As it stands, anyone can call themselves a counsellor in Alberta. There is no regulation. No higher board or college to regulate the profession in this province.
With an increased openness to talk about mental illness across Canada and a decrease in the stigma surrounding seeking help, more Albertans are using the services of therapists and counsellors. In fact, following the viral #MeToo movement, support centres such as the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton are seeing a demand in counselling services up by 53 per cent compared to last years’ numbers.
In Calgary, an increase in clients seeking help of substance abuse in response to the opioid crisis has prompted more funding for counselling services. The government has committed unprecedented funding to increase supports for mental health. We need them now to also commit to ensuring that the proper safeguards are in place, so that those seeking help are doing so by regulated, accountable counselling professionals. Counselling Therapy is already regulated in four provinces all 50 states. It is time for Alberta to catch up.
Unregulated counselling therapy can lead to serious harms to public safety such as: lack of professional boundaries between the Counselling Therapist and the client, breach of privacy, incompetence in providing the services , and unethical business practices. Any and all of these risks can create significant harms to those seeking help and can have lasting adverse effects on the clients’ mental health.
On a very serious level, without the proper education and qualifications, an unregulated counsellor without proper education and training, could be causing more harm than help. Further harm may include unprofessional biases leading to discrimination against a client based on sexual orientation, race or other factors. They may also fail to recognize that a client is suicidal or suffering from a serious mental disorder and in need of an immediate referral for treatment beyond the practitioner’s scope of practice.
It is estimated that there are more than 5,000 unregulated counsellors in Alberta. This is a significant gap in the healthcare system. In order to be regulated, the profession of “Counselling Therapy” needs to be added through an amendment to the Healthcare Professions Act (HPA). This can only be done by the provincial government. There are currently 30 regulated health professions in Alberta. However, counselling therapy remains unregulated, even though the prospect of significant harm to the public health exists.
The Federation of Associations for Counselling Therapists in Alberta (FACT-Alberta) represents 14 professional counselling associations and over 3,500 members in Alberta, who all agree that regulating counselling therapy cannot wait any longer. FACT-Alberta has worked tirelessly to have all the mechanisms in place should the government move forward with regulation. FACT-Alberta has developed a definition of counselling therapy, adopted an Entry-to-Practice Competency Profile, created a Code of Ethics and more, to ensure smooth implementation of a Counselling Therapy College.
One of the final steps towards regulation, the consultation process, will commence next week and FACT-Alberta continues to work closely with Alberta Health to ensure due process is followed. FACT-Alberta has committed significant financial support and professional volunteer hours towards the goal of regulating counselling in the province. Yet in communication from Minister Sara Hoffman and a recent meeting with Minister Brandy Payne, the government has been clear that there is significant competition for legislative resources this year, and an amendment to the HPA is not being considered at this time.
This is unacceptable given the progress that continues to be made and the significant public health risks involved. We need to ensure that our children are getting appropriate mental health services from regulated counsellors. We need to ensure that the survivors of sexual violence are being supported by regulated professionals, including Counselling Therapists, who are accountable to a code of ethics and standards of practice, and have the advanced training that would allow them to counsel in complex situations.
The onus should not be on the client to figure out if their counsellor has the proper credentials and experience.
The government must add to their support for regulation of counselling therapy, a commitment that they will consider it a priority for legislation this year.
After a decade of working towards regulation of counselling therapy, we have never been so close. It aligns perfectly with the NDP government's platform. So how could it not be a priority for legislation?
Nicole Imgrund is a Canadian Certified Counsellor who owns River’s Edge Counselling Centre in St. Albert. She has been working towards regulating the profession of counselling for 14 years, and has served as the Chair of the Federation of Associations for Counselling Therapists in Alberta (FACT-Alberta) for the past three years.
