What to study

What to study for the CRPO exam: the competencies, standards and laws it tests

Facts checked against CRPO's and Ontario's official sources on October 22, 2026.

The CRPO Registration Examination is aligned to the Entry-to-Practice Competency Profile for Registered Psychotherapists, so that is your syllabus. Study the Competency Profile, CRPO's Professional Practice Standards and Code of Ethics, and the Ontario laws a psychotherapist applies every day (consent, privacy, reporting, scope), then practise using them inside client scenarios. The exam does not ask you to recite any of it. It asks you to choose, in a case, the actions those documents require.

Start with the Competency Profile

CRPO's Resource Manual says the Competency Profile to which the exam is aligned will be most helpful to preparation, and that it is available at no cost on the CRPO website. It has five sections:

Section	What it covers
1. Foundations	Theory of human functioning, your theoretical framework, psychopathology, the major diagnostic categories and classes of psychoactive drugs, self-awareness, human and cultural diversity
2. Collegial and Interprofessional Relationships	Professional communication, working relationships and collaboration
3. Professional Responsibilities	Legal and professional obligations, ethical decision making, self-care, supervision and consultation, records, reports, business practices
4. Therapeutic Process	Orienting the client, core conditions for therapy, safe use of self, risk assessment, structuring the work, referral, closure
5. Professional Literature and Applied Research	Keeping current with the literature and using research findings

Read each competency and ask what it would look like as an option in a session. "Recognize the major diagnostic categories in current use" (1.3d) is there, for example, while communicating a diagnosis is outside an RP's scope. That distinction alone decides options on the exam.

The Professional Practice Standards

The Standards turn the law and the Code into rules for daily practice. They have six sections: Professional Conduct, Competence, Client-Therapist Relationship, Clinical Supervision, Record Keeping and Documentation, and Business Practices. The ones most often in play in a client scenario:

1.2 Use of terms, titles and designations (RP, RP (Qualifying); "RP(Q)" is not approved)
1.3 Mandatory reporting, and 1.7 Dual relationships
2.1 Seeking consultation, clinical supervision and referral
3.1 Confidentiality and 3.2 Consent
4.2 Practising with clinical supervision
5.1 Clinical records, and 6.3 Discontinuing services

Learn what each one requires you to do, not its number. The records and privacy and dual relationships guides summarise two of them.

The Code of Ethics

CRPO's Code of Ethics has seven principles: Autonomy and Dignity of All Persons; Excellence in Professional Practice; Integrity; Justice; Responsible Citizenship; Responsible Research; and Support for Colleagues. When two good options compete, the principle at stake usually tells you which one wins, for example a capable client's autonomy against a family member's wishes.

The Ontario laws an RP applies

Law	What to know for the exam
Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, and its Health Professions Procedural Code	The controlled acts, mandatory reports about sexual abuse of a client, complaints and the College's role
Psychotherapy Act, 2007	The scope of practice, the controlled act of psychotherapy, protected titles
Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004	Consent to collect, use and disclose; the limits of confidentiality; clients' access to their records
Health Care Consent Act, 1996	Informed consent, capacity at any age, substitute decision-makers
Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017	The duty to report a child who may need protection, immediately and personally

CRPO's Jurisprudence Manual, "Professional Practice and Jurisprudence for Registered Psychotherapists", covers all of this in one place: professional regulation, the Standards one by one, and the laws, including the Mental Health Act and human rights law. You worked through its module when you applied; reread it before the exam. The jurisprudence guide explains what it contains, and the controlled act, consent and capacity and duty to report guides cover three of the laws.

How to study it

Read for action, not recall. For each standard or legal duty, write one line: when it applies, what you must do, and what you must not do. Then test the line in a case. The Resource Manual recommends case studies that ask which actions are in the client's best interest, and says the choice of other study materials is entirely the candidate's; COMPASS does not endorse any author or text.

The library module How the Exam Works shows how the blueprint weights each area, and the 8-week study plan puts these sources in order. The free diagnostic shows which areas to start with.

Common questions

Is the CRPO exam based on the DSM?

No. The exam is aligned to the Competency Profile. You should recognize the major diagnostic categories, but an RP may not communicate a diagnosis, and options that do are typically weighted negative.

Do I need to memorise section numbers of the Standards or Acts?

No. The exam never asks for a number. You need to know what each standard and duty requires in a situation, and when it applies.

Which theories of psychotherapy are tested?

The exam is not tied to one model. The Competency Profile asks you to work within an established theoretical framework and know the benefits and limits of differing approaches, so options are judged on good client care, not on a school of therapy.

Is the jurisprudence module the same as the exam?

No. The jurisprudence module is a separate requirement completed before you apply. Its content, though, is exactly the law and the standards the exam's options test.