Complaints About a Psychologist

CAP is the governing body for registered psychologists and registered provisional psychologists (hereinafter referred to as “psychologists”) as regulated members in the province of Alberta. This section provides information and resources to address concerns about the conduct of a psychologist. 

CAP's mandate is to serve the interests of the public and to guide the profession of psychology. CAP registers, issues practice permits and regulates its members in accordance with provincial legislation, the Health Professions Act, R.S.A. 2000, c.H-7 (HPA). The HPA also sets out specific steps that CAP must take when dealing with complaints.

Many concerns arise as a result of a breakdown in communication between the client and the psychologist. In some circumstances, a psychologist is unaware of your concern(s) until a concern has been expressed or a complaint has been submitted. You may wish to discuss your concern(s) with the psychologist to see whether you can resolve the matter directly with the psychologist before submitting a formal complaint.

Prior to submitting a formal complaint, potential complainants are encouraged to outline their concern(s) using the intake form above. CAP is able to provide information and suggestions about the processes available to you, including alternative resolution options, and if appropriate, possible resolutions that could be considered without making a formal complaint. 

The complaint process is an important part of ensuring quality and accountability in the provision of psychological services to the Alberta public.

Complaints that CAP cannot address

CAP can only address complaints that are within its legislated authority as set out in the HPA. CAP cannot address the following types of complaints:

• Complaints about unregulated practitioners. CAP has no authority to deal with complaints about individuals who are not regulated members of CAP. The titles that regulated members can use are: psychologist, registered psychologist, provisional psychologist or registered provisional psychologist. If an individual who does not use one of those titles and provided services to you, the individual may not be regulated by CAP. If this is the case, CAP cannot take any action with respect to your complaint(s). You can check whether an individual is registered through our online Member Directory.
• Complaints about members of other colleges. If you have complaint(s) about members of other professions, it is appropriate to contact that practitioner's own regulatory body.
• Employment or labour relations difficulties not addressed by professional standards or laws governing the profession.
• Compensation. CAP cannot compensate individuals who feel they have been wronged by the actions of a psychologist.

Before you submit: Using Artificial intelligence (AI) to prepare your complaint

CAP wants to understand your concerns in your words.

AI tools can help with writing, organization, spelling, or grammar. However, AI-generated content can also include information that is inaccurate, incomplete, biased, or unrelated to what actually occurred. AI may also generate references to laws, professional standards, ethical requirements, or other authorities that are incorrect or do not apply.

If you use AI to help prepare your complaint, please review the entire complaint carefully before submitting it. Make sure that it accurately reflects your own experience, knowledge, and concerns, and that you are comfortable adopting the information in the complaint as your own.

In particular, please check any names, dates, quotations, factual statements, and references to legislation, professional standards, or ethical requirements. Remove information that does not relate to the concerns you wish CAP to consider.

You do not need to use legal or technical language to explain your concerns. A clear account of what you experienced or observed will help CAP understand the issues you are raising.

Please also consider privacy before entering personal, health, or other confidential information into an AI system. Different AI services may collect, retain, or use information in different ways depending on the tool. Generally, free versions of AI tools may use your data to train their model. 

Before submitting your complaint, please read it from beginning to end and make sure it says what you intend to say.

Are all public concerns handled as a formal complaint?

The simple answer to this question is, “No.”

CAP's Rapid Resolultion Route is a less formal process that is offered to the public, when appropriate, to resolve concerns outside of the formal complaint process. This process is offered through a process of collaborative problem-solving that requires the consent of both the concerned party and the psychologist. This option is not given however for matters that may require an investigation, or for allegations of sexual abuse and/or misconduct or other serious boundary violation allegations. The Rapid Resolution Route is also not available when the only way to determine the facts requires a more extensive investigation and access to otherwise confidential information, such a client’s file or record. In such cases a formal complaint is required, as the HPA grants authority to the CAP Complaints Director and/or investigators to collect any information required, regardless of consent from clients or other parties.