How to Apply and FAQs

Yes, you may continue to provide clinical supervision/consultation if you meet the qualifications of a clinical supervisor, which can be found on the RCC Eligibility Page. However, clinical counsellors will no longer be able to self-identify as clinical supervisors on the BCACC website without this designation.

You can find the definitions of terms related to this program here.

The ACS program is a phased program, and we are still in phase one which is limited specifically to RCCs. We may look in the future at expanding it to include non-members. If you would like to explore becoming an ACS now, it would involve joining the association. If you are interested in doing so, please contact [email protected] and we will point you in the right direction.

As communicated via multiple channels, BCACC extended the legacy path application process to ensure that any applicants who may qualify to apply through the legacy path had a chance to apply. Unfortunately, the legacy path is now closed. If you wish to obtain the ACS designation, we ask you to apply through the regular path. If you have any further questions, please contact the program manager at [email protected] 

The legacy path was designed to recognize qualified members who are already practicing as Clinical Supervisors with a designation that honours their training and experience. The regular path is designed to guide new clinical supervisors or members who aspire to become a clinical supervisor to become an approved clinical supervisor by using established criteria within the supervision profession to assess clinical supervisors.

As long as the experience was when you were a regulated mental health professional with a Master’s degree, you may include the experience for the eligibility criteria. Please note that any clinical experience that is not related to clinical counselling/psychotherapy should not be considered.

Please note that peer supervision, peer consultation, and group consultation are not suitable and will not be considered in the application for the program. The 75 clinical supervision hours that you received should include at least 50 hours of individual/paired supervision and at least 25 hours must be in BC.

The typical processing time for the application is up to 4 weeks, depending on the volume of applications received at the time of submission.

BCACC will provide instructions and relevant forms to you once the application is approved to move on to the training component of the program. The training component is self-directed and you will be responsible for completing the requirements, including finding your Supervisor of Supervision and Supervisees to provide supervision, within the same 12 to 24 months time period. If you have any questions about the training component, please contact the program manager at [email protected]. 

Yes, you can utilize the clinical supervision course that was completed within the last 5 years of the application submission as long as the course was from the BCACC’s pre-approved course list and you can provide the certificate of completion.

The training component is self-directed and you will be responsible for completing the requirements, including finding your Supervisor of Supervision and Supervisees to provide supervision, within the 12 to 24 months time period. However, you may utilize the Find a Supervisor page, which provides a list of ACSs that were approved through the legacy path and/or reach out to the program manager for more support.

It is recommended to have one continuing Supervisor of Supervision for all 18 hours. However, there is a possibility of having a maximum of two Supervisors of Supervision as long as at least 9 hours are from one Supervisor of Supervision. Please note that the Supervisor of Supervision evaluation report must be submitted by each Supervisor of Supervision.

All 18 hours can be individual Supervision of Supervision hours. Out of the 18 hours, a minimum of 12 hours of Supervision of Supervision must be individual, and up to 6 hours may be paired.

In BCACC’s ACS Designation Program, supervisor candidates are expected to receive both direct and indirect supervision of supervision in an equal ratio. For more information about direct and indirect supervision of supervision, please check the definition of terms.

If you have a supervisor in mind who can provide evidence of advanced skills in clinical supervision acceptable to the clinical supervision committee equal to or greater than the listed qualifications of Supervisor of Supervision, you may request the committee a review by providing the information. If you would like to request a review, please contact the program manager at [email protected]. 

In this case, please contact the program manager at [email protected] to provide more information about your circumstances. 

In the training component requirement, BCACC asks that the Supervisor of Supervision complete the evaluation report and submit it directly to BCACC. The Supervisor of Supervision is expected to discuss the content of the evaluation report with you prior to submitting it to BCACC.

No, the QACC Program is mandatory for ACSs to maintain the ACS designation, effective April 1, 2025.

April 1st, 2025, is when the ACS Program officially adopts the QACC Program to replace the previous ACS professional development requirements for existing ACSs. From April 1st, ACSs should engage in the QACC Program to log their learning activities to show that they have fulfilled the new ACS professional development requirements.

To ensure a smooth transition, ACSs can enter any clinical supervision-related activities that were completed between January and December 2024, as well as any that were completed in 2025 for the first 2-year QACC Program cycle (2025-2026). You can enter relevant learning activities that you have accomplished in 2024 at any time as long as you have done so within a 2-year program cycle (2025-2026). If you have previously submitted your learning activities to BCACC, you can reach out to the ACS program manager via email at [email protected] if you need assistance in retrieving your records for 2024.

Any newly designated ACSs after April 1st, 2025, will follow the new ACS professional development requirements using the QACC Program.

Yes, the ACS Program understands that this change means that there will be a transition period. Any activities related to clinical supervision that you have completed in 2024 and 2025, before the effective date, can be counted towards the first 2-year cycle of the new ACS professional development requirements. After April 1, you can continue your learning activities following the new ACS professional development guidelines to meet the ACS Program requirements.

As an ACS Candidate, you do not need to meet the ACS program’s professional development requirements until you have obtained your ACS designation. However, we recommend that you engage in the QACC Program as an RCC to help familiarize yourself with the platform and the program structure. 

To ensure a smooth transition, ACSs can enter any clinical supervision-related activities that were completed between January and December 2024, as well as any that were completed in 2025 for the first 2-year QACC Program cycle (2025-2026). If you have previously submitted your learning activities to BCACC, you can reach out to the ACS program manager via email at [email protected] if you need assistance in retrieving your records for 2024.  

Once you obtain the ACS designation, the ACS program manager will provide more information on how to fulfill the ACS professional development requirements.

The QACC Program provides an Activity Guide that details the different types of activities members could engage in and the number of credits members could earn. To meet the ACS professional development requirements, the topics you choose when selecting your learning activity should focus on activities in the area of clinical supervision and/or ethics as a way to learn about and incorporate emerging best practices.

ACS holders need to accumulate the following number of credits related to the area of clinical supervision:

• A minimum of 15 credits out of the 25 credits in Experiential & Applied Learning Activities
• A minimum of 5 credits out of the 15 credits in Independent Learning Activities

Aside from that, ACSs will follow the same program structure as an RCC member (i.e. accumulate a total of 50 credits over 2 years). You do not need to engage in the QACC Program more than once per cycle (i.e. you only need to accumulate a total of 50 credits over 2 years). For more information, please contact us via email at [email protected].

If you are currently engaging in the QACC Program, you do not need to restart your progress. Any credits you’ve earned so far in the current QACC Program cycle will be counted towards the ACS Program’s professional development requirement. Once you have obtained your ACS designation, any learning activities you log from that point forward should be related to the area of clinical supervision.

Here are some examples of learning activities that are considered to be in the area of clinical supervision:

• Supervision Mentoring (e.g., Supervision of Supervision, Case Review, Consultation)
  • Individual
  • Group (i.e., clinical supervisors meeting with a Supervisor of Supervision in a group setting)
• Training courses or workshops in clinical supervision
• Peer Supervision (i.e., a group of clinical supervisors with a similar level of interest and/or experience meeting together to discuss their clinical supervision work)
• Presentations in provisional training for clinical supervision
• Journal publications (i.e., writing an article related to clinical supervision)
• Teaching courses related to clinical supervision
• Self-study in clinical supervision (e.g., reading journal articles, reading books, research, etc)

To fulfill the ACS professional development requirements, you should meet the 50 credits over a 2-year cycle as part of the QACC Program while obtaining the following number of credits specifically in the area of clinical supervision:

• A minimum of 15 credits out of the 25 credits in Experiential & Applied Learning Activities
• A minimum of 5 credits out of the 15 credits in Independent Learning Activities

The remaining credits can be allocated to either clinical supervision or other learning activities related to your practice as an RCC but that are not directly related to clinical supervision. For the ACS Program auditing purposes, please ensure that you log all learning activities related to clinical supervision with a note in the reflection section (e.g., “for ACS requirements”).

The ACS Program will conduct audits from time to time and may request proof to show that you have completed the ACS professional development requirements. If you are selected for an audit, you will be asked to submit your professional development activities by downloading a copy of your QACC Program progress from the platform. You will be given detailed instructions at that time. The ACS Program manager may also ask for additional documents related to the activities (e.g., course certificates, receipts, etc.). It is recommended that a copy of these documents be kept for 5 years for future reference. Please note that any information and documentation shared for the purposes of auditing will only be accessed by the ACS program manager and is not shared/viewed by any other party.

Any teaching activities that you have done as a guest lecturer or speaker, including the teaching materials preparation, can be counted toward the QACC credits. If your teaching experience is within the scope of your current position and/or is performed regularly (e.g., teaching a course at a post-secondary institution every term), it is not considered an activity for your professional development for the requirements. However, if you are updating your course/training based on new knowledge or skills you’ve gained, you can count this towards the “Resource Development” Activity Type in the QACC Program. If you engaged in learning activities to gain this new knowledge, you could also claim credits. Please refer to the Activity Guide in the QACC Program for more information.

Currently, BCACC does not conduct workshops or program recognition. For more information on this subject, please contact [email protected].

As of April 1, 2025, the QACC Program and the use of the QACC platform are mandatory for ACSs to maintain their ACS designation. If you have any specific concerns, please contact us via email at [email protected].

For any specific questions related to using the QACC platform, please contact the QACC Team at [email protected].

The annual fee of $35 is to facilitate staff time to support the ACS community and facilitate the administration of the program.

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