All the different titles and degrees can understandably be really confusing for anyone looking for a therapist. One of the most common points of confusion is the difference between a Registered Social Worker (RSW) and a Registered Psychotherapist (RP). It would stand to reason that a Registered Psychotherapist does psychotherapy while a Registered Social Worker carries around a little clipboard and connects people to community resources, right?

Well, just to make things as confusing as possible to anyone outside our field, the reality is that Registered Psychotherapists and Registered Social Workers do the exact same thing!

Psychotherapy is a controlled act in Ontario, which means only people with certain licences can practice psychotherapy. If you Google it, you’ll see that Registered Social Workers are actually at the top of the list, along with Registered Psychotherapists and a few other select professions.

So what does that mean for you? It means that at our clinic, our RSWs and RPs are equally good at doing psychotherapy. The only reason for you to be concerned about your therapist’s professional designation is in case your insurance only covers you for one designation but not the other. Otherwise, your therapist’s areas of expertise will be way more important than their professional designation.

Oh, and by the way, congratulations for being brave enough to find yourself a therapist. Here at Transformation, we think that makes you pretty damn heroic.

Still have questions?