Licensed clinical professional counsellor (LCPC) is a professional who has been qualified to provide psychotherapy and other counselling services. LCPCs are trained to work with individuals, families, and groups to treat mental, behavioural and emotional problems and disorders. The main goal of LCPCs is to use counselling strategies to help people live a more satisfying life, which typically involves identifying a goal and finding potential solutions.
Different from psychologists, who mainly focus on comprehension and assessment of mental process, LCPCs work with clients to solve a specific problem that has been diagnosed. LCPCs can have a range of different backgrounds. They must obtain a minimum of a master’s degree in fields that are relevant to counselling, such as Psychology and Nursing. A certain amount of training under the supervision of a professional counsellor is also required. The detailed requirements for licensure may vary from province to province in Canada.
By far the only provinces with statutory regulation are Québec, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. In these three provinces, there are written laws set by a legislature to regulate the behaviours of counsellors, "[1]”. Some provinces like Alberta and British Columbia have an umbrella health professions governance statute that could be used as a framework for having counselling regulated. There are two major national associations, Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) and Canadian Professional Counsellors Association (CPCA), “CPCA-RPC CPCA-RPC”. They provide certification and accreditation that act as a base of provincial regulation. The certification of counsellors is available through the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA).