Bringing Alberta’s Counselling Therapy Workforce to the Provincial Table

Dear Counselling Therapy / Psychotherapy Professionals,

Earlier this year, ACTA asked Alberta’s counselling therapy and psychotherapy profession to help build a clear, current picture of our workforce — who we are, where we work, the Albertans we serve, the barriers we face, and what regulation could unlock.

You responded.

A total of 1,381 counselling therapists and psychotherapists practicing in Alberta completed the 2026 Workforce Survey, representing approximately 29% of Alberta’s 4,551 confirmed counselling therapy workforce. With an approximate ±2.2% margin of error at a 95% confidence level, the response gave ACTA a strong evidence base to bring forward on behalf of the profession.

And that evidence has been brought directly to the provincial table.

In June, ACTA Chair Nicole Imgrund and CEO & Registrar Laura Hahn presented the survey findings to Alberta’s Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Workforce Advisory Committee.

ACTA brought forward evidence on the profession’s size, experience and capacity, along with the impact the lack of regulation is having on workforce integration, access to care, retention, mobility and public protection.

The central finding was clear: Alberta already has a substantial, trained counselling therapy/psychotherapy workforce. Regulation under the Health Professions Act provides a pathway for that existing workforce to contribute more fully within Alberta’s mental health and addiction system. 
 

What the Evidence Shows

The numbers tell a significant workforce story:

The evidence allowed ACTA to demonstrate that regulation has implications for Alberta’s workforce capacity, access to mental health care and public protection.

Read the Full Workforce Brief → HERE

ACTA also developed a dedicated Indigenous Counselling Therapy Services and Workforce Development Brief, drawing on the Workforce Survey and the work of ACTA’s Indigenous Counselling Therapist Working Group.

The evidence identified an important access and workforce gap. Because counselling therapy/psychotherapy is not provincially regulated in Alberta, they cannot provide services through the federal Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program — including Indigenous counselling therapists who are trained and positioned to provide culturally relevant and responsive care within their own communities.

The barriers extend beyond NIHB. Counselling therapists can also be excluded from positions across the health system, community services and Indigenous-led organizations where regulated status is required. This means Indigenous counselling therapists are being blocked from positions serving their own communities, despite bringing both professional training and important cultural knowledge to that work.

For ACTA, this represents both an access and workforce opportunity: regulation would open NIHB eligibility to qualified counselling therapists while helping remove barriers that currently prevent Indigenous counselling therapists from contributing their full capacity.

Read the Indigenous Workforce Brief → HERE

ACTA has continued to emphasize that workforce capacity and public protection go hand in hand.

Alberta currently has no protected title or statutory complaints and discipline mechanism for counselling therapy. Regulation establishes enforceable professional standards and accountability while also allowing qualified practitioners to integrate more fully into Alberta’s health and mental health systems.

Our message to the Committee has been consistent: regulation strengthens public protection while enabling an existing mental health workforce to contribute its full capacity within the system and ACTA is here and committed to supporting the completion of regulation.

Alongside presenting the 2026 Workforce Survey findings to the Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Workforce Advisory Committee, ACTA also provided the survey findings and supporting briefs directly to the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, Rick Wilson.

In his July 23 response, Minister Wilson commended ACTA for undertaking the workforce survey and sharing the findings, and confirmed that the materials had been forwarded to Ministry staff for review and consideration.

Most importantly, his letter reinforced the connection between regulation, Alberta’s workforce and public protection:

“Alberta’s government remains committed to improving access to safe, high-quality, and consistent mental health and addiction services for all Albertans, and continues to view regulation as an important component of workforce utilization and public protection in a way that aligns with the Alberta Recovery Model."

Minister Wilson concluded by saying that he “look[s] forward to continuing to work with the Association of Counselling Therapy of Alberta.” Minister Wilson, July 23, 2026

For ACTA, the response is an important acknowledgement that the evidence developed by the profession is reaching government and contributing to ongoing discussions about workforce utilization, access to care, public protection and regulation of the profession. We appreciate the ongoing partnership with government and the work already underway together, and remain committed to continuing to support and contribute to that work.

Read Minister Wilson’s Letter → Here

Behind every number in these briefs is a counselling therapist or psychotherapist who took the time to participate.

Your responses gave ACTA the evidence to bring a strong, credible picture of this profession directly into provincial workforce discussions.

Together, we have demonstrated that counselling therapists and psychotherapists are not a workforce Alberta needs to build someday. This is an established, experienced workforce already serving Albertans — and ready to contribute more.

ACTA will continue to bring this evidence forward as we work toward a clear regulatory pathway for counselling therapy in Alberta.

Thank you to everyone who participated. Your voice became evidence, and that evidence is helping ensure the contribution of Alberta’s counselling therapy profession is understood and heard.

ACTA members were emailed the free promo code.