January 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to the January 2025 edition of the ACTA newsletter!
Let’s take a moment to celebrate our collective efforts over the past year in building a stronger foundation for mental health care in our province. We are committed to improving safety and access to care for all Albertans. As we enter the New Year, we embrace the hope of new beginnings and remain dedicated to advancing the regulation of counselling therapists in Alberta.
This newsletter is packed with important updates! You will find details about our recent meeting with Ministry staff regarding the progress of regulation. We also share information about our funding commitments to support the transition, as well as insights into the CRA's recent GST ruling that affects our members.
Additionally, we provide information on upcoming engagement opportunities with the Alberta government, allowing you to voice your thoughts on the future of mental health services. We discuss PAA's efforts to recruit counselling therapy members and the potential impact this may have on the regulation process. Lastly, we remind you of valuable upcoming continuing education opportunities aimed at increasing cultural awareness and competence when working with Indigenous communities.
Please share this update with your counselling therapy colleagues! It is crucial that we continue to build the ACTA membership and keep all counselling therapists in Alberta informed. This will ensure we maintain our readiness for regulation as a profession and our ability to collaborate in the process.
Nicole Imgrund
Chair, ACTA Board
ACTA met with Ministry staff recently, who confirmed Minister LaGrange and Minister Williams see the regulation of counselling therapists as a priority and maintain their commitments to support the pathway to regulation, as announced by Minister Williams on March 1, 2024. We are working with the College of Alberta Psychologists and the Ministries to outline the next steps to regulate the profession without delays.
We acknowledge the frustration with progress since the government announcement on March 1, 2024. However, we have participated in recent collaborative developments aimed at mobilizing regulation in a timely manner within the Ministers’ objectives.
We recognize that regulation of counselling therapists is urgently needed to ensure public safety and strengthen our healthcare system. Regulating counselling therapists will increase the mental health workforce by ensuring the profession can work within its full scope of practice in Alberta's four pillars of healthcare. Until regulation is completed, counselling therapists cannot fill vacant positions in the healthcare system.
Furthermore, regulation will increase access to funding to First Nations for mental health needs through the Non-Insured Health Benefits, which is essential as they continue to deal with an unprecedented escalating mental health crisis.
ACTA is eager to support collaborative momentum to complete regulation. As you know, the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) has been seeking funding commitments from the government to actualize the government’s path to regulate Counselling Therapists in CAP’s expanded regulatory framework.
ACTA has made the following financial commitments to support the transition and expanded regulation development. ACTA relies on the profession to fund ACTA’s participation in the regulatory process to serve the public interest.
ACTA’s Regulation Development: approx 1.2 million dollars invested
The entire volume of work completed by ACTA over the past six years is generously offered to CAP to support the new direction of regulating the counselling profession in the future combined college. We are confident that the significant work funded to date will help to lessen the government and CAP’s expenses for this endeavour. This work includes guidance and feedback from Alberta Health, contracted expert health regulatory and competency consultants, legal and Indigenous engagement and offerings from regulators of the profession across Canada, and thousands of volunteer hours from the profession.
This work was funded directly by counselling therapists to accomplish the government's requirements and legislation for regulation, ensuring the profession can work safely and effectively within its full scope of practice in Alberta.
Regulation development
Required legislated functions development
Competency Framework shared across Canada
National Competency Exam
Profession Scope of Practice
Professional Conduct, Standards of Practice, and Code of Ethics
Grandparenting Registration requirements and implementation
Registration system and active register
First stage of Program Approval
Policy development and Professional Guidance
College organization, including staffing plan
Governance
Stakeholder relationships
First Nations and Metis Nations relationships
Government Relations
ACTA’s Personnel Resources and Operational Budget
ACTA’s entire operational budget and work plan adheres to the mandate to advance, build, collaborate and complete regulation in the public's best interest. As such, ACTA’s staff and work are committed to supporting the new direction set out by the Government for regulation and collaborating with CAP, Alberta Health, Mental Health and Addiction to transition and complete regulation successfully. This includes:
The commitment and availability of the CEO and Registrar, to prioritize and dedicate time to transition regulation and work on projects collaboratively without cost to CAP or the Government;
Continuing to screen and register the profession within fair registration processes outlined in the HPA;
Maintaining an active registry of the profession ready for regulation within CAP;
Preparing the active registrants for regulation, such as adhering to Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics, Continuing Competency, Currency within the profession; and completing required regulated health professional’s sexual abuse and misconduct prevention training.
Communicating and updating the profession on a regular basis; and
Meaningfully involving the volunteer board, which comprises broad representatives of the profession across Alberta.
ACTA’s Internal Reserve Fund to Complete Regulation $200,000
In addition to ACTA’s operational budget and work plan, which are committed to pursuing regulation, ACTA’s reserve fund for the Completion of Regulation is allocated to expenses related to the transition of regulatory work and registrants and the development of regulatory components for the counselling profession in collaboration with the Government and the College of Alberta Psychologists.
ACTA remains a named partner in collaborating with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) and the Ministry of Health and Mental Health and Addiction to transition and establish regulation in Alberta. ACTA is not a professional association representing the interests of counsellors but an association initiated by the government in 2018 to capture the profession under a single umbrella and work with the government to actualize regulation in the public interest.
As such, ACTA’s mandate and work plans are committed to supporting the completion of regulation representing the profession's voice in the regulatory process, which is an essential component of regulation in the Alberta Health Professions Act.
ACTA’s registrants and registration system are the starting point for a) identifying the profession and b) demonstrating the profession’s ability to fund ongoing regulation under the HPA.
ACTA ensures that registered practitioners are ready to transition under the HPA by requiring the profession to adhere to professional standards and its code of ethics, complete required regulatory training, and maintain competencies. Additionally, ACTA maintains collaborative relationships with regulators across Canada to ensure consistency and keep the profession up to date.
Your registration in ACTA mobilizes the advancement and completion of regulation in Alberta.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has ruled that members of the Association of Counselling Therapy of Alberta (ACTA) who are registered counselling therapists and meet specific criteria are exempt from charging GST/HST on psychotherapy services. Specifically, ACTA Counselling Therapists with a related master’s degree equivalent to the post-grandparenting education requirements of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) can immediately stop charging GST. Counselling Therapists who do not hold a master’s degree must continue charging GST as per tax laws until the profession is regulated under Alberta’s Health Professions Act (HPA).
CRA’s decision once again highlights the pressing need for Alberta to finalize regulation under the HPA for professionals who must be transitioned into the future regulatory college through a grandparenting process. ACTA remains committed to working on and advocating for the completion of this regulation and ensuring it includes a robust and fair grandparenting framework to support Alberta’s vital workforce and consistently reduce barriers to mental health counselling.
ACTA remains dedicated to meeting CRA’s requirements and advancing the regulation of counselling therapists under the HPA in collaboration with CAP and the government. ACTA will maintain alignment with CRPO standards and keep an updated registry accessible to CRA.
ACTA advises its members to consult accountants regarding GST exemptions for non-eligible services and to communicate these changes to clients. This ruling represents significant progress and enhances access to mental health services for Albertans.
For more information and to read the CRA Ruling:
In November 2023, the Alberta government engaged Albertans across the province to hear your needs and feedback on the refocusing of the health care system.
You spoke, they listened!
A frequently asked question from the engagement session posted on the government website: “Will the government be assessing and reviewing the regulation of counselling therapists to increase access to trained mental health professionals?”
The summarized answer: “The Alberta government is working with counsellors and the College of Alberta Psychologists to regulate and license the counselling profession, expected to be completed in 2025, ensuring consistent standards of care, professional ethics, and safeguarding for mental health services across the province.”
You can read the FAQs here: https://your.alberta.ca/health/widgets/172134/faqs
You have an opportunity to continue the conversation with provincial leaders on the progress and implementation of health care refocusing and the added value and urgency of regulating counselling therapy.
Link to Register:
We recognize that the government’s change in direction to regulate counselling therapists with the College of Alberta Psychologists created additional uncertainty and confusion for many. We have been receiving questions about the confusion regarding PAA’s new membership category for counsellors with a master's degree who MAY qualify to register with CAP. We offer our perspective and answers to some of your questions.
As mentioned above, the Government’s plan to regulate counselling therapists with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) has not changed. ACTA supports the direction to regulate with the expanded CAP. The government remains motivated to regulate Counselling Therapists, and CAP is still waiting to receive funding to begin this project. The government continues to see ACTA as the voice of the profession for regulation and a partner in the process with CAP and Alberta Health.
It is important to clarify the difference between the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) and the Psychology Association of Alberta (PAA).
The College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) is the regulatory college for psychologists, and they work on behalf of public safety by setting minimum education standards and competencies, investigating complaints, disciplining unprofessional conduct, and removing licensure when required. It is mandatory for Psychologists to register with CAP in Alberta to work as Psychologists. CAP has always responded positively to the regulation of Counselling Therapists in Alberta. CAP and regulation serve public protection.
On the other hand, the Psychologist’s Association of Alberta (PAA) is the primary professional association for Psychologists that supports their professional interests. The PAA is separate from CAP. Psychologists voluntarily pay to be part of the PAA to receive professional benefits and services such as advocacy for their professional interest, increased funding sources, referral services, professional liability insurance, fee guides for Psychologists services, and options to vote and be elected into higher positions within their professional association. The PAA has historically publicly opposed the regulation of Counselling Therapists in Alberta to protect the interests of Psychologists.
There is an apparent conflict of interest with PAA’s intention to recruit Counselling Therapists / Psychotherapists as members. They have already expressed that their primary mandate is to protect and serve Psychologists' interests, which opposed the regulation of Counselling Therapists and expressed interest in restricting counsellors scope of practice.
Furthermore, the PAA has significantly reduced the classification and benefits it offers Counsellors/Psychotherapists compared to its Psychologist members. This new category is Non-Voting Members, who are not eligible to use the PAA Referral Service or access the PAA’s Professional Liability Insurance Program and will be required to pay fees (April 2025). They have also advocated against regulation and grandparenting processes. It is also important to note that there are no transfer agreements between the PAA and CAP members.
The concern is that if PAA recruits counsellors to gain a voice at the table, it could allow them to attempt to limit Counselling Therapists' full scope of practice and independence as a profession to protect the interests of Alberta Psychologists.
ACTA’s mandate and focus remain on public protection. It maintains the consistency and integrity of the profession of Counselling Therapists/Psychotherapists, which is regulated across Canada, to facilitate labour mobility and ensure Counselling Therapists can work within their full scope of competencies and practice in Alberta’s healthcare system.
We recognize many of you already have professional counselling associations that support your professional interests. They also contribute financially to regulation efforts and support ACTA as the collaborative voice for regulation in the public interest. You can see the list of counselling associations working with ACTA here:
