Inter-Provincial Practice

Regulated Practitioners are those who are registered and in good standing with the regulatory colleges in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.  

If you reside in a regulated province and intend to provide the act of counselling and/or psychotherapy, you must become regulated in that province to use the restricted title of that regulatory body, for example Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario. 

If you are currently registered in one regulated province, and your client resides/is moving to another regulated province, you can work with that client without additional credentialling from that regulated body. 

Unregulated Practitioners are those who reside in an unregulated province or territory which includes, British Colombia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. 

If you currently live and practice counselling and/or psychotherapy in an unregulated province or territory, CCPA encourages you to become a Canadian Certified Counsellor. This is of benefit to you as the requirements for certification align closely with the application criteria required of the regulatory colleges to date. For more information on certification visit our certification page found in the home menu.  

If you are currently a Canadian Certified Counsellor and your client resides/is moving to a regulated province, there will be additional requirements to satisfy with the regulatory body of that province or territory. 

The practitioner must verify, understand and adhere to the counselling and/or psychotherapy requirements of the location where their client lives. 

Based on your current credentials and the practice requirements of the client’s location, do you meet the criteria for practice? 

The practitioner must verify that their professional practice insurance covers inter-provincial or cross-border practice.  

Does your insurance provider allow you to work with a client in a different province or country? 

The practitioner is encouraged to first speak with the client to determine if they have benefits coverage for the services provided.  

Does the client’s insurance cover service for practitioners who reside in a different province or country from that of the client? 

The practitioner must ensure that the virtual telehealth platform provider they are using meets the cybersecurity and local legislation around the privacy and storage of personal health information. For example, the Personal Health Information Protection Act in Ontario. 

What are the legislative requirements of the client’s jurisdiction? And does my virtual platform meet these requirements? 

If the practitioner is under supervision, they are required to inform their supervisor and discuss any potential concerns. For example, assessing risk or managing a safety plan for a client in a different location from the practitioner. 

Are there any potential problems that may arise from working inter-provincially with this client? 

• RCTs and RCT-Cs Providing Service Outside of Nova Scotia As licensed registrants of the College, RCTs and RCT-Cs are permitted to provide counselling therapy services to clients who reside outside of Nova Scotia when all the following conditions are met:  

• That clients are advised of where you are located, that you are regulated by NSCCT, as well as the website, email and phone number of the College. 
• That your liability insurance coverage extends to counselling out-of-province clients.  
• That your videoconferencing platform is PIPEDA compliant and that the servers are located in Canada (the college cannot recommend or provide advice on the use of any platform).  
• That, if you are an RCT-C, your candidacy supervisor indicates their agreement to supervise you while counselling clients out-of-province.  

•  That you have obtained confirmation from the regulator in the province in which the client resides that their rules permit you to counsel clients in their province. And that you abide by any guidelines or limitations they set upon your practice in their province.  
• Click here to visit the college website

• Counsellors from other provinces are not prohibited from providing counselling to clients in New Brunswick as long as this is permitted by their own regulator. In New Brunswick, “Licensed Counselling Therapist” and its derivatives are protected and can only be used by CCTNB registrants.  
• Therapists who are not regulated in New Brunswick should provide clear and succinct information to potential NB clients that details their licence number, in which province they are regulated and the name and contact information for the College with which they are registered.  
• Therapists who are not CCTNB registrants should also clearly inform clients how and where they should report any concerns or complaints and advise them that the College of Counselling Therapists of NB would not be involved in the process. 

• Taken directly from their Telepractice policy 

• This policy is for those practitioners that use the term Counselling Therapist and who wish to work with clients in PEI but are not members of the CCTPEI.  The public is free to choose any practitioner with whom they wish to work.  If a practitioner using the title of Counselling Therapist from another jurisdiction is providing services in PEI, they do not need to register with the CCTPEI if:  

• 1. They do not advertise their services in PEI;  
• 2. They do not maintain more than 3 clients at any time; and 

• 3. Their PEI clients do not form a substantial portion of their client base (less than 20 %). 

• If a practitioner from another jurisdiction is providing counselling therapy services in PEI and they do not meet the above conditions, they may register with the CCTPEI in one of the following ways:  

• 1. As a New Applicant applying for general or provisional registration;  
• 2. As a Labour Mobility Transfer; or  
• 3. As a Special Registrant (1 month short-term non-renewable registration). 

• To apply as a Labour Mobility transfer or Special Registrant, the applicant must have current registration in good standing in another Canadian jurisdiction and 2M in professional liability insurance.  Any practitioner who is not a registrant of the CCTPEI  who is working with clients in PEI is expected to disclose the following:  

• 1. That the client will not be able to bring any complaints to the CCTPEI as it will be outside of the CCTPEI’s jurisdiction;   
• 2. The name of the College and/or association to which complaints may be brought (or that there is no College or Association to which complains may be brought); and  
• 3. The method by which complaints may be brought forward.  

• Practitioners in other provinces who wish to expand their work in PEI are welcome to apply for registrant status with CCTPEI. Benefits for practitioners in other jurisdictions of joining the CCTPEI include:  

• 1. Registrant status in the CCTPEI including access to our registrar and use of our logo on your website.   
• 2. Use of the title Counselling Therapist in working with and advertising to clients in PEI  
• 3. No limit on the number of clients you can work with in PEI 

The Ordre des psychologues du Québec (OPQ) does not provide information on their website regarding interprovincial or cross-border practice. Below is information received from the Administrative Assistant to the General Secretariat. 

A psychotherapist located outside of Quebec can offer online services to clients located in Quebec. We recommend that the person located outside of Quebec who offers online services to the Quebec population be legally authorized to practice the profession of psychotherapist in his or her jurisdiction.  

This person must also be covered for professional liability. It is also required to notify clients that any disciplinary action must be brought before the regulatory body in the jurisdiction where the professional is registered, if applicable. 

For more information, please call OPQ directly.