Town Hall Overview: Mental Health and Addiction Workforce Planning & Regulation

At our recent town hall, ACTA shared updates on its work with the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction and the Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Workforce Advisory Committee to support the development of regulation for the counselling profession in Alberta through a workforce lens.

This work is being advanced within a broader mental health and addiction workforce planning context, where regulation is being discussed alongside system priorities such as access to care, workforce capacity, and integration within Alberta’s evolving health system. This approach reflects a focus not only on progressing regulation, but on ensuring it is shaped in a way that supports a sustainable workforce working to full scope of practice and enhances access to services for Albertans.

ACTA is participating as a valued partner in this process, contributing profession-specific insight and regulatory insight to ensure counselling therapists are appropriately understood and positioned within these discussions.

The session also highlighted the launch of the 2026 Counselling Therapy / Psychotherapy Workforce Survey, a province-wide, time-limited initiative designed to gather Alberta-specific data to inform ongoing planning and decision-making.

As this work continues, engagement from across the profession remains important. Participation in the survey and involvement with ACTA help ensure the counselling therapy workforce is meaningfully reflected in this evolving process.