Communiqué

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April 2021

version française

Attention grandparented registrants: Changes to the independent practice confirmation process Moving forward, grandparented registrants will not have to provide third-party confirmation of their clinical experience hours. Instead, they can complete a formal declaration to confirm they meet the independent practice requirement. Please see the website for more details and FAQs. What has changed? Grandparenting was a time-limited, alternative route to registration meant for experienced practitioners transitioning to the newly regulated environment. The grandparenting route closed March 31, 2017. Registrants who applied through the grandparenting route were not required to provide third-party confirmation of their clinical experience hours in their original application unless selected for audit or specifically requested by CRPO staff. Grandparented registrants were not required to meet the independent practice requirement (1,000 direct client contact or “DCC” hours and 150 clinical supervision hours) when they applied. If they later met this requirement, they were asked to submit third-party confirmation that they had completed the required DCC and supervision hours. Moving forward, grandparented registrants can solemnly declare that they have met the requirements for independent practice by filling out a form. This is similar to the requirements for reporting hours on the initial grandparenting application. Third-party confirmation is no longer required. The process for registrants through the “regular” application route has not changed. Please see the website for full details. I meet the independent practice requirement. What do I do now to update my status? 1.   Confirm that the Public Register says your registration category is “Registered Psychotherapist” and your status is “Authorized to practise while working toward independent practice”. If the status says “Authorized for independent practice”, you have already met this requirement and no further action is required. 2.   Review the relevant definitions to make sure all of your hours meet the requirements. 3.   Complete and sign the form. 4.   Email the signed form to [email protected]. 5.   Staff will send you an email once your account has been updated.   Note: It may take some time for staff to process the change. Please do not send follow-up emails as this will slow down processing times.

How often should a registrant receive clinical supervision? CRPO has recently received queries about how often registrants should receive clinical supervision. Clinical supervision is an important part of professional development and safeguarding clients. All RP(Qualifying) registrants are required to practise with clinical supervision. They can transfer to the full RP category after passing the registration exam and completing 450 direct client contact (DCC) hours and 100 clinical supervision hours. Once in the RP category, registrants are required to continue practising with clinical supervision until they have completed 1000 DCC hours and 150 clinical supervision hours. Registrants are encouraged to continue receiving clinical supervision or consultation as needed, even after they are authorized to practise independently. Dividing the above numbers provides a rough guide to frequency of clinical supervision. However, we continue to receive questions from stakeholders, as well as feedback that it may not be reasonable in some situations to expect registrants to receive a high frequency of clinical supervision, for example one clinical supervision hour for every 4.5 DCC hours. CRPO is currently planning a comprehensive review of clinical supervision. We will soon be launching a survey seeking feedback on supervision-related topics, including frequency of clinical supervision. Until then, please refer to Practice Standard 4.2 Practising with Clinical Supervision, Practice Standard 2.1 Consultation, Clinical Supervision and Referral, and the Clinical Experience for Registration Policy. Note the wording that the suggested ratios are “approximate". Supervisors and supervisees have a shared responsibility of applying professional judgment based on the circumstances to determine the appropriate frequency of clinical supervision. Factors may include: The level of experience and competency areas of the supervisee The nature of the therapy (modality, clientele, presenting issues) Other supports available (peer group, consultation, managerial oversight) The key idea is to do what is reasonable in the circumstances to ensure clients receive safe and effective care keeping in mind that the clinical supervision and DCC requirements have been set to safeguard the public.

Covid Vaccine Update Covid vaccine distribution news is constantly changing. Registrants can visit our website where we have posted information from the Ontario government and regional public health units. For more information about vaccine distribution, visit the website of your public health unit.

2021 Pandemic-Related Exam Extensions

The Examination Committee has granted a mass extension for any registrants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic who are unable to make their first or final exam attempt within the timelines specified in the Registration Regulation. They will have until the spring 2022 administration to complete the exam. Please see here for more information

Council Meeting The next meeting of CRPO Council will take place on May 13, 2021. Want to attend? Register ahead of time and review the guidelines on attendance.

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