Regulation Update and Newsletter
We are excited to share an important development with you on regulation of counselling in Alberta —
and to thank those who have helped make it possible!
ACTA is on Government's Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Workforce Advisory Committee
We are writing to share an important development — and to thank those who have helped make it possible.
ACTA has been invited by the Government of Alberta to participate in the Mental Health and Addiction (MHA) Recovery Workforce Advisory Committee, a provincial committee advising on mental health and addiction workforce needs as part of Alberta’s Health Workforce Strategy and Recovery-Oriented System of Care. Regulation of the counselling profession needs to align with Alberta’s evolving health system refocus efforts and integrated, forward-looking workforce planning.
ACTA's Role in Supporting Workforce and System Readiness
The Health Workforce Strategy recognizes that Alberta cannot meet its growing mental health and addiction needs without the right professionals in the right roles — practising to full scope, working in integrated teams, and supported by sustainable systems. Regulation is a key component to workforce development and sustainability.
ACTA was invited to participate as the coordinated regulatory voice for the unregulated counselling profession in Alberta.
While the table includes other regulatory colleges, ACTA is the only organization representing the unregulated counselling therapy profession — a reflection of our mandate to prepare the profession for statutory regulation and support system alignment and innovation as partners of Government. We view this committee as a meaningful step forward in identifying practical, innovative pathways toward regulation to maximize counselling therapists contribution to Alberta’s mental health and addiction workforce.
ACTA's Contribution
Counsellors are a core part of Alberta’s mental health and addiction workforce while they remain unregulated Counsellors are unable to work to their full scope of practice in all quadrants of the health system;
ACTA brings a coordinated, profession-wide voice to conversations about scope of practice, career pathways, and system access;
We are able to contribute to solutions around recruitment, retention, and workforce readiness, grounded in real-world experience.
We contribute to system-level thinking and bring forward regulatory and workforce insights that support future innovations in mental health and addiction care.
How This Work Connects to Regulation
What we know to be true, is that regulation is deeply connected to workforce planning.
The ability to recruit, retain, and mobilize a mental health workforce depends on how scopes of practice are defined, supported, and integrated into the system.
When a profession is regulated:
Governments and employers can identify who is qualified to do what, and where the gaps are;
Professionals can work to defined and expandable scopes of practice, with better clarity and mobility;
Data can be collected to inform system planning;
The public can trust in consistent standards, safety, and professional accountability.
These elements are essential to building a workforce that can grow, adapt, and be retained over time — a core focus of the committee’s work.
Committee Mandate
From now through Fall 2026, the MHA Workforce Advisory Committee will provide government with practical recommendations in areas such as:
Workforce needs for new models like Recovery Communities and Compassionate Intervention;
Strategies to support provider recruitment, retention, and sustainability;
Evolving scopes of practice and integrated care;
Workforce risks that could affect access, equity, and implementation;
System alignment across the provincial Health Workforce Strategy.
ACTA’s participation helps ensure that counselling professionals are appropriately understood, positioned, and included in these conversations to advance regulation.
As ACTA contributes to provincial workforce planning and regulation,
we are preparing to launcha profession-wide workforce survey throughout the province. The survey will help demonstrate the size, scope, and readiness of counselling professionals in Alberta for regulation
and for working to their full scope of practice.
Extensive participation from the whole profession will be essential!
Watch for the survey release in late February, and prepare to share it with colleagues.
Not yet on ACTA’s Registry to Demonstrate Readiness for Regulation?
ACTA’s credibility and capacity to contribute to this work exists because of the professionals who choose to register and engage with us.
Membership in ACTA:
Supports the development of regulatory workforce solutions that reflect both public protection and system needs;
Signals that unregulated counsellors are organized, accountable, and committed to high standards of practice;
Helps ensure the profession is visible, counted, and positioned for regulations as Alberta’s mental health and addiction system continues to evolve.
Government recognition of ACTA as a valued and active partner is made possible by the profession’s collective commitment — including you.
To our members: thank you.
Your investment enables ACTA to engage credibly within political and provincial discussions to serve as a steady voice for professional regulation and your scope of practice.
Check out our webpage on details on how to register as an ACTA member or attend one of our upcoming registration webinars: https://www.acta-alberta.ca/intermediate-route
Sincerely,
ACTA Chair, Nicole Imgrund &
Chair-Elect, Dr. Erinn Bailey-Sawatzky
Upcoming ACTA Town Halls - Register Now
ACTA is offering a series of upcoming town halls to share a political and system update on regulation and workforce, explain why ACTA’s upcoming workforce survey participation is critical, and discuss the role of ACTA membership at this stage of the profession’s development. These sessions will be facilitated by ACTA’s CEO & Registrar, Board Chair, and members of the Board. There is an opportunity to hear directly from ACTA leadership and ask questions.
