Recently, I wrote a blog post in response to the CPBAO’s proposed changes to registration standards for psychologists in Ontario. These changes, brought to light by the Ontario Psychological Association (OPA), include potentially removing the doctoral requirement for psychologists and eliminating the four-year supervision requirement for psychological associates. The proposals appear to be aimed at improving access, addressing workforce shortages, and responding to interprovincial mobility concerns.
When I posted about this on LinkedIn, I didn’t expect the level of traction it received. The response was pretty incredible. It’s heartening to see how many people care deeply about the future of our profession and the integrity of psychological services. But I was also surprised—genuinely—by some of the responses.
A number of commenters enthusiastically agreed with the proposed changes, especially those who are already registered psychotherapists (RPs) or psychologists from other provinces. Their argument? That they shouldn’t have to re-do a Master’s degree or repeat training to become registered as a C.Psych. in Ontario.
I understand where that frustration comes from, but I was left scratching my head because that argument completely misses the point.
Why Do You Want to Be a Psychologist?
The question isn’t how hard it is to become a psychologist. The question is: why do you want to become one? And what are you going to do with it?
If your goal is to do excellent therapy, you already have so many relatively low barrier options! Registered Psychotherapist, Social Worker, even Nurse Psychotherapist. These professionals are delivering vital, life-changing care across Ontario every day. They are not “less than.” In fact, they form the backbone of our mental health system. They can open private practices, charge what they believe their services are worth, and deliver evidence-based care.
So if you’re seeking to become a psychologist purely to have more letters after your name, to charge more, or because of perceived prestige, I’d argue that’s a misalignment. Clients don’t generally understand the difference between a psychologist, psychotherapist, or psychiatrist anyway. The public is not walking around saying, “I need a psychologist.” They’re saying, “I need help.”
So if you want to become a psychologist, are you actually planning to practice like one?
Because what differentiates psychologists is not just the volume of our training, it’s what that training qualifies us to do. We are meant to be the providers who:
- Offer comprehensive treatment planning
- Handle diagnostic complexity
- Supervise other clinicians
- Lead teams
- And, I would argue, provide prescriptions, with proper training, to alleviate the immense pressure on family physicians and psychiatrists (but I’ll say more on that in a moment)
Instead, many psychologists in private practice do the exact same work as every other therapist in the province. Excellent therapy, no question, but not differentiated. That’s not a problem in and of itself, but it does create a blurry professional identity.
Which brings me to this: the system needs a reimagining.
We should be taking cues from the dental model. Think:
- Psychotherapists = Dental hygienists: they provide the bulk of patient-facing care.
- Psychologists = Dentists: they diagnose, supervise, oversee, and intervene when needed.
This doesn’t devalue anyone. It clarifies roles. It makes sure everyone is practicing at the top of their training.
And right now? We’re not doing that.
We’re seeing more and more people wanting to become psychologists—but fewer people asking what the system actually needs psychologists to be.
So here are my questions, and I genuinely mean them as an invitation for reflection, not criticism:
- Why do you want to become a psychologist?
- Are you planning to use the full scope of what psychologist training enables you to do? And if so, how?
- And most importantly: how is our College—and our professional association—working to help us define and differentiate the role of psychologists in Ontario’s already saturated mental health marketplace?
Because if we don’t define it, we’ll continue to drift. And eventually, we’ll become indistinguishable. In a field where we already require thousands of hours of training, we should be demanding more clarity, not less.
A Cautionary Tale: When Psychologists Don’t Differentiate
In a hospital setting I worked in years ago, I witnessed firsthand what happens when psychologists refuse to differentiate themselves.
We were working with a highly complex patient population. Exactly the kind of clinical setting that calls for psychologist-level training: complex assessment, diagnostic clarification, treatment planning, and supervising interdisciplinary care. I suggested that the psychologists prioritize the most challenging cases, handle diagnostic clarification, and coordinate care across the broader team.
Instead, they insisted on running group therapy—a service already being delivered beautifully by other therapists on the team. The psychologists seemed to believe that their extra years of education made them better at the same work. But they weren’t offering anything different. They weren’t leveraging their training to fill a unique role, like taking on the more complex cases, coordinate care across the team, or using their research skills to monitor patient outcomes. That could have been the contribution that set our profession apart. Instead, they buried themselves within the team hierarchy, inadvertently sowing tension and diminishing the value of their scope.
Instead, they doubled down on trying to out-therapist the therapists, as though having more years of education made them better at delivering the same services. It didn’t. It just created confusion, tension, and, frankly, resentment. It damaged the team dynamic and, worse, set our profession back in the eyes of our colleagues.
Psychologists are not just therapists with more training. We are trained to take on different responsibilities. When we don’t do that, we create redundancy, confusion, and frustration—both within teams and across the system.
It’s Worst in Private Practice
This lack of differentiation is even worse in private practice. Across Ontario, psychologists are largely working in isolation, doing therapy that’s often indistinguishable from what RPs, social workers, and other providers are offering. We’re rarely conducting diagnostic assessments. We’re not embedded in health care teams. We’re not coordinating care across providers. We’re just…doing therapy. And while that therapy may be excellent, it doesn’t reflect the full scope—or justify the extended training—of our profession.
As a result, we’re losing relevance in a saturated marketplace. Clients don’t understand the difference. Physicians don’t know when or why to refer to us. We are slowly but surely shrinking our role in the bigger picture of health care—and hurting the system’s potential for integrated, evidence-based mental health care in the process.
If we want to remain essential, we need to stop blending in. We need to lead.
It’s Time to Reimagine the Mental Health System
This isn’t just about who does what—it’s about designing a system that works. Right now, Ontario’s mental health care system is full of dedicated professionals. But it lacks a clear structure for how those professionals work together.
As I said above, we need a dentist-style model:
Psychotherapists and Social Workers = the hygienists and dental assistants: they provide the vast majority of care and do it well.
Psychologists = the dentists: they diagnose, supervise, create treatment plans, and step in when advanced intervention is needed.
This doesn’t mean one role is better than the other. It means each role is practiced at the top of its scope—with clear coordination and leadership.
And here’s my big-picture argument: psychologists should be leading this structural change.
Why I Think Prescription Rights Are the Future
If we’re serious about solving the mental health crisis, we have to face a tough truth: therapy alone isn’t always enough. The research is clear—combined treatment with therapy and medication yields the best outcomes for many disorders.
Right now, the only people with prescribing authority are family physicians and psychiatrists—both of whom are overworked and inaccessible. Psychologists, with our diagnostic training and clinical knowledge, are the obvious next step in expanding access to medication responsibly.
This already exists in multiple U.S. jurisdictions and is well-supported by research. But we can’t credibly fight for prescribing rights if we’re simultaneously lowering the training bar.
You can’t argue you’re ready to prescribe while also arguing that you shouldn’t need additional education to join the profession. That’s just not how credibility works.
What Needs to Happen Now
If we want psychology to have a meaningful role in the future of mental health care, we need to do more than maintain the current standards—we need to clarify and expand them.
We need to protect the depth and rigor of psychologist training.
We need to position psychologists in system-level leadership roles.
We need to prepare the profession for scope expansion, including prescribing rights.
And yes—we need to contact the CPBAO, the OPA, and our MPPs to advocate for a system that uses every professional to their fullest potential.
Let’s make sure psychologist training isn’t watered down or misused. Let’s make sure it means something.
If you haven’t already, contact:
The CPBAO: info@cpbao.ca
The Ontario Psychological Association: membership@psych.on.ca
Your MPP: https://www.ola.org/en/members/current
Dr. Jenn Bossio is a Clinical and Health Psychologist, the founder and director of the Tri Health Clinic—Ontario’s largest sex and couples therapy practice—and a passionate advocate for system-level change in mental health care. Based in Kingston, she was named Business Person of the Year (2025) and recognized as one of the Top 40 Under 40 (2024). Jenn is committed to redefining the role of psychologists in a rapidly evolving health care landscape.
- Why Over 1,200 Psychology Registrants in Ontario Have Signed a Letter of Non-Confidence
- The CPBAO Wants to Rewrite Psychologist Training in Ontario. The Data Says That’s a Terrible Idea.
- Why Solo Practice Can Be Risky in Sex Therapy (And What We’re Doing Differently at the Tri Health Clinic)
- What This Moment Has Shown Me About Psychology
- Ontario Psychologists Are Standing Up for the Future of Mental Health Care