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QC Regulation

Current as of May 5, 2019

Status: Regulated

Type of Regulation: Titles and Scope

Titles Protected: see below

  • A number of years ago regulated professions in Quebec each had their own legislation.
  • The professional system as it is known today, was created in 1973 by the “Code des professions”.
  • Currently 53 professions and 45 Orders/Colleges are monitored by the Office des professions du Québec (a governmental institution).
  • The profession of “Conseiller d’orientation” was the first profession in the field of counselling to be regulated.
  • It has been regulated for 50 years in Quebec.
  • Two more professions were added to the professional system in the 2000s – Psychéducators and Family and Marital Therapists
  • Conseiller d’orientation translates into English as a Guidance Counsellor, however the term does not equate to the Guidance Counsellor we are familiar with in other provinces.
  • Outside of Quebec, Guidance Counsellors are typically thought to only work in the school system due to their education and training.
  • In Quebec a Conseiller d’orientation does work in the school sector (secondary, college and university) but also in many other sectors such as mental health, employment, organizational development, recruitment, rehabilitation, etc.
  • The regulatory body for Guidance counsellors is the Ordre des conseillers et conseillières du Québec.
  • The title “Guidance counsellor” is a protected title by the Ordre des conseillers et conseillères du Québec.
  • The profession of Psychoéducators has been regulated since 2000.
  • The regulatory body for psychoéducators is l’Ordre des psychoéducateurs et psychoéducatrices du Québec.
  • Integration of the Thérapeutes familiaux et conjugaux (Family and Marital Therapists) to the Ordre des Travailleurs sociaux occurred in 2001.
  • New legislation to reserve activities for the professions in human relations and mental health and to regulate the practice of psychotherapy in Quebec was introduced in 2008 (Bill 21).
  • Bill 21 which reserves several activities in the field of human relations and mental health to Physicians, Psychologists, Guidance Counsellors, Psychoeducators, Social Workers, Family Therapists, Ergotherapists, Mental Health Nurses, and which regulates the practice of Psychotherapy in Quebec was proclaimed on September 21, 2012.
  • Bill 21 By-laws were approved on December 6, 2012.
  • Those reserved activities can be shared among some of the professions in human relations and the mental health sector.
  • All reserved activities must be performed within the context of the scope of practice for which the practitioner is licensed.
  • Quebec candidates must be able to pass the standard French language exam administered by the Office québecois de la langue francaise to perform reserved activities in any Order/College.
  • In order to obtain a psychotherapy permit, applicants must first belong to one of the five related orders/colleges and then must follow the guidelines of their order/college to apply to the Order/College of Psychologists for a permit.
  • If an applicant could not join one of the Orders/Colleges they could have been grandfathered if they fulfill the grandparenting requirements. The grandparenting period ended on June 21, 2014.
  • Law 21 stipulates the requirements for maintaining the psychotherapy license.
  • In order to ensure that competencies gained in university studies match those required for the professions of Guidance Counsellor and Psychoeducator, most university programs have aligned their competencies with the Orders.
  • Graduates of these programs obtain automatic admission into the Orders if they apply within 5 years of graduation and have passed the French language requirements test.
  • In Quebec there are several French titles and 2 English titles for the same profession (Guidance Counsellor) which have the same registration requirements.
  • The applicant can determine which of the six titles they wish to use.
  • Currently the Ordre des Conseillers d’orientation has approximately 2,450 members.
  • L’Ordre des Psychoéducateurs has approximately 3,400 members.
  • 282 Family and Marital Therapists, are members of Ordres des travailleurs sociaux.
  • Two more Orders have been added to the list of professionals eligible to obtain the psychotherapist permit: Sexologist and Criminologist.
  • The six Orders eligible for the permit of psychotherapist have created a Guide to distinguish the activities that fall under psychotherapy from those which do not.
  • The “Commission des normes de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité au travail (the equivalent of the Workers’ Compensation Board) has recognized the practitioners having a “Psychotherapist”  permit for Third Party Billing.