Certification Standards and Eligibility
The Canadian Certified Sex Therapist designation is proposed for regulated health and mental health professionals who hold a recognized graduate-level credential and active registration with a provincial regulatory body. Detailed certification standards, including training, consultation, and evaluation requirements, are currently under development.
Who May Be Eligible for Certification?
Eligibility is anticipated to require two things: a graduate-level degree in a relevant health or mental health discipline, and active registration in good standing with a recognized provincial regulatory body. Both criteria must be met. One does not substitute for the other.
Applicants are expected to hold a master's degree or equivalent graduate-level qualification in a recognized health or mental health discipline, such as psychology, social work, counselling, psychotherapy, nursing, or medicine.
Undergraduate registration alone is not anticipated to meet the educational eligibility threshold. Graduate-level preparation provides the clinical and theoretical foundation on which sex therapy specialty competency is built.
Where professional doctoral programs constitute the recognized entry-to-practice credential for a regulated profession (for example, medicine or nursing in some contexts), those degrees are considered equivalent.
Applicants must hold active, current registration in good standing with a recognized provincial regulatory college or credentialing body. Recognized registrations are anticipated to include:
- R.PsychRegistered Psychologist
- RSWRegistered Social Worker
- RPRegistered Psychotherapist (CRPO, Ontario)
- RCCRegistered Clinical Counsellor (BCACC)
- CCCCanadian Certified Counsellor (CCPA)
- RMFTRegistered Marriage and Family Therapist
- MDPhysician (provincial medical college)
- RN / NPRegistered Nurse or Nurse Practitioner
- OtherOther regulated health or mental health profession
Registration must be current and in good standing at the time of application and maintained throughout the certification period.
Beyond Eligibility
Meeting the eligibility criteria qualifies a practitioner to apply. Certification itself requires demonstrated competency across the domains described in the CCST Competency Framework, including advanced training in sexual health practice, relevant supervised or consultatively supported clinical experience, and a completed Sexual Attitude Reassessment (SAR).
The College does not require training from any specific program or institution. What is assessed is whether an applicant's education and clinical experience, in aggregate, address the required competency domains at an appropriate standard.
Building a National Standard for Specialized Sexual Health Practice
Explore the competency framework that defines what certification will require, or learn more about the College's approach to public protection and professional accountability.