Becoming a clinical supervisor is one of the most meaningful next steps in a psychotherapy career, and in Ontario it has never been more in demand. It also has more steps than it used to. Since April 1, 2026, new supervisors must complete a 30-hour course and a CRPO learning module before they begin, on top of the experience and practice requirements that were already in place (College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario [CRPO], n.d.-d).
This guide walks through every step in order, from checking your eligibility to setting up your first supervision agreement, with links to CRPO's own requirements along the way.
The short answer: To provide clinical supervision that counts toward CRPO registration, a supervisor located in Ontario must (1) be registered in good standing with a regulatory college whose members may practise psychotherapy, (2) have five years of clinical experience practising psychotherapy since graduating, (3) meet CRPO's independent practice requirement of 1,000 direct client contact hours and 150 hours of clinical supervision, (4) complete 30 hours of directed learning in providing clinical supervision, which must be a 30-hour course for anyone starting on or after April 1, 2026, and (5) complete CRPO's online learning module on clinical supervision (CRPO, n.d.-d).
Step 1: Confirm you belong to an eligible college
The first requirement is that you are registered in good standing with a regulatory college whose members may practise psychotherapy (CRPO, n.d.-d). You do not have to be a Registered Psychotherapist. CRPO lists six eligible Ontario colleges:
- College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario
- College of Nurses of Ontario
- College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario
- College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
- Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers
- College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario
This means a Registered Social Worker or psychologist can supervise RPs and students applying to CRPO, provided they meet the rest of the criteria. The same requirements, including the 30-hour course and the CRPO module, apply to them when the supervision is meant to count toward CRPO registration (CRPO, n.d.-c).
Step 2: Build five years of clinical experience
A supervisor must have five years of extensive clinical experience practising psychotherapy, counted from the time they graduated from their psychotherapy education or training program (CRPO, n.d.-d).
Two details are easy to miss. The clock starts at graduation, not at registration. And the requirement is for experience practising psychotherapy, so time spent in roles that did not involve providing psychotherapy may not count toward it. If your career path includes gaps or mixed roles, review your history carefully before you begin supervising.
Step 3: Meet CRPO's independent practice requirement
You must also meet CRPO's "independent practice" requirement: 1,000 direct client contact hours and 150 hours of clinical supervision, completed over the course of your career (CRPO, n.d.-d).
This is the same threshold that allows a Registered Psychotherapist to practise without ongoing clinical supervision. In other words, you need to have completed the supervision journey yourself before you guide someone else through it. If you are still working toward these hours, see our overview of CRPO supervision requirements, and our explainer on what counts as clinical supervision under CRPO.
Step 4: Complete 30 hours of training in clinical supervision
Every supervisor must complete 30 hours of directed learning in providing clinical supervision (CRPO, n.d.-d). What counts depends on when you started supervising:
- If you begin supervising on or after April 1, 2026, the 30 hours must be coursework on providing clinical supervision. In practice, this means a 30-hour supervision course (CRPO, n.d.-a).
- If you began supervising before April 1, 2026, your directed learning can include coursework, supervised practice as a clinical supervisor, individual, peer or group learning, and independent study that includes structured readings (CRPO, n.d.-d). CRPO still strongly recommends that all supervisors complete a 30-hour course if they have not already (CRPO, 2026).
There is no deadline attached to this step, and you can complete the course well before you plan to start supervising (CRPO, 2024).
How to choose a course
CRPO does not pre-approve or accredit supervision courses, and asks training programs not to describe themselves as CRPO-approved (CRPO, 2026). Instead, CRPO's Supervision Course Guideline sets out what a course must demonstrate. It must be facilitated by people experienced in training clinical supervisors, show post-graduate rigour such as a course outline, reading list and evaluated assignments, base completion on more than attendance, and cover a defined set of content areas (CRPO, 2024).
We walk through each of these criteria in our checklist: Does your 30-hour supervision course meet CRPO's requirements?
Step 5: Complete CRPO's learning module on clinical supervision
Starting in April 2026, CRPO requires every clinical supervisor providing supervision for CRPO registration to complete its learning module on clinical supervision (CRPO, n.d.-c). The module is free, online and takes less than 30 minutes. It is based on CRPO's guide to clinical supervision and applies both to RPs and to members of other psychotherapy-practising professions who supervise RPs or students applying to CRPO (CRPO, n.d.-c).
The module does not replace the 30-hour course. You need both.
Step 6: Check yourself against the criteria
CRPO does not approve individual supervisors. You do not need to contact CRPO for approval to begin providing clinical supervision once you meet the requirements (CRPO, 2026). That makes self-assessment your responsibility.
CRPO offers a Clinical Supervisor Self-Assessment that walks through each criterion (CRPO, n.d.-a). Work through it honestly before taking on your first supervisee. If you do not meet the criteria, CRPO will not recognize the supervision you provide as meeting a supervisee's registration requirements (CRPO, n.d.-d), which puts your supervisee's progress at risk.
Step 7: Set up your supervision practice
Supervision is not an entry-to-practice competency. CRPO's Standard 4.1, Providing Clinical Supervision, describes it as requiring additional training and experience, and expects supervisors to provide supervision only when they are qualified to do so (CRPO, n.d.-b). Standard 4.1 also sets out the practical foundations every supervisor needs in place.
Use a written supervision agreement
Standard 4.1 expects a written agreement, signed and kept in the records of all parties, that sets out each party's responsibilities and expectations (CRPO, n.d.-b). It should cover:
- The goals or purpose of supervision
- The responsibilities of the supervisor and supervisee
- Who holds ultimate responsibility for clients
- The format of supervision, treatment modalities, and how the supervisee's work will be reviewed
- Meeting logistics, cancellations, emergencies and fees
- How client information will be shared, and how clients will be informed about supervision
- Confidentiality and its limits
- Processes for feedback and evaluation, contact between sessions, resolving conflict, and renewing or ending the agreement
Keep detailed records
Supervisors are expected to keep detailed records, including the names of supervisees, dates of attendance, hours, fees, issues discussed and directions given (CRPO, n.d.-b). Your supervisees will rely on accurate records when they report their hours to CRPO.
Know the rules your supervisees' hours depend on
A few CRPO rules determine whether the hours you provide will count:
- At least half of a supervisee's required supervision hours must be completed in an individual or dyadic format (CRPO, n.d.-d).
- Since April 1, 2022, CRPO accepts group supervision hours only from groups of eight or fewer supervisees (CRPO, n.d.-d).
- Group supervision can include structured peer group supervision if it is formal and includes at least one member who meets the clinical supervisor criteria. Informal peer supervision, such as unstructured discussion of clients with colleagues, does not count for registration purposes (CRPO, n.d.-d).
Be ready to provide a letter
Upon request, a supervisor should be able to give a supervisee a letter attesting to their competency to supervise. This letter does not need to be submitted to CRPO unless CRPO staff specifically request it (CRPO, n.d.-d). CRPO staff may also ask you for evidence of your 30 hours of directed learning and a statement describing your approach to supervision (CRPO, n.d.-d), so keep your course certificate and records together.
Protect the relationship
Standard 4.1 expects supervisors to avoid conflicting roles, such as a dual personal and professional relationship, or providing both supervision and therapy to the same person. It also requires supervisors to report a supervisee whose conduct amounts to unsafe practice, while recognizing that mistakes made as part of learning are not unsafe practice (CRPO, n.d.-b).
Step 8: Keep developing as a supervisor
Meeting the criteria is the starting line, not the finish. CRPO's Supervision Course Guideline strongly encourages new supervisors to meet with a more experienced supervisor for supervision-of-supervision, and recommends ongoing professional development such as refresher courses, self-study and group learning (CRPO, 2024). Standard 4.1 similarly expects supervisors to recognize the limits of their own abilities and to seek consultation or supervision-of-supervision when needed (CRPO, n.d.-b).
Supervising from outside Ontario
The criteria above apply to supervisors located in Ontario. Outside Ontario, CRPO describes a clinical supervisor as an experienced practitioner of psychotherapy who is qualified, generally by another regulator in a regulated jurisdiction, or by a professional association where psychotherapy is unregulated (CRPO, n.d.-d). If you practise outside Ontario and supervise CRPO registrants, review CRPO's requirements page for the current wording.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need CRPO's approval to become a clinical supervisor?
No. Once you meet the requirements, you can begin providing clinical supervision without contacting CRPO (CRPO, 2026). CRPO may ask for evidence later, so keep your records organized.
Can I supervise before I have five years of experience?
Not for CRPO registration purposes. The five years are counted from graduation from your psychotherapy education or training program, and supervision provided by someone who does not meet the criteria will not be recognized toward a supervisee's requirements (CRPO, n.d.-d).
Can a social worker or psychologist supervise RPs?
Yes, if they meet all of CRPO's criteria. Members of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers and the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario are among the eligible colleges (CRPO, n.d.-d), and the CRPO module applies to them as well (CRPO, n.d.-c).
I started supervising before April 2026. Do I need to take a course now?
Your earlier directed learning can still count, but CRPO strongly recommends that all supervisors complete a 30-hour course if they have not already (CRPO, 2026). You do need to complete CRPO's learning module (CRPO, n.d.-c).
Do I need both the 30-hour course and the CRPO module?
Yes. They are separate requirements. The module takes less than 30 minutes and is free (CRPO, n.d.-c); the course is 30 hours of training in providing clinical supervision (CRPO, n.d.-d).
Ready to take the next step?
Demand for qualified supervisors in Ontario continues to grow, particularly with CRPO's 2027 changes for students and practicum sites. If you are preparing to supervise, Ontario Supervision offers a CRPO-aligned 30-hour clinical supervision course, taught live on Zoom by Catherine Howson, MA, RP. The next cohort runs April 23 to May 2, 2027, and includes a supervision contract assignment you can use in your own practice.
For a full summary of what changed in 2026, read CRPO clinical supervision rules: what actually changed on April 1, 2026.
References
College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. (2024, December 12). Supervision course guideline. https://crpo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Supervision-Course-Guideline-Dec1224.pdf
College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. (2026, April). Does CRPO approve clinical supervisors or supervision training? https://crpo.ca/?p=3146
College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. (n.d.-a). Clinical supervisor self-assessment. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://crpo.ca/registrant-information/clinical-supervision-information/clinical-supervisor-self-assessment/
College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. (n.d.-b). Providing clinical supervision (Professional Practice Standard 4.1). Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.crpo.ca/standard-4-1-providing-clinical-supervision/
College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. (n.d.-c). Supervision guide and module. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://crpo.ca/registrant-information/clinical-supervision-information/supervision-guide-and-module/
College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. (n.d.-d). Supervision requirements. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://crpo.ca/registrant-information/clinical-supervision-information/supervision-requirements/
