What is a Registered Psychotherapist?
A Registered Psychotherapist is a regulated mental health professional in Ontario, trained in talk therapy and overseen by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario.
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RP vs psychologist vs RSW: what is the difference, and which do you need?
A Registered Psychotherapist (RP), a Registered Social Worker (RSW), and a psychologist (C.Psych) are three separate regulated health designations in Ontario. All three can provide therapy. The key differences are in education level, scope of practice, and fee: psychologists hold doctoral degrees and can diagnose; RPs and RSWs focus on talk therapy without diagnosing; RSWs also work in broader social systems contexts.
Short answer
You have decided to see a therapist. You are looking at profiles online, and suddenly you are reading abbreviations: RP, RSW, C.Psych, Qualifying, MSW. You do not know whether any of them are the right fit, and you are not even sure what the difference is between a Registered Psychotherapist and a social worker, or why one person calls themselves a psychotherapist while another calls themselves a psychologist.
The confusion is understandable. Ontario regulates five groups of professionals who can legally provide therapy, and the titles, training requirements, and scopes of practice genuinely differ. This article explains the three designations you are most likely to encounter: Registered Psychotherapist (RP), Registered Social Worker (RSW), and Registered Psychologist (C.Psych). It also explains what questions to ask, how to verify credentials, and how any of them compares to what Saalvio offers.
RP vs RSW vs psychologist: at a glance
Here is the full picture before going deeper into each designation.
A few things to note about this table: fees shown are typical private practice rates in Ontario for a 50-minute individual session and are not fixed. Many clinicians set their own rates based on experience, specialization, and practice overhead. The "can diagnose" row refers to a formal psychological diagnosis, not a clinical assessment. All three designations conduct clinical assessments and work with complex presentations. Only psychologists are authorized to deliver a formal psychological diagnosis in Ontario.
| Registered Psychotherapist (RP) | Registered Social Worker (RSW) | Psychologist (C.Psych) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Designation | RP | RSW | C.Psych |
| Regulatory college | CRPO | OCSWSSW | CPBAO |
| Legislation | Psychotherapy Act, 2007 | Social Work and Social Service Work Act, 1998 | Psychology and Applied Behaviour Analysis Act, 2021 |
| Minimum education | Master's-level program in psychotherapy | Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) or Master of Social Work (MSW) | Doctoral degree in psychology (PhD or PsyD) |
| Scope | Talk therapy: assessment and treatment of cognitive, emotional, or behavioural disturbances | Counselling, case management, systems navigation, advocacy, therapy | Psychological assessment, diagnosis, research, therapy |
| Can diagnose | No | No | Yes |
| Can prescribe | No | No | No |
| Insurance coverage | Most extended health plans (CRPO-regulated) | Most extended health plans (OCSWSSW-regulated) | Most extended health plans; some plans require C.Psych specifically |
| Typical session fee (Ontario 2026) | $130 to $200 | $120 to $180 | $200 to $350+ |
What is a Registered Psychotherapist (RP)?
A Registered Psychotherapist is a clinician regulated by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). The CRPO regulates over 14,000 RPs in Ontario under the Psychotherapy Act, 2007, and its primary mandate is to protect the public from unqualified or incompetent practice.
Only individuals registered with the CRPO (or with one of the five other regulatory colleges authorized to perform psychotherapy in Ontario) may use the protected title "Registered Psychotherapist" or the designation RP. Using that title without registration is illegal in Ontario.
What training does an RP have?
The CRPO requires a master's-level program central to the practice of psychotherapy for registration. This is typically a master's degree in counselling psychology, psychotherapy, social work, or a related field, along with a minimum number of supervised direct client contact hours before the clinician moves from Qualifying to full RP status.
The two registration categories you may see on a therapist's profile:
- Registered Psychotherapist (RP). The clinician has completed at least 1,000 direct client contact hours and 150 clinical supervision hours and may practise independently without ongoing supervision.
- Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying). The clinician is on the path to full registration and must practise under the supervision of a qualified RP or other authorized professional. The CRPO regulates both categories. A Qualifying RP is still a regulated professional.
What does an RP do in sessions?
The CRPO defines the scope of practice as "the assessment and treatment of cognitive, emotional or behavioural disturbances by psychotherapeutic means, delivered through a therapeutic relationship based primarily on verbal or non-verbal communication." In plain language: RP sessions are structured conversations aimed at reducing psychological distress, changing unhelpful thought and behaviour patterns, and building coping skills.
Approaches commonly used by RPs include CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy), DBT (dialectical behaviour therapy), EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), somatic approaches, and trauma-informed care. The modality depends on the individual clinician's training, not the designation itself.
What an RP cannot do
An RP cannot formally diagnose a mental health condition. They can assess, formulate, and treat, but a formal psychological diagnosis or opinion is within the scope of psychologists, not RPs. An RP also cannot prescribe medication. Medication management is handled by physicians and psychiatrists.
How to verify an RP in Ontario
Every RP in Ontario is listed on the CRPO's public register. You can search by name at crpo.ca and see the clinician's registration status, category (RP or Qualifying), and whether any restrictions or conditions apply to their practice. Saalvio verifies every clinician's credentials against the live register before publishing their profile. The registration number appears on every Saalvio receipt for insurance reimbursement purposes.
What is a Registered Social Worker (RSW)?
A Registered Social Worker is regulated by the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW). The OCSWSSW regulates over 33,000 social workers and social service workers in Ontario under the Social Work and Social Service Work Act, 1998. Only registered college members may use the protected title "registered social worker" or the designation RSW.
What training does an RSW have?
As described on the OCSWSSW's public information page, RSWs typically hold a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) or a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. A BSW program in Ontario is four years; an MSW adds one to two further years. Social work education at the master's level includes substantial clinical training, supervision, and practicum hours. MSW-level RSWs are the most common designation you will encounter in private therapy practice.
What does an RSW do that is different from an RP?
This is where people most often get confused. An RSW who works as a private therapist can deliver the same clinical approaches as an RP: CBT, DBT, ACT, EMDR, trauma-informed care, and others. In a therapy context, what they do in a session is often indistinguishable from what an RP does.
The meaningful difference is in training origins and broader scope. Social work education has a distinct lens: it situates the individual within their social environment, attends to structural and systemic factors (housing, poverty, immigration status, racism, family systems), and trains clinicians in case management, advocacy, and community navigation alongside therapy skills. An RSW in private practice may bring this systems perspective to their clinical work even when the session looks, on the surface, like a straightforward individual therapy appointment.
In hospital, school, or community settings, RSWs work across a broader range of roles: connecting clients to housing resources, navigating benefits, coordinating care across systems, and working with families and groups. In private therapy practice, their role narrows to clinical therapy.
What an RSW cannot do
Like RPs, RSWs in private practice cannot formally diagnose a mental health condition and cannot prescribe medication. They can conduct clinical assessments and formulate a presentation, but the formal psychological diagnosis is reserved for psychologists.
How to verify an RSW in Ontario
Every RSW in Ontario is listed on the OCSWSSW's online register at ocswssw.org. Search by name and confirm registration status, any conditions or notations, and the clinician's employer contact information. Registration confirmation takes less than two minutes and is a reasonable step before any first appointment.
What is a registered psychologist (C.Psych)?
A psychologist in Ontario is regulated by the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario (CPBAO). (The college was formerly called the College of Psychologists of Ontario and was renamed following the regulation of behaviour analysts under the Psychology and Applied Behaviour Analysis Act, 2021.) Only members of the CPBAO may use the protected title "psychologist" or the designation C.Psych, or describe their services using the term "psychological."
What training does a psychologist have?
To use the title "psychologist" in Ontario, a clinician must hold a doctoral degree in psychology, either a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) or a PsyD (Doctor of Psychology). Doctoral programs in clinical psychology in Canada typically take five to seven years beyond an undergraduate degree and include an extensive clinical practicum, a supervised internship year, and multiple registration examinations. The CPBAO also registers Psychological Associates (C.Psych.Assoc.), who hold a master's degree in psychology and four years of post-master's supervised practice, though this path may be evolving under recent regulatory changes.
What can a psychologist do that an RP or RSW cannot?
The most significant difference is that psychologists are authorized to formulate and communicate a formal psychological diagnosis. This is a controlled act in Ontario. If you are seeking a formal assessment (for example, for ADHD, learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, or a psycho-legal assessment), you generally need a psychologist or a medical doctor.
Psychologists can also conduct standardized psychological testing and assessment, which involves administering, scoring, and interpreting validated psychometric instruments. These assessments are frequently required for academic accommodations, disability determinations, certain insurance claims, and court proceedings. They are not something an RP or RSW is authorized to provide.
In terms of ongoing talk therapy, psychologists practise the same evidence-based modalities as RPs and RSWs. The quality of the therapeutic relationship and the approach are not determined by the designation alone.
When do you specifically need a psychologist?
- Formal psychological assessment. Learning disabilities, ADHD assessment, autism spectrum diagnosis, neuropsychological testing, or psycho-educational assessments for school or university accommodations.
- Psychological diagnosis for legal or disability purposes. Some disability benefit applications, insurance disputes, and legal proceedings require a formal diagnosis signed by a regulated psychologist.
- Insurance plan requires it. A small number of older benefit plans specify "psychologist" rather than "registered psychotherapist" or "mental health professional." If your plan uses that exact wording, confirm with your insurer whether an RP or RSW qualifies before booking.
What a psychologist cannot do
A psychologist cannot prescribe medication. Prescription authority in mental health belongs to physicians and psychiatrists. If you need both therapy and medication management, that typically involves two separate practitioners.
Why do these designations get confused so often?
Three reasons, mainly.
First, all three can call themselves a "therapist" in common usage, and all three can be found on therapy directories without the title distinction being immediately obvious. The regulated designation appears in small text next to the name, not in the headline.
Second, the word "psychotherapist" is used both as a generic description of what someone does and as part of a regulated title. An RSW who provides therapy is technically performing psychotherapy (the activity), but they are not a Registered Psychotherapist (the protected title). An RP is a Registered Psychotherapist. These overlap in session content but are distinct at the regulatory level.
Third, benefit plans sometimes use the word "psychologist" when they mean any regulated mental health clinician, or they use "registered psychotherapist" loosely. This causes Canadians to call their insurer, believing they need a psychologist, when in fact their plan covers RSWs and RPs. Always confirm with your insurer using your clinician's exact designation.
Which designation do you need?
For most Canadians seeking therapy for anxiety, depression, trauma, burnout, relationship difficulty, or similar concerns, the designation matters less than fit, approach, and availability. An RP and an RSW in private practice are both regulated, both trained, both covered by most extended health plans, and both capable of delivering evidence-based therapy. Choosing between them based on designation alone is not usually the right filter.
The designation matters in three situations:
- You need a formal diagnosis or psychological assessment. You need a psychologist. An RP or RSW cannot provide this, regardless of how clinically skilled they are.
- Your insurance plan uses specific language. Read your benefits booklet and confirm with your insurer. If the plan says "psychologist" only, you need a C.Psych. If it says "registered psychotherapist," "social worker," or "mental health professional," an RP or RSW will qualify. For more on how insurance reimbursement works in practice, see our full guide.
- You want a systems or advocacy lens alongside therapy. If your situation involves navigating housing, immigration, family systems, community resources, or structural barriers alongside personal mental health work, an RSW's training may add specific value.
For a fuller walkthrough on how to evaluate fit and approach when choosing a therapist, our guide on how to find a therapist covers the process step by step.
What designations do Saalvio therapists hold?
Saalvio's clinical team includes Registered Psychotherapists (CRPO) and Registered Social Workers (OCSWSSW). Every clinician on the platform is in good standing with their regulatory college. Credentials are verified against the live public register before a clinician's profile is published.
Saalvio does not currently offer psychological assessment or a formal psychological diagnosis. If you need a formal assessment, your family doctor or a referral to a CPBAO-registered psychologist is the appropriate route. If you need ongoing talk therapy, coaching through a major life transition, or structured support for anxiety, depression, trauma, or relationship difficulty, Saalvio's regulated clinical team can help.
For context on what therapy approaches our team uses, our piece on CBT vs DBT vs ACT explains the most common modalities in plain language.
Common questions
Is a psychotherapist the same as a psychologist?
No. They are two separate regulated designations in Ontario, governed by different colleges, with different education requirements and different scopes of practice. A Registered Psychotherapist (RP) holds a master's-level qualification in psychotherapy and is regulated by the CRPO. A psychologist (C.Psych) holds a doctoral degree and is regulated by the CPBAO. Both can provide ongoing talk therapy; only a psychologist can provide a formal psychological assessment and diagnosis.
Can a social worker provide therapy in Ontario?
Yes. A Registered Social Worker (RSW) regulated by the OCSWSSW can provide individual therapy in Ontario. In private practice, an RSW working as a therapist delivers the same evidence-based modalities (CBT, DBT, ACT, EMDR, and others) as a Registered Psychotherapist. The difference is in their training origins, broader professional scope, and the college that regulates them.
How do I verify that my therapist is registered in Ontario?
For a Registered Psychotherapist: search the CRPO public register at crpo.ca. For a Registered Social Worker: search the OCSWSSW online register at ocswssw.org. For a psychologist: search the CPBAO public register at cpbao.ca. All three registers are free and publicly searchable by name. You should see the clinician's name, registration status, category, and any conditions or notations on their certificate.
Does a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) cost less?
Sometimes, but not always. Some Qualifying RPs set lower rates to build their caseload while working toward independent practice; others charge the same as fully registered RPs. A Qualifying RP is still regulated and supervised. Their sessions are typically covered by extended health plans on the same terms as a fully registered RP, though confirming with your insurer is always worth doing.
What does a formal psychological assessment include?
Psychological assessments vary significantly by purpose. They commonly include clinical interviews, standardized psychometric testing (cognitive, emotional, academic, and neuropsychological instruments depending on the referral question), behavioural observations, and a written report with findings and recommendations. Assessments are ordered when a diagnostic opinion is needed for clinical, educational, legal, or benefits purposes. They are typically billed at a separate rate from ongoing therapy and are significantly more expensive. Some extended health plans provide separate assessment benefits; others do not. Our guide on how much therapy costs in Ontario covers the cost landscape in more detail.
Can an RP or RSW diagnose ADHD?
No. Formal ADHD diagnosis in Ontario requires either a physician (including a psychiatrist), a psychologist, or, in some contexts, a neuropsychologist. An RP or RSW can work with you on the daily living impacts of ADHD using evidence-based approaches, and they can document their clinical impressions, but they cannot issue a formal diagnosis. If you need an assessment for ADHD medication or academic accommodations, a referral to your family doctor or a psychologist is the right first step.
Related on the Saalvio site
- What is a Registered Psychotherapist? Deeper explainer of the RP title, its training, and how it is regulated.
- Therapy vs counselling vs psychology Companion explainer focused on what each title can and cannot offer.
- Meet our clinical team See which clinicians at Saalvio are RPs and which are RSWs.
- Message a therapist before you book Ask a Saalvio therapist about credentials and approach before you commit.
Other resources you may find useful
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