The Problem

The College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario (CPBAO) is currently facing a crisis, being caught between, on the one hand, the demands of the Ontario Government to increase the availability of psychological services and hasten the process of registration of applicants, and on the other, the outrage expressed by the Membership at the proposed changes, which would see people carrying the title Psychologist and being able to communicate a diagnosis with inadequate preparation.

We recognize that there is much that needs to be changed about how registration currently works in Ontario; indeed, there’s much about our current registration process that is absurd. 

At this time, Psychological Associates undergo four years of on-the-job training before they have any status as registered members of our College. Once they are able to join with the status of Psychological Associate (Supervised Practice), which lasts about one year, their registration process is identical to that of any other Psychologist; but prior to that, they have no status with our College.

The four years of on-the-job training, during which the Psychological Associate is under the supervision of an autonomous Psychological Associate or Psychologist, provides critical experience in managing complex situations, reviewing ethical dilemmas, learning complex assessment procedures, and providing detailed, defensible, and carefully written reports. 

However, these four years impose a serious problem. Since psychology is so often unavailable within the public system, insurance reimbursement is critically important to managing our practices and enabling us to provide the necessary training environment. But many insurers will not reimburse services provided by an unregistered person under the supervision of a Psychologist. 

As a result, many people who are on their way to becoming Psychological Associates gain an interim registration with The College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). Since they are on their way to becoming members of our own College, we provide these people with the necessary training while they practice under our supervision as registered professionals, until they complete not only the requirements of CRPO for autonomous practice, but of our own College.

So Absurdity 1 is that, lacking any standing with CPBAO, many prospective Psychological Associates have to register as Registered Psychotherapists in order to earn an income during the many years of apprenticeship. 

Absurdity 2 is that, once they become Psychological Associates in Ontario, they often register (on paper only) in other provinces just to gain access to the title Psychologist. Currently, anyone registered at the Masters level anywhere in Canada with the title Psychologist is able to retain that title when they move to Ontario. As a result, Ontario already has Masters level Psychologists, in increasing numbers. 

This is an absurd solution, but it is only rational for Ontario’s Psychological Associates to take advantage of this opportunity. Because Absurdity 3 is the title. “Psychological Associate” is confusing to the public, making them sound like assistants to Psychologists, instead of  autonomous professionals with similar qualifications, and identical responsibility, as Doctoral-level Psychologists. 

Unfortunately, our College Council has attempted to address some of this absurdity with The ULTIMATE Absurdity: Dramatically reducing the training necessary to gain access to the title “Psychologist” with a Masters degree in Ontario. The current model provides a minimum expectation of 7500 hours of supervised practice; the new model requires less than half of those hours.

This will create a situation which even the President of the College Council acknowledged would probably increase risk to the public [1] by allowing Masters level applicants to join the College with dramatically less supervised experience than is currently required before they achieve full autonomy.

And that’s not all—these graduates will still enter the job market with no standing with our College. They won’t be able to join our College until they’ve had one year of post-graduate supervised experience; only then will they get the title “Psychologist (Supervised Practice).” And it will still be almost impossible to get reimbursement for their services in private practice—in an economic environment where it can be very difficult to get public sector job in psychology. 

This is the problem that is currently solved with registration with CRPO. But will it be worth it to pursue registration with CRPO for a single year? 

As a practice which offers such training opportunities, we foresee a great deal of difficulty being able to continue this practice. Our supervisees won’t be able to get reimbursed without a registration, but will likely balk at having to register with CRPO for a single year; and we can’t imagine CRPO is thrilled with reviewing applicants who may only be with them temporarily as a stop-gap registration.

The Solution

We propose a simple solution which should meet the expectations of both the Ontario Government and of the Membership, leading to improved access to services, and timely access to the professional title.

We agree with the elimination of the title Psychological Associate, as being confusing to the public, demeaning to the professionals, and failing to reflect that Psychological Associates must practice to the same standard as Psychologists, and that they have access to the same controlled acts.

We recognize the importance of timely access to membership in a regulatory College. We also recognize that it is absurd that people who are on their way to becoming members of CPBAO seek registration with CRPO to fill that gap.

However, the value of having that route to practice lies in the many years of training which Psychological Associates receive. We are confident that our colleagues who carry the title Psychological Associate, or the title Psychologist at the Masters level after importing it, have met a high standard of training and qualification.

Therefore, we propose that Masters level graduates whose education meets the standard to join CPBAO be granted the registration status of Psychologist (Supervised Practice) immediately after graduation.

However, in recognition of the vital importance of ongoing training and supervision in the development of the skill set necessary to function as an autonomous Psychologist, we propose that Masters level applicants be required to undergo five years as Psychologists in Supervised Practice.

Although this model would require ongoing supervision for several years, it would give recent graduates and immigrants access to a title and, therefore, a reliable stream of income while they gain the necessary experience to practice safely and ethically as autonomous professionals, without needing to register with another College temporarily. 

This model matches the level of experience currently obtained by our Psychological Associates in Ontario prior to autonomous practice, and therefore, would ensure that Ontario’s Psychologists all meet the same high standard, commensurate with our demanding responsibility with respect to the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders.

It is our hope and expectation that, by providing rapid access to the title and, therefore, an income stream, this model would meet the demands of the Fairness Commissioner; and it would do it without requiring that Ontario lowers its standards to match those of the least restrictive jurisdiction in Canada.

Let’s put an end to the misguided attempt to ensure fairness at the expense of the safety of the Ontario public, and find a solution that meets both goals.

[1] “Do I believe these proposals will increase risk to the public? Probably.” Dr Ian Nicholson, President of College Council, CPBAO, during a debate at a council meeting, 2025 09 26.