Councillors in the province are feeling optimistic about setting up a regulatory college after major setbacks to their progress were delivered in the fall.
The CEO for the Association of Counselling Therapy of Alberta (ACTA) Linda Sahli said in September the organization heard from then-health minister Tyler Shandro that creating a college wasn’t a priority.
“It was shocking and surprising for us because we'd worked together in partnership with the government and Alberta Health until this point to get it done,” Sahli said.
The ACTA was formed after St. Albert-based counsellor Nicole Imgrund at River's Edge Counselling advocated for years to get a college set up to regulate the profession. The college would make sure Albertans receive qualified care for their mental-health needs, and that those in the profession would abide by a professional set of standards and ethics.
There are 29 colleges set up across the province that regulate health professionals, including doctors, social workers, psychologists, and dentists, but there is currently no college that regulates counsellors.
In 2018 a provincial bill passed which set the wheels in motion to set up a regulating college and the ACTA was formed to do the work.
Sahli said since the first bill passed, the group has worked hard to set up regulations, professional standards, and a code of ethics for the estimated 4,000 to 5,000 counsellors working in the province.
As the ACTA neared the finish line and was ready to be approved as a college, the group got a letter from Shandro saying the province would no longer move forward with its approval.
“[The letter said], due to ongoing and serious concerns raised by First Nations, that they were no longer moving the regulation forward,” Sahli said.
The letter surprised and shocked Sahli, as she was aware that First Nation leaders were concerned the college would regulate traditional Indigenous healing practices, but those practices would be exempt.
“In the legislation that was passed in 2018 there's an exemption. It clearly indicates that we will not be regulating traditional Indigenous healing practices,” Sahli said.
Counselling therapy is now regulated in five provinces, with other provinces on the path to regulation. In the United States every state has a regulatory body.
But since the provincial letter was delivered to the college, Sahli said the group has been in contact with Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Mike Ellis, which has made them more optimistic their college dreams may soon become a reality.
“We were able to give him a really thorough briefing and, coming out of that, he felt positive and optimistic,” Sahli said.
Creating a college is important for counsellors in the province, Sahli said, to help tackle the current mental health and addiction crisis facing Albertans, which has been made worse by the pandemic.
“We have a situation where this has never been more important,” Sahli said.
The college will cost the government no money, Sahli said, but will help regulate a profession that deals with vulnerable patients.
The college would ensure that anyone who calls themselves a counsellor would have to abide by a code of ethics, have a minimum standard of training, have to constantly be learning through their career, and overall provide quality assurance for Albertans who are accessing services.
Instead of having to use the legal system for recourse after a bad experience with a counsellor, the college would help support those who have been hurt by a counsellor, Sahli said.
“Every day that goes by that the college isn't proclaimed is another day that people don't have increased access to affordable services for mental health and addiction,” Sahli said.
“We have confidence that this government will see how important this is and will proclaim [the college] early in the new year.”
