WINNIPEG - A group of mental health therapists is asking the Manitoba government to enact oversight regulation to govern the work they do. Federation of Associations for Counselling Therapist's chairman Don Russell says he’s worried that professional counsellors outside their membership who lack the right formal training or qualifications pose a danger to clients.
The federation of nine associations, representing over 600 therapists in the province, is requesting that the province’s health minister regulate counselling therapy under the Health Professions Act, saying oversight is especially needed with the increasing number of Manitobans looking for counselling amid an opioid crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Russel says his members are being told of negative or harmful experiences by clients who had sought help from other workers involved in mental health treatment. He says FACT is looking to unify regulation among social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists, to provide a continuum of care, and encourage collaboration among colleagues.
Russell recommends looking into a counsellor’s code of ethics and standards before beginning therapy with them.
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