Guide · Therapy practices

What a therapy
site may say.

Registered psychotherapists in Ontario work under the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). Its advertising rules are short but strict: no testimonials, not even a link to your reviews, and a fixed way to write every clinician's title. Here is what the law and the College's standards mean for a practice website, Google listing and social profiles.

Published 2026-11-04 · Formory Marketing Group

The Psychotherapy Act, 2007 reserves "psychotherapist", "registered psychotherapist" and "registered mental health therapist" for College members (section 8), with fines of up to $25,000 for a first offence and $50,000 after that (section 10). The Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA) makes psychotherapy a controlled act: treating, by psychotherapy technique, a serious disorder of thought, cognition, mood, emotional regulation, perception or memory (section 27(2), paragraph 14).

The day-to-day rules are CRPO's Professional Practice Standards, comprehensively updated on January 1, 2024. Standard 6.2 covers advertising and defines it widely: registrant websites, social media accounts, paid or in-kind promotion on any platform, and the business name of the practice. The Professional Misconduct Regulation (O. Reg. 317/12) lists misleading advertising and the use of testimonials as misconduct (section 1, paragraphs 29 and 30). In June 2026 the College added a Guideline on Social Media that applies the same rules to posts and profiles.

If an agency writes your site, Standard 6.2.6 still makes you responsible for reasonable steps to keep it compliant; the commentary names marketing consultants.

Standard 6.2.2 is one line: registrants do not request or solicit testimonials or use them in their advertising. The standard defines a review as a type of testimonial and includes star ratings and rankings such as "top 3 psychotherapists in the city". Testimonial carousels, "what clients say" pages and Google star badges all come off a therapy website.

Clients may still review you on third-party sites, as long as you do not ask them to and do not influence which reviews are published. But the standard says registrants should not advertise or promote those reviews, and CRPO's Practice Matters article on testimonials (updated September 2024) adds that linking your advertising directly to a rating or review site could be considered using a testimonial. A "Read our Google reviews" button is exactly that link, and asking clients to write a review is listed as inappropriate.

The same article says a community voting award can count as a testimonial, and that asking clients to vote for you in a "best of" contest is inappropriate. The social media guideline also warns that anonymised client stories can still identify someone, and that section 33 of the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 bars using health information for marketing without express consent.

Standard 6.2.4 rules out three kinds of claims: promising a result that cannot be delivered; comparisons with others, superlatives or suggestions that your practice is unique; and appeals to fear. The College's own examples of what not to write include "you'll get the job you always wanted", "the best therapy available" and "avoid being alone, come in for therapy". The social media guideline adds "Guaranteed stability and recovery".

The practice name is advertising too. CRPO's business practice page gives "Best Therapy Services" and "Guaranteed Results Psychotherapy Clinic" as inappropriate names. Paid placements, such as a sponsored "best therapists" list or an influencer post, must be recognisable as ads (Standard 6.2.5).

You may say you are registered with the College, but not put the CRPO logo on your website, social media or business cards; the College says it could suggest an endorsement.

Standard 1.2 sets the title for each class: Registered Psychotherapist or RP; Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) or RP (Qualifying), and the College says "RP(Q)" is not an approved form; plus Temporary and Inactive versions. The name must match the College's public register. Placing the regulated title right after the name and degree gives it the required prominence, as in the College's example "Sandra Smith, M.A., Registered Psychotherapist".

List only education related to psychotherapy, normally the highest such credential. An RP with a Ph.D. may show the degree but may not use "Dr" when offering or providing health care (Standard 1.2.5 and section 33 of the RHPA).

Students and applicants without a certificate cannot use protected titles. The College suggests "student therapist" or "therapist in training", naming their program and noting that they practise under clinical supervision. A practicum student listed on a team page as a "psychotherapist" is the standard's own example of false advertising.

Psychotherapy is not reserved to RPs. CRPO's controlled act page names five other Ontario colleges whose registrants may practise it: psychologists, social workers and social service workers, nurses, occupational therapists and physicians.

Those clinicians may call themselves psychotherapists only in a set format. Under section 33.1 of the RHPA, a nurse, occupational therapist, physician or psychologist authorised to perform the controlled act who writes "psychotherapist" must give their full name first, then their college, their profession or their own restricted title, and only then "psychotherapist". Section 47.2 of the Social Work and Social Service Work Act, 1998 sets the same pattern, so "Alex Chen, Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist" works and "Alex Chen, Psychotherapist" does not.

The "Dr" rule differs by profession as well. Psychologists and physicians may use it under section 33 of the RHPA, and a social worker with an earned doctorate may on the conditions in section 47.3 of the social work Act. An RP may not. Coaches and other unregulated staff cannot be called psychotherapists, and Standard 1.2.6 bars RPs from helping anyone misrepresent themselves as a registrant.

CRPO does not confer specialty designations. Standard 1.2.3 allows a term implying specialisation only if it was earned, comes from a recognised credentialing body, meets established standards, and the RP title stays more prominent. Advertising must never suggest that the College recognises you as qualified in a specialty.

Describing your practice is fine: the populations you serve, the issues you treat, your approach. The standard's example of acceptable wording is "practice in family and couples therapy". Standard 6.2.7 adds that you advertise an area only with verifiable training in it, and the commentary notes that issues such as addiction or eating disorders may need training beyond entry to practice. On directories with tick-box lists, CRPO asks RPs to review every item they select.

Standard 6.1.1 requires a standardised fee schedule, available to current and prospective clients and shared before services begin. It includes administrative fees, such as reports and record copies, and missed-appointment fees. Not telling a client the fee before a service is also misconduct under the regulation (paragraph 20).

A sliding scale is expressly allowed. Discounts for prompt payment, prepayment or a preferred payment method are not (Standards 6.1.3 and 6.1.5), and the commentary says RPs should not pass credit card processing fees on to clients.

Free initial consultations are allowed if you deliver what you advertised. The College's example: do not offer an "hour" of therapy assuming clients know it means 50 minutes. Session packages and monthly subscriptions are block fees, which need a written agreement covering the services, the total fee, payment and refunds, with refunds expected within seven days of a request.

The controlled act applies to practitioners outside Ontario treating clients in Ontario, for example by video. CRPO's cross-border tool says an RP can serve Ontario clients without living or working here. For clients elsewhere, the RP must check that jurisdiction's rules, including titles they may not use or advertise there, and the tool lists advertising aimed at a particular jurisdiction as a factor.

A compliant therapy site has a team page with each clinician's registered name and the right title in the right order; areas of practice backed by training; a fees page with the full schedule, cancellation fees and sliding-scale policy; and session length stated plainly. It has no testimonials, star badges, review buttons, "best" claims, promises, CRPO logo or "Dr" before an RP's name. Our notes on websites for therapists cover the rest.

This is a plain summary of the Psychotherapy Act, 2007, the RHPA and CRPO standards and guidance as of November 2026, not legal or professional advice; CRPO's practice advisory service answers questions about specific situations.

• Psychotherapy Act, 2007, S.O. 2007, c. 10, Sched. R — sections 4, 8 and 10
• Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 — sections 27, 33 and 33.1
• O. Reg. 317/12 (Professional Misconduct) under the Psychotherapy Act, 2007 — section 1
• Social Work and Social Service Work Act, 1998 — sections 46, 47.2 and 47.3
• CRPO — Professional Practice Standards (comprehensive update effective January 1, 2024)
• CRPO — Standard 6.2: Advertising
• CRPO — Standard 1.2: Use of Terms, Titles, and Designations
• CRPO — Standard 6.1: Fees
• CRPO Practice Matters — Advertising: Testimonials, Endorsements, and Community Voting Awards (updated September 2024)
• CRPO Practice Matters — Can I use the CRPO logo in my advertising?
• CRPO — Business Practice Information (naming your practice)
• CRPO — Controlled Act of Psychotherapy
• CRPO — Cross Border Therapy Tool
• CRPO — Guideline on Social Media (approved June 11, 2026)

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