What Is A Registered Provisional Psychologist?
A registered provisional psychologist is a therapist who has a completed a minimum Master’s
level psychology or related degree and is practicing to become a registered psychologist. They
must have completed a practicum placement of 200 to 600 hours of counselling in order to obtain
their graduate degree. Once they’ve graduated, they can apply to become a registered provisional
psychologist. They must also present a supervision plan to CAP as part of their application
requirements. A registered provisional psychologist is in the process of completing 1600
supervised hours and a final practice exam (EPPP) in order to become registered without
provision (i.e. with the R.Psych designation).
It’s important to note that many registered provisional psychologists have significant experience,
are of varying ages and can have areas of unique expertise or specialty.
It takes generally one or two years (or more) for a provisional psychologist to become a
registered psychologist.
A Note About Insurance Coverage For Registered Provisional Psychologists
While our experience has been that most insurance policies cover the services of a registered provisional psychologist, some plans and policies have stipulated that services provided by registered provisional psychologists are not eligible for reimbursement. As such, if you are planning to submit your receipts for reimbursement to your insurer, we strongly encourage you to contact your insurer ahead of time, before your first session, to confirm that your specific plan covers the services of a registered provisional psychologist.