This article was first published in November 2023 and updated in September 2024
CRPO’s Practice Advisory Service receives several inquiries from registrants and others about the use of testimonials, endorsements and community voting awards. While it may be reassuring to receive positive feedback from clients and others, it is inappropriate to use or link to such statements in advertising.
Expectations about advertising are outlined in CRPO Professional Practice Standard 6.2, Advertising.
Testimonials
It is professional misconduct to use a testimonial by a client, former client or other person in the advertising of the registrant or their practice. Standard 6.2 explains that testimonials are unreliable and “may also lead to concerns that clients have been pressured into providing them, which is not in the best interest of the client or the therapist.”.
In addition to prohibiting the use of testimonials, Standard 6.2.4 provides the following general expectations for advertising:
When advertising, registrants do not:
- Promise a result that cannot necessarily be delivered (e.g., “you’ll get the job you always wanted”);
- Use comparisons to others, superlatives, or suggest that their practice is unique (e.g., “the best therapy available” or “the most caring treatment”); or
- Appeal to a person’s fears (“avoid being alone, come in for therapy”).
Awards
RPs must be careful in considering whether they should use awards in their professional advertising materials. It is possible that an award could be seen as a testimonial (note that a testimonial is a statement from another person about the quality of a registrant’s services. The statement could be in words, simply an online ‘star’ rating, or a community voting award) and testimonials are not permitted. It would also be inappropriate if the award used a superlative or comparison to others, for example, “Voted Best Psychotherapy Clinic”.
Reviews and endorsements
Standard 6.2 clarifies that clients or others are not prevented from reviewing or endorsing registrants (e.g., on third party Internet sites for rating professionals), provided the registrant does not request them to do so, and provided the registrant does not influence which reviews or endorsements are published. Note that if a registrant linked their advertising directly to a third-party rating or review site, this could be considered inappropriately using a testimonial.
Similarly, publishing endorsements on third-party advertising websites, such as those that host therapist profiles or directories, would be inappropriate.
Another professional endorsed me on my therapy profile listing. Can I publish that?
CRPO recognizes that certain actions are beyond a registrant’s control. For example, a registrant cannot control whether a client writes a review on a third-party review site, nor can they always control whether another professional writes an endorsement.
Registrants are responsible for their own actions and behaviour. For example, it would be inappropriate to
- influence which endorsements or reviews are published;
- ask clients to write a review; and
- ask clients to vote for a registrant or their practice in a contest or “best of” survey.
Consider the following definitions from CRPO’s draft Professional Practice Standards:
Advertising: Any message communicated in a public medium intended to influence an individual’s choice, opinion, or behaviour, including referring to business names associated with a registrant’s practice. Advertising includes paid or in-kind promotions on any platform, registrant websites and social media accounts, among other forms of media and communication.
Testimonial: A statement by another person about the quality of the registrant’s services.
Endorsement: A type of testimonial publicly showing support for a registrant or their practice, whether by a client or non-client.
Review: A type of testimonial, generally collected and posted by third-party internet sites (that is, sites not under the control of the registrant or their business, employer, clinic). Reviews include statements as well as rankings and ratings, e.g., “five star rating”, “top 3 psychotherapists in the city.”
Superlative: An expression, typically exaggerated or unprovable, used to convey the highest degree. Examples include “best psychotherapist in Toronto,” or “fastest path to stability.”