--- title: "How to check a counsellor in Alberta" description: "Counselling therapy is not regulated in Alberta, so there is no college to search. What can be verified instead, and the registers that let you do it." url: https://www.westpeakwellness.com/resources/how-to-check-a-counsellor-in-alberta lang: en-CA section: "Alberta" date_modified: 2026-10-03 publisher: "Westpeak Wellness" publisher_type: "Registered Clinical Counsellor practice, British Columbia, Canada" delivery: "secure video only; no in-person office" not: "not a crisis service; not a medical practice; not covered by MSP" contact: info@westpeakwellness.com source_html: https://www.westpeakwellness.com/resources/how-to-check-a-counsellor-in-alberta index_of_site: https://www.westpeakwellness.com/llms.txt license: "Content © Westpeak Wellness. Quote with attribution and a link." --- # How to check a counsellor in Alberta Counselling therapy is not a regulated profession in Alberta, so there is no provincial college and no licence to verify. The province announced in March 2024 that counsellors will be regulated under the College of Alberta Psychologists, but no start date has been set. What you can verify today is national certification: a Canadian Certified Counsellor is listed on the CCPA register, and anyone claiming the title can be confirmed there. Psychologists are separately regulated and appear on their own college register. In British Columbia you can look a counsellor up in a public register in about two minutes. In Alberta there is no equivalent college, which does not mean nothing can be checked. It means checking a different thing. 5 min read · Updated October 3, 2026 [Book a free consultation in BC](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/book) [All resources](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/resources) > Written by a **Registered Clinical Counsellor** in independent practice in British Columbia. > > Updated October 3, 2026 · 5 min read · [How these pages are written](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/editorial-policy) · [Scope and accountability](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/standards) > > General information, not clinical advice, and not a diagnosis. Sources are listed at the foot of the page so you can check them. ## What "unregulated" actually means It means the title is not protected. In Alberta, no law reserves the words counsellor or therapist for people with particular training, so somebody with a weekend certificate and somebody with a master’s degree and a decade of supervised practice can use the same word on the same website. It does not mean nobody is accountable. It means accountability is voluntary and comes from certification bodies rather than from a provincial college, so the useful question is not "are they licensed", which has no Alberta answer, but "what have they voluntarily submitted themselves to, and can I see it". [![A four-step diagram of the accountability chain for a Registered Clinical Counsellor in BC: raising it in session, then the association complaints process, then the privacy commissioner for information concerns, and the incoming college regulator.](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/img/accountability-chain.svg) (full size, opens in a new tab)](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/img/accountability-chain.svg) Four routes, none of which require the counsellor’s permission. ## What can be verified - **Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC)** , The national certification, granted by the CCPA against education, supervised hours and a code of ethics. It is publicly checkable, it carries a complaints process, and it is the most relevant credential in a province with no college of its own. - **Registered Psychologist** , A separate and regulated profession in Alberta with its own college. If somebody calls themselves a psychologist in Alberta, that title is protected and can be verified. - **An out-of-province registration** , A counsellor may hold a designation from another province. An RCC from British Columbia, for instance. That is checkable on that province’s register and tells you the standard they meet, though it is not an Alberta licence and should not be described as one. - **Professional liability insurance** , Rarely advertised and entirely reasonable to ask about. Cover that extends to Alberta clients is not automatic for a counsellor based elsewhere, and a practitioner who cannot answer the question clearly has told you something. Every credential named on this site is on a public register, with the number, so you can check it rather than take it on trust. [If you are in British Columbia, book a free consultation](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/book). ## Four questions worth asking directly - **What are your credentials, and where can I check them?** , A straight answer names the body and the number. Hesitation here is the most useful signal you will get. - **Are you insured to see clients in Alberta?** , A separate question from credentials, and one a counsellor practising across a provincial line should expect. - **What do you not work with?** , Everybody has limits. A practitioner who claims none is describing marketing rather than practice. - **What happens if I want to complain?** , With a certification body there is a process. Without one there is nowhere to go, and knowing which situation you are in is worth establishing at the start rather than at the worst moment. > Keep reading > > [The counsellors here, with their registration numbers](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/practitioners) ## What this practice publishes Each counsellor here lists her credentials with numbers on her own page, and the bodies behind them hold public registers you can search yourself. Nobody here is insured to see clients in Alberta at the moment, which is the kind of answer the insurance question above is meant to get. The site also publishes no client testimonials, which is not modesty. The BC association prohibits them. Where reviews would normally sit, checkable credentials do instead. ## Common questions **Is there an Alberta college of counselling therapists?** Not at present. Counselling therapy is not a regulated profession in Alberta, so there is no college, no licence and no provincial register of counsellors. Psychologists are regulated separately and do have one. **Is psychotherapy regulated in Alberta?** Not yet for counsellors. On 1 March 2024 the Alberta government announced that counsellors will be regulated under the College of Alberta Psychologists, and no proclamation date has been set, so as of October 2026 the title counsellor is still unprotected. Psychologists, who also provide psychotherapy, are regulated by that college now. **So can anyone call themselves a counsellor there?** Effectively yes, which is the practical reason to check certification rather than to rely on the word. The title carries no legal requirement behind it in Alberta. **Is a BC-registered counsellor allowed to see Alberta clients?** There is no Alberta registration to breach, so the constraints are certification and insurance rather than licensing. A counsellor should be able to tell you clearly that their liability cover extends to clients located in Alberta. **Where do I complain if something goes wrong?** To the certification body the counsellor belongs to, the CCPA for a CCC, or the relevant provincial college for a psychologist or an out-of-province registrant. If they belong to nothing, there is no external route, which is the strongest argument for checking at the start. ## Sources - [Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association, certification](https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/) - [Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association, regulation in Alberta (read 3 Oct 2026)](https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/regulation-in-alberta/) - [College of Alberta Psychologists](https://cap.ab.ca/) - [Regulated health professions and regulatory colleges, Government of Alberta](https://www.alberta.ca/regulated-health-professions) - [Health Professions Act, Open Government, Alberta](https://open.alberta.ca/publications/h07) General information, not clinical, financial, or legal advice. Coverage and service details change, verify anything decision-critical directly with the provider or insurer. If you are in crisis, call or text **9-8-8** (Canada, 24/7) or the Recovery Alberta Mental Health Helpline at **1-877-303-2642**. Individual sessions are $140 for 50 minutes, after a free 15-minute consultation; card at booking. Many extended health plans reimburse counselling, depending on the plan, so check yours. [All fees](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/pricing). ## Questions about cost or coverage? A free 15-minute consultation is a good place to ask them, before committing to anything. [Book Free Consultation](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/book) Not ready to book? [Send a line about what is going on](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/contact). A reply comes within one business day. Or a smaller step: [What sessions cost](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/pricing) · [What the free 15 minutes is like](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/resources/before-your-first-consultation) Looking on behalf of someone else? [What to send them, and what not to](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/refer), including the funded routes most people do not know they qualify for. Keep reading ## Related pages [The counsellors here, with their registration numbers](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/practitioners) [What counselling costs in Alberta](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/resources/counselling-coverage-in-alberta) [How to check a counsellor in BC](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/resources/verify-a-counsellor-in-bc) [Standards and accountability at this practice](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/standards) [Why there are no testimonials here](https://www.westpeakwellness.com/reviews)