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Ontario therapist website checklist

For Registered Psychotherapists, RP (Qualifying), psychologists and psychological associates. Tick off each item as you go through your own site.

This checklist summarizes rules from the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario (CPBAO), PHIPA and Ontario accessibility law, plus some good-practice recommendations that are not legal requirements, as of October 2026. It is not legal advice. Your college's standards and the laws themselves take precedence; follow the source links to check.

Testimonials and reviews

No client testimonials or quotes anywhere on the site. Both colleges ban testimonials from clients. For psychologists the ban also covers friends and relatives of clients.
No star ratings, embedded Google reviews or review widgets. CRPO treats an online star rating as a testimonial, and says linking your advertising to a review site can count as using testimonials.
No "see our reviews" links or "voted best" awards. Clients may post reviews on their own, but you should not ask for them or point people to them.
No endorsements. CRPO also rules out endorsements from colleagues. For psychologists, endorsements by organizations other than professional psychology bodies are not allowed.

Sources: CRPO Standard 6.2: Advertising · CRPO: Grey areas around testimonials · CRPO: Testimonials, endorsements and community voting awards · CRPO advertising and self-representation checklist · O. Reg. 194/23 (psychologists), ss. 6–7

What you say about your work

No superlatives or comparisons: "best", "leading", "top-rated", "most effective". CRPO bans comparisons and superlatives. For psychologists, any claim of special advantage must be supported by scientific evidence.
No promised or guaranteed results, and no appeals to fear. CRPO names both directly; for psychologists they fall under the ban on false or misleading advertising. Describe what therapy with you involves, not what it will achieve.
No "specialist" or "specializing in". Neither college lets you claim to be a specialist. Use "areas of focus" or "experience with", and only for areas where you have verifiable training. RPs may show a designation earned from a recognized credentialing body; psychologists may use a qualifier only if it matches an authorized area of practice.
Blog posts and articles are accurate, evidence-based and clearly informational. A post should not read as advice to a particular person or start a therapy relationship.

Sources: CRPO Standard 6.2: Advertising · CPBAO Standards of Professional Conduct · O. Reg. 194/23 (psychologists), ss. 6–7

Titles and credentials

RPs use "Registered Psychotherapist" or "RP"; qualifying RPs use "RP (Qualifying)", never "RP(Q)". Your college title should be more prominent than any other designation.
RPs don't use "Dr." when offering therapy, even with a doctorate. A doctorate can be listed as a degree if it is your highest related credential.
RPs don't describe their services as "psychological" or use "psychologist" in their title. The law restricts these terms to members of the psychology college. A degree in psychology can still be listed as a degree.
Only psychologists registered on a doctoral degree use "Dr."; psychological associates do not, even with a doctorate. Put "(Supervised Practice)" right after the title when it applies. Your highest degree goes before the title, and professional association memberships don't go in it.
RPs: your name matches CRPO's public register, and the site has no CRPO logo. Linking to your entry on the public register is fine.

Sources: CRPO Standard 1.2: Use of terms, titles and designations · CRPO advertising and self-representation checklist · CPBAO Standards of Professional Conduct

Fees

Your fees are easy to find, ideally on a fees page. CRPO requires a fee schedule that prospective clients can see before services start. A fees page is the simplest way to do it.
Your cancellation and missed-appointment policy is stated. CPBAO allows a missed-appointment fee only if clients were told about it in advance. For RPs it is good practice.

Sources: CRPO Standard 6.1: Fees · CPBAO Standards of Professional Conduct, s. 15

Privacy

A privacy page describes how you handle personal health information. PHIPA s. 16 requires a written public statement of your information practices: how to reach you, how clients can see or correct their records, and how to complain to you and to the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
Your contact form asks only for contact details and says not to include health information. PHIPA says not to collect more personal health information than you need. Clinical intake belongs in your practice management system, such as Jane.
The site shows what to do in a crisis: call or text 988, or call 911. Good practice: someone in crisis may find your site first, and a contact form is not monitored around the clock.
Your email address is at your practice domain, not a personal Gmail or Outlook account. The Information and Privacy Commissioner's guidance on email advises against personal accounts for health information, and asks for a written email policy and client consent before unencrypted email.
No advertising trackers such as the Meta (Facebook) pixel. Good practice: on a therapy site, a visit to a page can reveal something about a person's health. If you use analytics, choose a tool that doesn't track visitors across sites.
If a service you use stores client information outside Canada, you have weighed the risks. CPBAO requires the host's jurisdiction to have security consistent with Ontario privacy law; CRPO advises a case-by-case look at the risks and alternatives. Canadian hosting lowers the risk but does not replace that assessment.

Sources: PHIPA (Personal Health Information Protection Act) · IPC: Communicating personal health information by email · CPBAO Standards of Professional Conduct, s. 17 · CRPO: Cross-border electronic practice Q&A · 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline

Accessibility

The site meets WCAG 2.0 AA: readable contrast, text alternatives for images, works with a keyboard. Ontario's AODA website rule applies to organizations with 50 or more employees in Ontario, but it is the accepted standard and helps every visitor.
The site says how to ask for information in another format. Under AODA, organizations with at least one employee in Ontario must provide accessible formats on request. It is good practice for everyone.

Sources: O. Reg. 191/11: Integrated Accessibility Standards

Who is responsible

You have read and approved every word on your site, including what a web designer wrote. CRPO expects you to take reasonable steps to make sure advertising others place for you, including directory listings, meets its standards. CPBAO expects you to correct anything misleading that others publish about you.
Newsletters and marketing emails go only to people who may receive them. RPs: CRPO requires solicitations to state their purpose and let people unsubscribe. Psychologists and psychological associates: CPBAO bans direct solicitation of individuals, so send newsletters only to people who asked for them.

Sources: CRPO Standard 6.2: Advertising · CPBAO Standards of Professional Conduct, s. 6 · O. Reg. 194/23 (psychologists), ss. 6–7

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