Communiqué

 July 2022

version française

Education Program Recognized

The Master of Counselling (Counselling Psychology) at Athabasca University is the latest educational program to receive academic recognition from CRPO. This means that the program sufficiently enables students to develop the required competencies for entry-to-practice in psychotherapy. Visit our website for more information about the recognition process or to review the other recognized programs.

Updating Your Current Name or Commonly Used Name 

There are a few different names that registrants may have listed in their CRPO account:

• Current name: this name should match your full legal name as it is listed on government-issued identification.
• Commonly used name: if you use a different name in your practice, such as a nickname or if you practise using your maiden name, it should be listed here.
• Previous names: all previous names used by an applicant or registrant since the age of 18 must be reported here. This includes any legal or assumed names that an applicant held. Previous names are reported in the original application for registration and are updated when a registrant submits a name change request.

If a registrant legally changes their name, the registrant must use the “Name change request” page of their CRPO user account to submit this information to the College. Government-issued ID (e.g. marriage certificate, driver’s license) will be required. The change will be reflected on the Public Register once the request has been processed by staff.

The commonly used name field can be updated by registrants at any time in the “Personal information” page of their CRPO user account. It is important to note that the commonly used name fields should only include a registrant’s name. Other information, such as titles or credentials, would not be appropriate to list in the commonly used name fields. The following are examples of inappropriate commonly used names:

• Commonly used first name: John
• Commonly used last name: Smith, RP (Qualifying)

• Commonly used first name: John Smith
• Commonly used last name: RP (Qualifying)

• Commonly used first name: John Smith
• Commonly used last name: MACP, RP (Qualifying)

CRPO Council met on May 26, 2022 – if you didn’t catch the live-stream, click here to review the meeting highlights. Council President, Shelley Briscoe-Dimock, RP, began the meeting by making statements condemning recent violent attacks against racialized communities. Click here to listen to the statement.

Obtaining consent to release information

Registrants sometimes receive third-party requests for client information, for example from a client’s spouse or parent, third-party payors, insurance companies, Employee Assistance Programs, and lawyers.

When a registrant receives a request to release information to any third party, they must obtain the client’s informed consent to do so, unless a legal exception applies. When compelled to disclose client information for a legal proceeding, registrants should exercise prudence and are advised to consult their legal advisor to determine the best way to respond.

Please visit the Practice Matters page of the CRPO website for further discussion on the following topics as well as links to other resources:

• Client requests to share records with a third party
• Informed consent
• Informed consent when working with minors
• Deciding what information to share
• Shared records
• Concerns about risk to clients
• Consent to release information forms 

Please do not unsubscribe. CRPO uses email to communicate with registrants about important College updates. If you choose to unsubscribe, it is then your responsibility to regularly check our website to keep yourself informed about your College obligations. It is the responsibility of each registrant to make sure CRPO has your current contact information, updated within 30 days of a change, and ensure that the organization you work for does not block CRPO emails.