Have you been considering expanding your Canadian private practice? Can you counsel people who live in other provinces besides yours? What are the protocols?
Online counselling is here to stay, and many counselling therapists and clients alike prefer this system with its flexibility and the autonomy it can provide them. However, there are some important regulations to be aware of when it comes to online counselling, especially when you want to broaden your reach and work with more clients.
In this podcast episode, I take you through the process of finding out which provinces you can – at this time! – advertise in, and how to go about it ethically and safely, both for you and your future clients.
In this Episode:
Check for regulations
Advertise in unregulated provinces
Check your insurance
How to counsel people in other provinces
Check for regulations
For the short answer, yes, you can provide interprovincial online counselling. However, there are a couple of important rules that you need to be aware of.
If another province is regulated, then you cannot advertise in that province. For example, you cannot advertise yourself and your services in a directory, or any other type of paid advertising, that operates in the regulated province.
However, there are two exceptions:
if you have a client that moves to another province and you are already seeing them, then you can continue seeing them
if someone finds your Canadian private practice by chance and wants to receive counselling services from you
Advertise in unregulated provinces
The provinces that are regulated – where you cannot advertise from another province – include:
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Prince Edward Island
Alberta (although the college has not yet been proclaimed)
Ontario
Quebec
Unregulated provinces wherein you can advertise yourself include:
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
British Columbia
Yukon
North West Territories
Nunavut
Newfoundland
Check your insurance
The next thing that you need to check is whether or not your insurance allows you to counsel outside of your province. For a recap of insurance in Canadian private practice, listen to this podcast episode.
'If you are counselling people outside of Canada, with BMS insurance, they will only cover you if the complaint is filed in Canada. So, there's a lot of risk to counselling people outside of Canada.' – Julia Smith
I choose to counsel people only in Canada to reduce the risks, and so that my professional liability insurance stays in check.
How to counsel people in other provinces
If you decide to counsel people in other provinces, then you need to make sure that you let your clients know about:
The college that you are part of, if applicable
Where you are located
How to contact your regulator
Your video-conferencing platform is PIPEDA compliant
Additionally, if you are under supervision, you should only be counselling people in other provinces if your supervisor agrees to it.
'Once you have checked off all those boxes, then you could counsel people in other provinces! You could advertise in provinces that aren't regulated, and if you have a client that moves to a different province, you can continue to see them!' – Julia Smith
Another tip: keep up to date with which provinces are regulated and which ones aren't to avoid having to pay a fine.
Here's some more information for you about CCPA and regulations for counselling in Canada.
Connect with me:
Resources Mentioned and Useful Links:
Ep 60: Adding Insurance Companies to Your Canadian Private Practice
Article: How to Set Up a Canadian Private Practice Website
Listen to my Canadian private practice journey up until now!
Listen to my podcast episode with Tara about insurance in Canadian private practice!
Sign up for my free e-course on How to Start an Online Canadian Private Practice
Jane App (use code FEARLESS for one month free)
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