-reporting of certain events to the College and mandatory reporting of certain information to the College about a registrant.
Registrants of CRPO are expected to understand and comply with the professional, legal and ethical requirements governing their practise. These can be found on the Legislation and By-laws and Standards & Regulations pages of our website.
Registrants are expected to demonstrate safe, effective, competent practice through professionalism and accountability by consistently meeting the standards of the profession. One of the ways this is accomplished is through the Quality Assurance (QA) Program. Mandatory participation in the QA Program ensures that registrants continue their education and professional development and have the opportunity for self, peer and practice assessments.