Quebec draws a sharper line around psychotherapy than any other province. The word “psychothérapeute” is reserved, a single order issues the permit, and your website is expected to work in French. Clients looking at their plan need to see your order and your permit spelled out, and a site that does that well is one they can act on.
How people in Quebec search for covered therapy
Most Quebec searches for therapy happen in French, and they often name a profession: “psychologue”, “psychothérapeute”, “travailleuse sociale”, or “thérapeute conjugal”. Clients have learned that the title matters for their claim, so they search with it.
English-speaking clients in Montreal, the Eastern Townships, the Outaouais, and elsewhere search too, usually for “English-speaking therapist” plus a coverage word. If you work in English, say so on your French pages as well as your English ones.
Some searches come from people with a claim open through a public program, such as a crime victim compensation file or a workplace injury claim. Those clients are looking for a psychologist or permit holder who can work within that program.
Searches like these:
- psychothérapeute Montréal assurance collective
- psychologue remboursé par les assurances Québec
- thérapeute conjugal et familial Laval reçu
- psychothérapeute IVAC Québec
- English-speaking therapist Montreal covered by insurance
- travailleur social psychothérapie Sherbrooke
Which credentials plans cover in Quebec
In Quebec, psychologists, physicians, and couple and family therapists can practise psychotherapy through their own profession. Members of seven other professional orders can do it only once they hold the psychotherapist permit issued by the Ordre des psychologues du Québec (OPQ).
- OPQ
Psychologue (psychologist)
Ordre des psychologues du Québec (OPQ)
Psychologists can practise psychotherapy without a separate permit. Their title is the one plans have recognized longest.
- Permis de psychothérapeute
Psychothérapeute (permit holder)
Permit issued by the Ordre des psychologues du Québec; the holder also belongs to their own order
Open to members of seven orders: guidance counsellors, criminologists, occupational therapists, nurses, psychoeducators, sexologists, and social workers, plus some who practised before 2012. It needs a master's degree, 765 hours of theory, and a 600-hour practicum.
- T.S.
Travailleur social / travailleuse sociale (social worker)
Ordre des travailleurs sociaux et des thérapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Québec (OTSTCFQ)
A social worker practises psychotherapy only with the OPQ permit. Many plans name social work on its own, so clients may be able to claim with or without it.
- T.C.F.
Thérapeute conjugal et familial (couple and family therapist)
Ordre des travailleurs sociaux et des thérapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Québec (OTSTCFQ)
Can practise psychotherapy without a separate permit. Plan wording for couple and family therapy varies, so clients should look for the title in their booklet.
- c.o.
Conseiller or conseillère d'orientation (guidance counsellor)
Ordre des conseillers et conseillères d'orientation du Québec (OCCOQ)
Guidance counsellors work in career and life transitions, and those who also hold the OPQ permit can offer psychotherapy. Name both on your site if you have both.
Clients often assume any “therapist” is interchangeable, but a Quebec plan reimburses a profession, and the permit is a separate fact from the order. A social worker without the permit, a social worker with it, and a psychologist can look identical on a directory card. Your site has to separate them so the client can match you to their booklet.
The reserved titles reach further than many people expect. Unless you're authorized, you can't call yourself “psychothérapeute” or use related titles such as “psychothérapeute spirituel” or “thérapeute psychologique”, and listing services under a “psychothérapie” heading can also be a problem. Check wording with your order before you publish.
What your website should say about coverage
A practice established in Quebec is generally expected to have its website in French, with other languages allowed alongside it as long as the French content is at least equivalent. This isn't legal advice: read the Office québécois de la langue française's current guidance on business websites and commercial communications, or ask a professional, before you launch or redesign.
On the coverage page, put your order, your member number, and, if it applies, your psychotherapist permit number together in one block. Then explain in plain French, and in English if you offer it, that reimbursement depends on the plan and on the professional title the plan lists.
If you take clients through IVAC, the SAAQ, or the CNESST, give each program its own short paragraph. They have separate rules, and a client with an open file wants to know quickly whether you can work within theirs.
Je suis travailleuse sociale, membre de l'OTSTCFQ (no [numéro]), et je détiens un permis de psychothérapeute de l'Ordre des psychologues du Québec (no [numéro]). Le remboursement dépend de votre régime d'assurance. In English: coverage depends on your plan, so ask your insurer whether it covers a social worker or a permit-holding psychotherapist.
Direct billing
Quebec has public programs that pay for psychological care in specific situations. IVAC can pay a psychologist or permit-holding psychotherapist directly once they have an IVAC provider number, for therapy related to a criminal act. The SAAQ reimburses psychological treatment after a road accident when it's prescribed and given by a psychologist or a psychotherapist with a permit, up to a set amount per treatment.
The CNESST covers psychological care for workers with an accepted workplace injury, delivered by a psychologist or permit holder in good standing with the OPQ. If you're set up with any of these programs, say so. If you're not, say that you work with private plans and personal payment only.
When EAP sessions run out
Many Quebec employers offer a programme d'aide aux employés (PAE) with a few short-term sessions. Clients often search for “psychologue après PAE” or “psychothérapeute après le PAE” when those sessions end and they want to keep going.
A short French paragraph explaining how to continue with you, and that their group insurance may take over depending on your title, answers them directly. Mention it in English too if you see English-speaking clients.
Your Quebec checklist
- A complete French website, with any English content no more complete than the French
- Your order, member number, and psychotherapist permit number in one place
- Your exact professional title, matching the words a plan booklet uses
- “Psychothérapie” used only if you're authorized to practise it
- Separate notes for IVAC, SAAQ, and CNESST files, or a clear line saying you don't take them
- A paragraph for clients whose PAE sessions have ended
- A check of the OQLF's current guidance before launching or redesigning your site
Then run your site through the free nine-point website checklist for therapists.
Common questions
Who can call themselves a psychotherapist in Quebec?
Psychologists and physicians, and people holding the psychotherapist permit issued by the Ordre des psychologues du Québec. Couple and family therapists can practise psychotherapy through their own order. Anyone else using the title, or a close variant, risks an illegal-practice complaint.
Will a client's plan cover a social worker who holds the permit?
It depends on the plan. Some plans reimburse social workers, some list psychotherapists, and some cover only psychologists. Give clients your order, your title, and your permit so they can ask their insurer exactly the right question.
Does my therapy website have to be in French?
Quebec's language rules generally expect a Quebec business's website to be available in French, with other languages allowed alongside it. This isn't legal advice, so check the Office québécois de la langue française's current guidance for your situation.
Can I see IVAC, SAAQ, or CNESST clients?
These programs pay for psychological care from psychologists and OPQ permit holders, each with its own conditions, such as a provider number or a prescription. Check each program's current rules before mentioning them on your site.
Keep going
- The complete SEO guide for therapists, and how therapists get more clients online.
- Set up your Google Business Profile and Psychology Today profile with the same credential wording as your site.
- See how I work with therapists across Canada.
- Other provinces and territories: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
Sources
- Ordre des psychologues du Québec: Qui pratique la psychothérapie?
- Ordre des psychologues du Québec: Permis de psychothérapeute, les quatre exigences
- Ordre des psychologues du Québec: Pratique illégale et usurpation de titre
- Ordre des travailleurs sociaux et des thérapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Québec (OTSTCFQ)
- Ordre des conseillers et conseillères d'orientation du Québec (OCCOQ)
- Office québécois de la langue française: Sites Web des entreprises
- IVAC: Réhabilitation psychothérapique et psychosociale
- SAAQ: Reimbursement of psychological treatments
- CNESST: Rôle du psychologue et du psychothérapeute
This is general marketing information, not legal or insurance advice. Coverage depends on each client's plan and on your credential. Confirm current rules with your College or association. Checked September 2026.