National Labour Mobility Symposium 2009 Labour Mobility Working Group of the Canadian Counselling...

National Labour Mobility Symposium 2009Labour Mobility Working Group of the

Canadian Counselling Association

HRSDC CCPA

The Counselling Profession, Labour Mobility and

Professional Regulation

Today’s Focus

• The context of Labour Mobility in Canada

• Working Papers and Discussions:– Codes of Ethics and Standards of Practice– Definitions and Scopes of Practice– Professional Regulation

Tomorrow’s Focus

• Summary of Today’s work

• Panel Discussion:– The Importance of Harmonizing Competencies

and Credentials

• Timeline and Accountabilities• Communication Plans• Next Steps• Session Evaluation

How will we Accomplish our Goals?

• Mini-presentations

• Focus questions

• Small group discussions

• Small group activities

• Panel discussion

• Large group Q and A

• Sharing and Networking

Goals for the SymposiumAll delegates will

• have current and detailed information related to labour mobility and counsellor regulation in Canada and in their area of the country.

• share information with provincial/territorial contacts affected by labour mobility and counsellor regulation

• have a list of national contacts with whom to discuss further developments in labour mobility and counsellor regulation

Timeline of Regulation of Counselling-related Professions

1963 1995

QUEBECPublic Safety Ethics Legislation (1973)

QUEBECShared competency profile (colleges, universities – for entry to practice and professional practice (2004)

BRITISH COLUMBIAPreparations, consultations, competency profile development (1995 – present)

PEIConsultations (2007)

PEILegislation being pursued (2009)

ONTARIORegulation (Bill 171) Transitional Council pending (2007)

200720041973

NOVA SCOTIARegulation pending (2009)

ALBERTAHealth Act Amended – no regulation of counselling (2008)

NEW BRUNSWICKLegislation discussions begin (1994)

QUEBECReserved Title and Practice Protection Legislation: psychotherapy/reserved activities/mental heal evaluations (2009)

2008

NOVA SCOTIALegislation (2008)

2009

MANITOBAHealth Act amended – no regulation of counselling (2009)

QUEBECTitle Protection “Guidance Counsellor”Legislation (1963)

Regulation Timeline

NEW BRUNSWICKLegislation discussions (2009)

Competency Profiles for Counselling-related Professions

ENTRY-TO-PRACTICE

COUNSELLING COMPETENCIES

GENERIC COUNSELLING

COMPETENCIES

SPECIALIZED COUNSELLING

COMPETENCIESPASTORAL

CAREER

MARRIAGE & FAMILY

ART

AD

DIC

TIO

NS

MUSIC

PL

AY

SC

HO

OL

REHABILITATION

Entry-to-Practice Competencies

• Entry-to-practice competencies for the counselling profession have been created and validated nationally.

• Entry-to-practice competencies are generic: designed to capture the elements that would most effectively protect the public from harm.

• In a regulated environment, one of the tasks of Colleges would be to identify specializations and the expected standards of practice for registrants in those specializations

• Specialized competencies are not included in the entry-to-practice competencies because:– The regulatory process requires competencies to be focused on

the prevention of public harm – a foundational level.– The greatest area of alignment in counselling practice occurs at

the foundational level.– Specialization requires intact foundational entry-to-practice

skills. A similar national dialogue on specialty area competencies may be required.

Regulatory Status of Counselling-related Professions:

A Pan-Canadian Tour

Preparations and legislation

discussions1995 - present

STATUS OF COUNSELLOR REGULATION IN CANADA

Health Act amended 2008.

No action on regulation portfolio





Health Act amended 2009.


Legislation 2007. Transitional

Council Pending. Regulation not

yet started.

Title protection Regulation 1963. Amendments 1973, 2004. Practice Protection

Regulation 2009.

Legislation discussions


Legislation being pursued

Legislation 2008.

Regulation pending.

Professional RegulationMind Map

REGULATION

Maximize Well-being

Minimize Harm

Agreement on Internal Trade

Interprovincial labour mobility

Encourages national standards

registration

inquiry

discipline

CollegeCollegeHarmsHarms

incompetence

ethical violations

negligence

malpractice

credentials

competencies

continuing education

restoration, mediation

and correction

modelguilt or innocence

modeltimely

Professional Regulation

PURPOSE OF REGULATIONThe goal of regulation is to reduce the risk of harm to the public while maximizing the well-being of the client.

– Professional self-regulation is granted by provincial or territorial governments as a privilege that requires standards of practice.

– Under the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT), these standards must be comparable across the nation.

TYPES OF REGULATORY STATUTES– “Stand Alone” (e.g., Nova Scotia) in which the law refers to a

single profession, setting out its limits and standards.

– “Umbrella” (e.g., Ontario) in which a larger act governs all health professions, setting out the shared privileges, processes, and requirements for all.

Professional RegulationCOLLEGESThe entity regulating the profession is typically called a College and the professionals belonging to the College are known as registrants.

COLLEGE FUNCTIONS– Registration: determining qualified registrants

• Register qualified candidates/exclude those without competencies or personal suitability

– Inquiry: responding to public complaints and concerns• Two models:

– Traditional model: guilt/innocence– Alternative model: harm restoration, dispute mediation, error correction

• Two types: – Passive inquiry: publish standards, await complaints– Active inquiry: education, inspections, audits, college-initiated complaints

– Discipline: providing limits and sanctions for registrants who have violated professional standards

• Key obligations:– Follow general standards of all professions– Separate discipline from criminal, contract, and civil law– Cooperate with, but not intrude upon, the jurisdiction of other sources of

liability

Definitions and Scopes of PracticeMind Map

RESERVED,RESTRICTED,CONTROLLED

ACTS

ONTARIO

NOVA SCOTIA

QUEBEC

PROTECTED TITLE ACTS

SCOPE OF PRACTICE(shared/individual professions)

Human function

goals

enhancing

resolvingremediating

promoting

restoring

improving

Evaluation Assessment

psychological functioningpersonal resourcesenvironment

disorders in cognitive, affective, neuropsychological, behavioural functioning

Domainsmentalemotional

psychologicalcognitive

interpersonal

spiritualbehavioural

Relationships Clients

Methodscognitive

affective

systemicbehavioural relational

creative arts

verbal/non-verbal communication

communities

groups

families

couplesindividuals

professional

principled

deliberate

therapeutic

Definitions and Scopes of Practice: – Nine Canadian jurisdictions and organizations were combined

with three general sources and 10 international organizations to review definitions and scopes of practice for the profession.

– Generally, all definitions and scopes of practice had sufficient similarities to create a summary statement.

SCOPE OF PRACTICE– Refers to the procedures and processes permitted for licensed

professionals under legislation.– Reserved Acts/Restricted Acts/Controlled Acts are

synonymous and refer to acts that only specific licensed professional group(s) are permitted to provide. This is different from title protection which restricts the use of a particular title.

– Scopes of practice are in place through legislation in Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

DEFINITION– Prior distinction between counselling and psychotherapy is

diminishing; many practitioners now view their work on a continuum and/or use the terms interchangeably.

Definitions and Scopes of Practice: ATTRIBUTES OF COUNSELLING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY

– GOALS: enhance, promote, restore, resolve, remediate, improve cognitive, affective and behavioural functioning.

– EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT: of psychological functioning, personal resources, environmental conditions, disorders in cognitive, affective, neuropsychological, and behavioural functioning.

– DOMAINS: mental, emotional, psychological, cognitive, interpersonal, spiritual and behavioural human functioning.

– INTERVENTION METHODS: cognitive, affective, behavioural, systemic, relational, creative arts, verbal and non-verbal communication.

– RELATIONSHIPS: professional, deliberate, principled, therapeutic.

– CLIENTS: individuals (children, adolescents, adults), couples, families, groups, and communities.

Similarities across Helping ProfessionsMind Map

CODES OF ETHICS

STANDARDS OF PRACTICE

Canadian Association of Music Therapy

Canadian Association of Psychologists

Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association

Professional Responsibility

Consulting and Private Practice

Counselling Relationships

Counselling Relationships

Consulting and Private Practice

Evaluation and Assessment

Self-development and Self-Awareness

Canadian Standards and Guidelines for

Career Development Practitioners

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education

Similarities across Helping Professions– Nine Codes of Ethics and 5 Standards of Practice were

reviewed.

– Generally, all Codes and Standards protect the public from harm.

– Differences occur in specific areas. These differences relate to the specialized form of therapy or intervention that the Association members provide to the public.

– The Codes of Ethics for the Canadian Association of Music Therapy, the Canadian Association of Psychologists and the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association aligned most closely with each other.

– The Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Development Practitioners, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and the Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education closely followed in alignment with these three associations.

– Specific areas of alignment occurred in the following domains:- Professional Responsibility- Consulting and Private Practice- Counselling Relationships

Similarities across Helping Professions– The Standards of Practice for the Canadian Psychologists

Association and the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association are aligned in almost every domain.

– Specific areas of alignment in all Standards of Practice occurred in the following domains:

- Counselling Relationships- Consulting and Private Practice- Evaluation and Assessment- Self-development and Self-Awareness

• Where some Associations have divided their Ethics from Standards, others have merged the two documents. When Codes of Ethics and Standards of Practice are combined, alignments are increased.

• In the helping professions, we have more in common with each other than we have differences.

Panel Discussion

The Importance of Harmonizing Competencies and Credentials

What Are We Discussing?

CREDENTIALSCREDENTIALS

COMPETENCIESCOMPETENCIES

CAPABILITIESCAPABILITIES

Today’s Definitions

• A credentialcredential is evidence of qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party who is assumed by practice, by assumed competence, or by law to have authority to do so.


• CompetenceCompetence refers to a required standard for an individual to properly perform a specific job. It reflects knowledge, skills and behaviour. More generally, competence is the state or quality of being adequately or well qualified, having the ability to perform a specific role.


• CapabilityCapability is the ability to perform actions. In terms of labour, capability is the sum of and individual’s expertise and capacity.

In context of today’s discussions CREDENTIALSCREDENTIALS

• An educational achievement (degree/diploma), or

• A professional designation or license

• Generally a document

• Given to a person

• Issued by an authority

In context of today’s discussions COMPETENCIESCOMPETENCIES

• Occupational competencies• Array of abilities• Acquired through formal and informal

learning • Competency profile• Abilities carried by the individual • Drawn upon as necessary, as they work• Integrated - each competency informs the

other

In context of today’s discussions CAPABILITIESCAPABILITIES

• The “Mix” of skills• Brought to:

– Work place– Job task or contract– Position or appointment– An employer, partnership or practice

• Expectations around performance• Speaks to potential

Regulated and Non-regulated Occupations• Regulated Regulated - specific public assurance by the

regulator (at the timer of acceptance for licensure) of ability to practice safely and effectively in a Canadian context; and continuing thereafter

• Non-regulatedNon-regulated - general expectation by society of “ability” or “readiness” to join the workforce and work safely and effectively in a Canadian context (Occupational Health and Safety); continuing thereafter

• Employers/ClientsEmployers/Clients – seek both competencies and capabilities - whether regulated or non-regulated

• Workers Workers – seek acknowledgement of prior learning, credentials, competencies, capabilities to obtain employment

Harmony – Just one example: due diligence

• Credentials Assessors– Due diligence about institution and program – Authenticity – Equivalence– Assessment in advance of admission to further study,

admission to regulated profession or employment• Regulators

– Due diligence about the individual– Usually includes assessment of competencies (including

recognition of credentials as reflection of competency), as well as vetting for all other admissions requirements

• Employers– Due diligence about the individual (talent spotting) – Also includes assessing competencies and credentials in

addition to many other less-defined attributes

Panel Discussion:Harmonizing the 3 “C”s

• What are the links and overlaps?

• Does each “C” inform the other?

• Can we achieve greater understanding and greater/new linkages?

• How can we strive for a no-less-safe, yet more productive employment path for counsellors?

• Can harmonization be done in a fair, consistent, transparent and rigorous manner?

Delegate Recommendations

Thank you / Merci

Safe travels / Bon voyage

For Further Information:Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association

16 Concourse Gate, Suite 600Ottawa, ON

K2E 7S8Tel: 1-877-765-5565Fax: 613-237-9786

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