The Canadian Professional Counsellors Association (CPCA) is a Canadian non-profit entity registered in accordance with the National Corporate Registry of Canada. The Association is governed by a Board of Directors which is elected by the members of the Association.
Since our founding in 1990, the CPCA has been dedicated to the promotion of public confidence and trust in the counselling profession in Canada. The CPCA serves the public from coast to coast to coast.
Our certified and registered counsellors meet rigorous standards for education and training and clinical experience before they can be granted the Registered Professional Counsellor (RPC) designation. CPCA Counsellors are held to the highest ethical standards of the profession.
CPCA's Registered Professional Counsellors (RPC) attend to the mental well-being of people by applying principles and skills from the disciplines of mental health, psychology, or human development, using cognitive, affective, behavioral, or systemic interventions and evidence-based practices. Through these interventions, the RPC can address a diverse range of mental health issues, including wellness, personal growth, career development, addiction, trauma, abuse, relationships, as well as mental health pathology.
In preparation for this challenging career, an individual must undergo extensive education and training. This includes both academic theory and practical training. RPCs serve in all levels of our communities where the helping profession is required - at schools and universities, in hospitals, mental health agencies, rehabilitation facilities, business and industry, correctional institutions, religious organizations, community centers, and private practice.
The Canadian Professional Counsellors Association is committed to upholding standards of professional training, supervision, and practice as demonstrated by those in the practice of facilitating healing and wellness. The philosophical basis from which we approach the regulation of the profession of counselling and psychotherapy is unapologetically one of demonstrated competence.
We are firmly convinced as practitioners representative of our profession that reality necessitates the recognition of competence. Welcoming traditional and non-traditional routes in acquiring professional counselling skills, our counsellors and psychotherapists have proven competence within their therapeutic relationships.
Our Mandate
To foster public protection by regulating its members’ professional practice through a comprehensive Code of Ethics, competency-based assessment, ongoing evaluation, and clear expectation of compliance with standards of practice.
The Association’s leadership has demonstrated that it will distinguish between public protection and profession's self-interest, and in administering the realities of self-regulation, will favor the former.
Mission Statement
Improving the lives of individuals struggling with mental health
by working together to promote and support
competency in clinical counselling & psychotherapy.