Description:These standards of practice were developed by the Canadian Counselling and
Psychotherapy Association to provide direction and guidelines to enable its
members, and other counsellors and psychotherapists in Canada1
, and counsellors-in-training, to conduct themselves in a professional manner consistent with
the CCPA Code of Ethics. They are also intended to serve the following purposes:
• To support statutory and professional self-regulation by establishing a shared set of expectations related to the many areas of counselling-related
activities and responsibilities;
• To protect the public by establishing a set of expectations for quality
counselling services and for the maintenance of counsellor accountability;
• To establish a set of expectations for ethically competent professional
behaviour which counsellors may use to monitor, evaluate, and work to
improve their professional practices;
• To serve as the foundation for addressing professional queries and ethics related complaints, and
• To establish expectations for counsellor education, supervision, and to
provide support for ongoing professional development.