Practice Areas & Client Groups

CPBAO doesn’t specify hard borders between age ranges for the different population groups. The approximate ranges for each population group are the following:

• Children up to ages 12 or 13;
• Adolescents up to age 19;
• Adults to 65 or 70;
• Seniors 70 and above.

Registrants are expected to use their professional judgment to determine whether a client falls within the population(s) they are authorized to serve. When trying to determine if a client at a border age falls within your client group, you should consider whether the person’s abilities, life circumstances and challenges are consistent with population group norms you are authorized to work with.

To determine whether you are authorized and competent to provide a service, the reason for the initiation of services should determine whether you have the required competency.

If the service is unrelated to a client service, you may provide general services without a specific authorization or client group, such as:

• act as an administrator of an organization that serves various populations;
• conduct a research study; or
• teach an undergraduate course.

See Standard 5.1 – Authorized Areas and Client Groups for more information and examples.

Reflection Questions:

• Have I conducted a comprehensive intake assessment to ensure I understand the client’s challenges and complete case presentation?
• Are the client’s presenting issues consistent with issues within my authorized client groups and authorized area(s) of practice?
• Do I have the necessary knowledge, skills and training to provide the services being requested?
• Have I treated this case presentation in the past?
• Are there challenges that could arise that would fall outside my competence or require specialization that I do not possess?
• Would it be in the client’s best interests to refer them to someone with specific skills or training in this area?
• Should I consult with other colleagues to seek further clarification?

Autonomous practice registrants must undertake training and supervision to achieve competency.

Please make a written request to the Registration Committee specifying the practice area or client group you wish to add and provide detailed information on how you have or plan to obtain the knowledge and skills in this new area.

CPBAO's Guidelines for Change of Area of Practice outline the process in more detail.

Reflection Questions:

• If I wish to treat this case presentation in the future, what training do I need to address my knowledge gap(s)?
• Who can I consult with to help plan my educational needs?
• Can my learning goals be incorporated into my professional development plan under the Quality Assurance program?

There may be situations where it’s appropriate to involve a client’s family member to support their treatment. Providers may involve family member(s) to support the client’s treatment, but the family member(s) wouldn’t be the object of the intervention. For example, family member(s) may be involved in facilitating changes in the client’s environment or trained to reinforce part of a behavioural intervention program. A family member may also attend sessions with a person who requires support, and to help the client obtain optimal benefit from therapy.

However, if the purpose of involving family members is to facilitate changes in family dynamics or the way family members interact, you must be authorized in families and have specialized knowledge and training, as this would be viewed as a family intervention. For example, targeting a client’s symptoms or behaviours by addressing the patterns of interaction between family members.

Reflection Questions:

• Who is the recipient of services?
• What is the purpose of the intervention, and who is it targeted towards?
• Am I working with members of the family to affect change in the family dynamics? If so, am I authorized for the client group of “families”?

“Parents” are not identified as a specific client group. The required competency will depend on the specific services being provided to parents, for example:

• To provide psychoeducation to parents about child development and advice on addressing childhood difficulties, you must be authorized to work with children to understand the developmental factors at play with children/adolescents.
• To help parents improve their relationship with their child, you must be authorized to work with families and have the specialized knowledge, skill, and experience in family dynamics.
• If the service is intended to help the parents work together as a couple, you must be authorized to work with couples.
• If the work involves assisting a parent who experiences challenges in interacting with a child and requires them to receive individual therapy to address their own difficulties, you must be authorized to work with clients within that parent’s age group.

Reflection Questions:

• Does the focus of the intervention relate to a client group I am authorized to provide services to?
• Am I competent to provide the service for its intended target/purpose (ie. to support parents with child development concerns, the parent-child relationship, couple dynamics, or to provide individual therapy)?

The “Definition of Practice Areas” is included in the Registration Guidelines.

Clinical Psychology is defined as: "the application of knowledge about human behaviour to the assessment, diagnosis and/or treatment of individuals with disorders of behaviour, emotions and thought”.

Counselling Psychology is defined as: fostering and improving human functioning by helping individuals solve problems, make decisions and cope with stresses of everyday life. It addresses difficulties that may cause distress to an otherwise well-functioning or psychologically healthy individual, including challenges related to work/career/education, family and social relationships, mental health, and physical health. Some common examples are bereavement, unemployment, marital separation, or bankruptcy, etc.

If a client presents with indicators that suggest they may have a diagnosable disorder, you should consider whether the assessment should be conducted by a Clinical Psychologist. Beginning to work with a client who may need to be transferred could be disruptive.

Registrants who practice Counselling Psychology have the ability to formulate and communicate a differential diagnosis to develop an appropriate counselling intervention and to identify clients who must be referred.

Reflection Questions:

• Are the presenting issues related to “fostering and improving human functioning by helping individuals solve problems, make decisions and cope with stresses of everyday life”?
• Does the intake assessment of the client indicate there are other potential disorders or presenting challenges regarding "the application of knowledge about human behaviour to the assessment, diagnosis and/or treatment of individuals with disorders of behaviour, emotions and thought”?
• If the client is presenting anxiety or depression, are the conditions relatively mild and related to the stresses of everyday life?
• How long has the client been experiencing the presenting challenges?
• How severe or debilitating are these issues?
• Is it in the client’s best interests for me to treat their presenting issues, or would it be less disruptive to refer them now?
• Have I treated this case presentation in the past?
• Do I have the necessary knowledge, skills and training to provide the services being requested?
• Are there challenges that might arise that could fall outside of my competence or require specialization that I do not possess?