attention to supporting regulatory matters and heavily supported provincial regulatory efforts. On our website, you can reference our current efforts to support provincial regulatory efforts through our involvement and support of the FACT committees (Federation of Associations of Counselling Therapists) https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/ profession/regulation-across-canada/ .


• Examples of our support include the extensive knowledge that Barbara MacCallum, our CEO, has provided to these committees, staff support, expertise and resources, CCPA members and Directors sitting on provincial committees, and through the Legislative Support Fund we provide our members and these associations with funding supporting their efforts.


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• Even though we now have four provinces regulated, insurance companies and employers have been slow to respond. Even in this climate, CCPA has continued to send letters to employers and insurance companies advocating for our members. On the Federal Level CCPA continues to support our members in the area of billing with Pre- budget submissions, meetings with MP’s, Senators and senior departmental officials, outreach to key stakeholders in the Assembly of First Nations and advocating for our Indigenous, military and Veterans.


• Key messages for private and public stakeholders we meet with include: Cost effectiveness of counselling and psychotherapy, appropriateness of care and timely access to care, lower wait times and therefore potentially less time off work, possibly lower drug costs, attraction and retention of employees and the potential of a new addition to the disability management process. This project and the pilots associated with it began in January 2018.


Associated with this work will be the introduction of an infographic that will highlight the value of CCPA professionally


VOL. 50 NO. 2 | SPRING 2018


trained counsellors and psychotherapists. Included in the infographic, among others things will be: how counselling and psychotherapy can help a person, information about regulation, the impact and cost of a mental health problems or illness, the knowledge that counsellors and psychotherapists are trained to deliver culturally appropriate mental health services, and the positives associated with seeing a professional counsellor/psychotherapist.


A second exciting event being held at our conference in Winnipeg, which is being co- hosted by our Private Practitioners Chapter and CCPA National Office is a round table on third party billing. It will be held on Thursday, May 10 from 1:30-4:30 in the Kildonan Room at the Delta Winnipeg. https://www.ccpa- accp.ca/private-practitioners-third-party- billing-round-table-conference-session/


The round table organizers issue a special invitation to attend and if you will be attending our conference, I invite you to consider this session.


We invite all those interested in discussing this to attend the round table. We would like to hear about your successes and challenges with respect to third party billing as well as best practices and lessons learned when advocating for coverage of fees with


insurance companies and employers. You will also have an opportunity to learn more about CCPA’s outreach activities in this area including an overview of our national third party billing project and how you can get involved. We look forward to an engaging afternoon of networking and sharing on this important matter for our profession and the clients we serve.


Advances in third party billing occur in a variety of ways. Some of which I have referenced above but they also occur through the individual efforts of our members and their relationships and ties to any number of companies, associations, and elected government officials at all three levels of government. In the past few months, we have seen individual members advocate


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