Yorkville University- Worth it to become a Counselor?

I've been doing some research into taking a masters in counseling psychology through either Athabasca University or through Yorkville University. I've read some posts on here about how Alberta will recognize online education, but most other provinces wont. I've also read that The Association of Counseling Therapy of Alberta is becoming the College of Counseling Therapy. Does anyone know if the criteria to register as a psychologist changing in AB any time soon with that transition?
Apart from that, if anyone has taken the Masters of Counseling Psychology through Yorkville, what was your experience? Thanks in advance!

 

Yes - there have already been some changes as of 2020. Have a look here - an update explaining the changes: https://www.cap.ab.ca/Portals/0/EPPP 1 & 2 - CAP Update and FAQ.pdf The whole process and the criteria for registering as a psychologist is here: https://www.cap.ab.ca/register-as-br-a-psychologist

 

I don't anticipate that there will be substantive changes to the criteria for registering as a "psychologist" as a result of the new framework Alberta is in the process of adopting. Psychologist is a carefully protected category; the criteria track pretty closely with the national standards in this field. Those more likely to be impacted by the changes being implemented are "counselors" who have membership in one of the several other Canadian professional bodies for counselors and therapists. My understanding is that the province is trying to develop more clear and consistent professional standards for these practitioners than has been the case in the past.

I know folks who've pursued both programs--Athabasca and Yorkville. I have a neighbour who completed the Yorkville program. It enabled her to meet her objectives professionally, but she was a bit ambivalent about the calibre of professorial interaction she experienced in the program. That might not be representative of the program as a whole, though. Unfortunately, both programs seem quite expensive by Canadian standards! If one could qualify for entry to the Master of Counselling at University of Lethbridge (which does require a bit of limited residency), it might be a better value overall.

 

I don't know about your background but you might want to consider becoming a member of the associations below so you can be grandfathered into the Association of Counselling Therapy:
https://www.acta-alberta.ca/expedited-route

I am not sure about becoming psychologist as this is not a degree in Psychology but in Counselling. Most provincial psychologist colleges require a PhD and not all accept distance learning unless accredited by APA or CPA. Some provinces have a designation called psychology associate that only needs a Masters.

However, not all the counselling jobs need a certification or a license. Many people work with the degree alone or a membership with a counselling association.

Not all provinces have regulation for counselling. In Ontario, anyone can be called counsellor but if you provide psychotherapy services, you need a license.

The Canadian Certified Counsellor Certification is not a license but a recognized certification, you can get it and many places recognize it as a credential to become a counsellor.

The Yorkville program is not really meant to be a psychologist but a counsellor as the coursework was designed to meet the requirements of counselling associations and not colleges of psychologists.