Counsellors and Therapists are invited to become members of the CPCA which is a nationally recognized, independent, self-regulated, non-profit counselling association.

 

The CPCA Requirements for Designations are listed in the following documents:

 

The CPCA is a unique counselling association because the CPCA is the only counselling association that adheres to a Competency Based Model. In short, you can have a varied educational background and still be eligible to become a CPCA Member, as long as you have successfully completed the educational core competencies to become a Registered Professional Counsellor (RPC) or Registered Professional Counsellor Candidate (RPC-C).

If you are not sure if your education is eligible for membership, you have 3 options:

 

1. Use the CPCA Education Self-Assessment Tool

You can use this tool (at no cost) and you should have a clear sense of whether you meet the educational core competencies to apply to the CPCA. Please note that completing this document is not a guaranteed membership with the CPCA, but it will give you clarity as to whether you may or may not need further education or specific courses to be eligible for membership. This tool also helps for educational planning.

                               

2. Submit a CPCA Education Substantiation Form

You can request that the CPCA do an Educational Review for you at a (non-refundable) cost of $50 (plus $5 admin fee + taxes). This is done by submitting the CPCA Substantiating Education form. It needs to be filled it out completely, and saved to your computer. Then submit it along with all course outlines to registrar@thecpca.ca requesting a CPCA Educational Review. Payment is sent to payment@thecpca.ca with password: education

         

3. Submit an Application

You can submit a CPCA Membership Application and learn more about the application process by going to the CPCA Membership Application page. Applications have a $150 (+ $5 admin fee + taxes) non-refundable application procesing fee. As a part of your application, it is possible that an Educational Review may still need to be submitted, but it will be done as a part of your application process without additional fees.

Membership Eligibility is based on the CPCA Education Core Competencies.  As part of our regulatory framework of certification, all professional counsellors of the CPCA must have these minimum core competencies for best practice and the protection of the public.

Once membership eligibility is determined, successful completion of the CPCA Qualifying Exam(QE) is required.

  International Education
If an applicant is unsure of whether their international degree or education meets the requirements outlined above because it has been completed internationally, the applicant must have an Education Equivalency Evaluation completed by World Education Services (WES) and include the WES documentation with their application for membership.

 


 

Mission Statement

Improving the lives of individuals struggling with mental health
by working together to promote and support
competency in clinical counselling & psychotherapy.