Telepractice — counselling therapy (Nova Scotia)
NSCCT registrants may provide telecounselling to clients resident anywhere in Canada. NSCCT treats ‘practice’ as occurring in the jurisdiction where the THERAPIST is registered, not where the client sits, and retains oversight regardless of physical location or delivery mode. An NSCCT registrant serving out-of-province clients must: tell clients they are located in Nova Scotia and regulated by NSCCT, and give the College’s website, email and phone; obtain confirmation from the regulator in the client’s province that its rules permit the service, and abide by any limits it sets unless they conflict with NSCCT’s standards; practise telecounselling as an RCT-Candidate only with the candidacy supervisor’s clear agreement; ensure liability insurance covers out-of-province telecounselling; and ensure the platform is PIPEDA-compliant AND hosted on servers holding data exclusively within Canada. Conversely, therapists registered elsewhere in regulated Canadian provinces may serve Nova Scotian clients WITHOUT registering with NSCCT, provided they comply with their home regulator’s requirements and disclose their location and regulator. Persons from non-regulated provinces may not use the protected titles or advertise ‘counselling therapy’ to Nova Scotians.
“The NSCCT maintains jurisdiction and regulatory oversight of all Registered Counselling Therapists (RCTs) and Registered Counselling Therapist-Candidates (RCTs) regardless of where (i.e., physical location) or how (i.e., in-person or via telecounselling) they deliver counselling therapy. In the context of telecounselling, NSCCT interprets “service delivery” or “practice” as occurring in the jurisdiction where the counselling therapist is registered.” … “ensure that the platform used for telecounselling is PIPEDA compliant and that servers are located in Canada” — NSCCT, Interjurisdictional Telecounselling (Canada)