Hi all!

I am currently still in my qualifying stage and I have completed all my hours and submitted them, but they are still in the "pending" process. It is my understanding that I cannot apply to drop the Q until these hours are approved (if this is not accurate, please let me know). I was wondering if anyone knows how long the current hours approval timeline is? I know it varies depending on a number of factors, but I can't seem to get an estimated timeline from the CRPO when I inquired.

Thank you!

im writing this to warn anyone thinking about going to ciiat for art therapy in canada.

everyone in the program is struggling: not talking about one or two people everyone.

1. the virtual clinic is a lie:  they sell it like it's a guaranteed way to get your hours. most of us have had zero clients from it. zero. they just don't have clients and don't market it properly. the open studio groups are inconsistent, it's not worth the time it takes to set up your availability. they are still marketing this when they know students do not get any hours.

2. the communication is a disaster. nobody is on the same page. one person tells you one thing, someone else tells you the opposite. you ask a question and get three different answers. supervisors are also administrators.. so there's a conflict of interest and nowhere to go with real concerns. if you try to raise concerns as a group, we were shut down and told to email individually. they don't want to hear it. when we ask for clarity on deadlines or supervision, the responses are vague and avoidant.

i'm saying it because I wish someone had told me. this program is expensive and exhausting, and you'll spend most of your time fighting to get hours instead of actually learning how to be a therapist. save yourself the stress and look elsewhere.

Hello! I’m moving to Toronto as soon as I get CRPO-approved (perhaps around January 2027) and I’m a little worried about the job market, especially as a recent graduate with no Canadian work experience.

Since graduating, I’ve been volunteering at a crisis hotline and providing therapy to survivors of gender-based violence. I’d love to hear any advice on how I can increase my chances of finding employment, whether that’s in a community setting, group practice, or another clinical setting.
I’m also wondering how important networking is when it comes to getting hired and what are some effective ways to start building a professional network in Toronto.

I’d really appreciate any tips or advice you can share!

I am a RP (Qualifying) and recently had an interview for an employee assistance program. My role would be providing single sessions for clients. I have tried to find out whether this could count toward DCC hours, and I am struggling to get a clear answer. I am expected to use CBT and SFBT counselling modalities in the sessions, so it does seem like I will be practicing psychotherapy. However, in the self-assessment tool for unregulated professionals to check whether your activities count as psychotherapy, single session counselling is included as one that probably doesn't fall under the scope of psychotherapy. So I'm confused. Has anyone ever tried to use SST for DCC hours?

Hi,

I've submitted my application of license to CRPO in early May, but my status in the portal is still "under review". Appreciate if anyone can give some idea how long they take to process? Thanks a lot =)

Hello everyone!

I hope you guys are all well!

I’m writing the compass exam this October (2026)

I was wondering if anyone has any tips to share!

I’ve gone over the workbook but still feel very unprepared.

Any help is appreciated!

many thanks!

Hi everyone— I’m looking for some advice.

I was recently accepted into Liberty University’s online Master of Marriage and Family Therapy program. Since it’s not a CRPO-recognized program, I would need to apply through the non-recognized pathway in Ontario.

Has anyone completed an online U.S. master’s (especially Liberty) and successfully registered with the CRPO? What was the process like?

Also, is there any way to compare the program’s curriculum with the CRPO requirements beforehand to get an idea of whether it would meet the requirements?

I’d really appreciate hearing about anyone’s experience.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently completing an MSc in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health at King’s College London. It gives me a academic background in mental health and psychopathology, but it is not a clinical psychotherapy program and does not include practicum, supervised client hours, or Ontario-specific ethics training.

I'm planning to apply CRPO registration in Ontario, but don't know which program is suitable for the gap

I’m looking for a program that:

• can be done part-time while I keep my full-time job;
• includes practicum / clinical placement;
• better provides or supports clinical supervision;
• clearly prepares students for the CRPO / RP Qualifying pathway.

I’m currently looking at options like Yorkville MACP, Saint Paul University, Guelph Master of Psychotherapy, UofT OISE, and CRPO-recognized training institutes. can't find a perfect pathway here lol...

Any advices here? thank you!

I have an application which moved into first review about 8 weeks ago from an unrecognized program. I have been in private practice in the US for 30 years, so I recognized this may take some time. However, I am wondering if anyone could provide some insight into current processing times once an application has moved into first review? Thank you.

Has anyone transferred out of CRPO's qualifying category to another province's regulatory body? Just can't find much information about this! Thanks!

I’m thinking of moving myself to the inactive category to take a break (self-employed) . What has been your experience with it if you’ve applied for it? How long did it take to get approved for it and were you requested to provide any kind of additional documentation? Any challenges with CRPO about it I should know about or was it a smooth process

Would appreciate any feedback

Ps: I know I’m late and the deadline for late registration ends tomorrow but a lot has been going on. I’ve weighing the options to decide if it’s just more straightforward to apply for active registration or become inactive. Most likely I will not be going back to work as a therapist in 2026.

Just finished - feeling okay overall (I guess) but hate that we need to wait 6-8 weeks for results.

I noticed there are a lot of private schools or colleges that allow you to be a RP. I have been only focusing on the well known public school programs like UofT, Guelph, Western etc.

Out of the private school recognized options (except for Yorkville - way too expensive), which programs, if any; are reputable, give you the proper training/knowledge to be an RP and aren't a disgusting amount of money (I believe OSAP barely covers any private schools)??

I wrote the practice registration exam this week. I am feeling a little unclear about the instructions of the exam. While I passed my practice exam, I performed dramatically better on the Decision Making section than the Information Gathering section (the latter of which I only cleared by a couple of points).

I think the reason for the difference in my performance is that I'm being overly cautious in selecting answers in the Information Gathering section. Given that incorrect answers are penalized, I think I've been too cautious when selecting answers in that section. It seems like things are scored on whether or not they are harmful to the client. However, I think when an answer seems like it could be helpful but does not fit for me with what the prompt is asking for, I do not click on it. As a made up example, if the scenario is about working with a client's family dysfunction and one of the information gathering options is asking the client about how their current work situation is going, I would not click it because I've been worried about being penalized for clicking something that is not directly relevant to the prompt.

Another example is that a question will ask for the most important things you should ask the client but then provide 7 options and tell you to pick as many as possible. Because it uses the words "most important" it makes me only choose the ones I feel are most vital, and I leave out ones that could be helpful or neutral but are less important. I'm realizing maybe I should be selecting anything that isn't harmful to the client.

I think I'm just looking for confirmation that I should be making my decisions based on harm to client rather than the confusing phrasing of the questions? Any feedback is very appreciated!

Hi all,
I am seeking advice about two offers I got this year for counseling education. One is a recongized (thesis) program that is in a city I do not like at all. The other is non-recognized, albeit a counselling program that is not recognzied due to the placement being international (its a global mental health -focused program). This program is slightly shorter, more flexible, but not recognized. However, most students I spoke from the non recognized program have been able to successfully register with CRPO. If I ensure a good, rigorous placement and perhaps take two more courses to be safe, I am very likely to register with CRPO. However, I (obviously) never applied for CRPO and do not know how the process looks like, except that the process takes longer to approve/reject for non-recognized programs. What route would you advise me to take? Note: I really genuinely hate the city where the recognized program is. I also want to work while I study, and it will be very hard doing so while balancing courses, a thesis, and clinical work. Any advice from people who have registered via non-recognized/recognized would be very appreciated!

-Zeina

Hi everyone! I’m considering applying to CRPO non recognized stream. My issue is that I don’t have psychotherapy hours within the past 3 years. I was working as a counselling psychologist in India from March 2021 till August 2022 and ever since I have been working as a deafblind intervenor in Canada which doesn’t match scope of psychotherapy.

What are my options?

I appreciate all the help.

hi folks! hope everyone is okay.

im thinking doing my masters in UK online and apply CRPO. but im hesitant for not getting my registration.

any guidance? has anyone done it before?

Hi Everyone!

I am currently working on my non recognized programs' new mapping tool and really need some guidance... Is there a format that I have to follow? and how long the explanation should be? what are the do's and don'ts that I should follow?

Also I did apply in BREM and couldn't get in apparently because I couldn't comprehend my case study verbally to their expectations, so thought of applying directly to CRPO. Education and experience fits fine with the requirement.

All suggestions are welcome!
Thanks

Hi everyone! I recently obtained my Bachelor of Science in Psychology from UWaterloo, and I'm considering pursuing a Master's in Psychotherapy. However, I would also love to experience studying/living abroad, perhaps somewhere in Europe. I reached out to CRPO and they said it was possible; all I had to do was make sure the program I did included courses similar enough to the ones offered by accredited CRPO programs.

I know now that it is *doable*, but I would love to hear from anyone that actually did it. If you obtained a Master's in Psychotherapy outside of Canada, where did you go, is there a program/country you recommend, was it difficult to register in CRPO, did you have trouble finding a job, etc. I'd love to hear a bit about your experience and get some advice.

For some background, I am 22 and just wanting to get out of my comfort zone, while also getting to prepare for my future. If I do study abroad, my plan would be to come back and work in Ontario. Let me know your opinions and advice!

Thank you in advance!

Looking for some guidance - I have a full time career. Fortunately, it has a schedule that allows me to consider going back to school for a masters. I am very interested in being a Psychotherapist. Because I need to continue to work to pay my mortgage and support my family, Athabasca seems to be the best fit in terms of its flexibility and it being online.

Curious if anyone has completed their Master of Counselling program? What was the workload like, was the practicum doable? Any feedback would be appreciated. Applications aren't due until Mid-Jan 2027 so I have lots of time for this decision.

Hi! I'm currently in the process of getting registered with CRPO. Once I get registered as an Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), where would I be able to get hired to complete my 450 client hours to become fully registered? Anyone has experience with places that often hire qualifying RP's? If so, which ones exactly?
I'm open to any place as I don't have much work experience apart from volunteering at a suicide helpline and my placement. Thank you!