The Traveling Therapist Podcast · Kym Tolson

204. Getting Licensed in Canada as a Therapist with Sienna Forest

·34 min·2 clips

To get an RCC in British Columbia, you have to be living in Canada with a visa or permanent residence.

1. The Traveling Therapist Podcast episode focuses on getting licensed in Canada as a therapist, with Sienna Forrest explaining the British Columbia path. 2. Kim Tolson hosts the conversation, and Sienna Forrest is the guest because she is pursuing Canadian licensure while running a U.S. private practice. 3. The episode asks what it actually takes to move between the U.S. and British Columbia without losing a therapy career. 4. Sienna says she moved around about eight times in the last year and has lived in Santa Cruz, Seattle, Squamish, and South America. 5. She describes discovering Squamish, British Columbia, as a place she kept returning to because of mountains, outdoor activity, and quality of life. 6. Sienna explains that she has done hiking sessions, walking sessions, phone sessions, and virtual therapy, and she first explored this during COVID in grad school and a residential substance clinic. 7. She says British Columbia uses the BCACC, the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counselors, for licensure. 8. She states that her California license and private practice were the basis for proving equivalency to BCACC. 9. She says the Canadian process currently requires 150 direct clinical hours, compared with 3,000 hours in California. 10. She notes that British Columbia currently has no licensure test, which she says may change around 2027 under a new regulatory board. 11. Sienna says the RCC cannot be finalized unless the applicant is living in Canada with a visa or permanent residence. 12. She calls that requirement a catch-22 because getting a visa often depends on employer sponsorship or another immigration route. 13. She explains that she first tried the CUSMA visa, but therapy is not specifically listed the way social work and psychologist are. 14. She says she then shifted to permanent residence because she wants to keep her U.S. business while building a life in Canada. 15. Sienna says she got about 15 rejections and only a few replies when looking for a Canadian part-time employer. 16. She says many Canadian workplaces hire contractors rather than employees, while nonprofits and government organizations are the main employee-based options. 17. She describes the PR system as point-based, with points tied to age, education, skilled work, and the NOC code. 18. She says therapists need to score roughly 460 to 480 points and must take an English language test even if they already speak English. 19. The conversation stays practical and conversational, with Kim asking direct follow-up questions about visas, taxes, housing, and supervision requirements. 20. Therapists interested in British Columbia and people weighing PR versus short stays would get the most from this episode, while listeners wanting a general theory discussion may skip it.

As heard by us

A grounded look at licensure, residency, and the pull of place.

The episode tracks Sienna Forest as she works through licensure in Canada and tries to build a life around Squamish, where work, place, and day to day stability all seem tied together.

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Why you'd press play

Trying to build a therapy life in Canada without giving up flexibility.

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