Show Notes

In today’s episode, I’ll be tackling a topic that comes up a lot in the communities that I’m a part of, especially for those who are new to the field or anyone navigating the registration or licensure process, which is what’s the difference between a regulatory body and a professional association.

While both focus on the specific profession, they do have very distinct purposes and roles, which is important for all therapists to understand, whether you’re a social worker, a psychologist, a registered psychotherapist, or so on.

So, let’s break it down.

What is a Regulatory Body?

Well, a regulatory body is often called a college in Canada or a licensing board in the US. And it’s an organization that regulates the practice of a specific profession in a specific province or state.

For instance, the specific regulatory body protects specific titles used by professionals in that profession, such as a Registered Social Worker or Registered Psychologist in Canada, or a Licensed Social Worker or Licensed Psychologist in the US for example.

Roles of a Regulatory Bodies

It is important to understand the specific functions of a regulatory body because while they regulate the profession, their main focus is to protect the public, and not so much on individual members, such as the therapists who are being regulated.

I often see this show up for therapists, whether they’re social workers, psychologists, registered psychotherapists, wondering why their regulatory body isn’t helping them more. And again, it goes back to their main purpose, which is to protect the public. And they do that through regulation.

So regulatory bodies often follow through with their purpose by:

One setting and enforcing standards of practice.

Two, issuing and renewing registrations or licenses.

Three, handling professional complaints and investigations of a member of that specific profession.

Also, depending on the outcome of the complaints and investigations, they also discipline members if needed or required,

And they ensure members meet continuing education requirements to improve competence within the profession.

As you can see, all of these things are very much to ensure that clients are protected by those who are using the professional title.

If a province or state is regulated by a specific regulatory body, it’s often required to be registered with that regulatory body, whether it be a college or a licensing board, in order to practice within that profession. Often it includes using the titles within that profession, but in some jurisdictions, it’s also to practice within the scope of that profession.

What is a Professional Association?

A professional association is a membership-based organization that supports its members who are professionals within that specific profession. In some cases, there are national associations, while there’s also provincial associations. For instance, in Canada there’s the Canadian Association of Social Workers, which is a national association, but there’s also many provincial level associations such as the Social Work Association of Alberta or the Ontario Association of Social Workers.

Roles of a Professional Association

So, the association’s main focus is to support you, the professional, rather than regulating the practice.

So going back to the difference, a regulatory body regulates the profession and aims to protect the public within those who practice in that profession. Whereas the association is there to support the members and the individuals within that profession.

So, through such support, they often offer an array of services to help support the growth, development and practice of their members. For instance, they often provide networking opportunities. Some host conferences, some provide professional development and training to their members, some at no cost, some at a low cost. Also, they advocate for the profession at a national or provincial level, depending on the association. Also, they share resources, and best practices to help you grow within your practice. And sometimes, they offer discounts on group health benefits, malpractice insurance or discount on helpful resources.

While membership in the regulatory body is mandatory, membership in an association is usually voluntary. And it does come with an additional cost to your regulatory body’s membership.

Let me give you an example In Alberta to maintain registration as a social worker. With the Alberta College of Social Workers, the cost is $400 a year. However, if you want to be a part of the Social Work Association of Alberta, it’s an extra $250 per year for social workers, specifically in private practice. So that comes to $650 a year if you maintain registration in both the regulatory body and the association.

Similarly, in Ontario to maintain registration as a social worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Services Workers, the cost is $400 per year for the regulatory body and an extra $400 per year to join the Ontario Association of Social Workers. So that’s $800 per year if you become a member of both organizations.

Fortunately for the social workers here in Canada, I can’t really speak for the US, but once you join a provincial association here in Canada, you also gain benefits to the Canadian Association of Social Workers. Now, again, I’m not sure if that is the same with every therapy profession such as psychologist, registered psychotherapist and so forth. But with social workers in Canada, if you register with your provincial association, you usually gain benefits into the Canadian Association of Social Workers. So, it’s kind of getting two memberships for one, which is kind of cool.

Conclusion

Really the purpose of me sharing this today is that it’s helpful to understand the difference between a regulatory body and a professional association because while both focus on a particular profession, they have very distinct purposes and they support very different people. The regulatory body’s focus is to protect the public. So essentially your clients, while the professional association’s purpose is to support the professional, which is you.

I hope this short episode helps clear up any confusion around the differences between a regulatory body and a professional association.

Thank you so much for tuning into today’s episode, and if you found this episode helpful, please share this episode or the podcast as a whole with a colleague or within your community so that more people can tune in to this free resource.

Until next time, bye for now.

Credits & Disclaimers

Music by ItsWatR from Pixabay

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