Credentials, Credentials, & Alphabet Soup
Browsing your options for mental health support? Feeling overwhelmed? Here’s a run-down on the credentials you’ll see and why it matters.
Trying to understand everyone's training is mind-boggling. Sometimes, especially for a therapy newcomer, you may find it more reassuring to start with an organization or public service rather than diving into the deep end of private therapists. This is because organizations usually have a minimum hiring standard that ensures that all of their therapists are qualified to provide therapy at the level of the agency's services.
Here is a quick guide for most of the credentials you will see;
Psychologist - In order to call oneself a Psychologist you have to have the required education in your province as well as pass all of the exams and required internship hours to register with the College of Alberta Psychologists. Psychologists in Alberta will either have a MA, MSc, PhD, or PsyD designation.
MA or MSc. - Masters Level Practitioner usually in Counselling Psychology (MA or MACP) or Clinical Psychology (MSc). This is the most common designation for Psychologists and in Alberta you have to hold at least a Masters Degree to register as a Psychologist and hold that title which shows up as R.Psych or R. Clin. Psych.
MEd. (Masters of Education or School Psychologists) - These individuals have specialized in School Psychology and often do assessments and counselling for a learning environment.
PhD or PsyD. (Philosophical or Psychological Doctorate) - These are both doctorate level degrees. The Philosophical Doctorate (PhD) focuses predominantly on research and honing ones skills in a given discipline beyond the masters level certification. The Psychological Doctorate (PsyD) is a relatively new designation and this is for individuals who wanted to further polish their skills after their master’s degree but wanted more of a focus on psychology and therapy than on conducting research.
R. Prov. Psych (Registered Provisional Psychologists) - These individuals have completed their education and now are in the process of registering with the College and are writing exams and completing supervised practice. They will disclose who their supervisor is and this Psychologist is responsible to ensure they are doing good and safe work. It is not uncommon for them to ask to video or audio tape sessions to share with their supervisor and they may do sessions with the supervisor present in some way.
CCC (Certified Canadian Counsellor) - These individuals typically hold a masters level degree but are not registered as Psychologists and are instead regulated by the CCC regulatory body.
RSW (Registered Social Worker) - Clinical Social Workers are individuals with masters degrees in Social Work and then have taken additional training in providing therapeutic interventions.
RMFT (Registered Marriage and Family Therapist) - These individuals also have masters degrees at a minimum and their own regulatory board. They focus on couples work and family systems. They require almost double the hours of supervised practice because families and couples are complicated!
Life Coaches - These individuals may or may not have completed formal training and are not generally regulated in what their training requires. They each have different ways of working and certifications and educations and sometimes simply rely on their own life experience.
BScN and RN (Registered Nurse) - Occasionally, you will find Nurses with these designations who are offering therapy or mental health counselling. These individuals may have taken a specialized program or approach to therapy and are regulated by the Nursing College.
As if all of this wasn't complicated enough, you will also see different titles that people use to describe themselves. Psychologist and Social Worker are very straightforward as identified above. Psychotherapists also have their own regulatory body, as do Addictions and Youth Workers. Therapist, Counsellor, and Life Coach are not regulated terms so it means anyone can call themselves this. CCC individuals usually adopt the term Counsellor.
“It is important to remember that while all therapy providers are operating from a well-intentioned place of trying to provide assistance, a lack of knowledge or technique can also cause harm.”
All of these practitioners can have wonderful things to offer, but the fewer credentials and the less governance an individual has, the greater variability you will find in training and approach. It also means that if something goes wrong and the individual is not registered with a professional regulatory body, you cannot do anything about it outside of a private legal approach. In contrast, someone who is a regulated health professional is held to certain standards and the regulatory body will take steps to ensure the public is protected.
It is important to remember that while all therapy providers are operating from a well-intentioned place of trying to provide assistance, a lack of knowledge or technique can also cause harm. If your therapist or their method of therapy is making things worse, it is crucial that you speak with your provider about this. The result may be as simple as a change of technique or possibly in a change in therapists.
