1. AUTHORITY to practice psychotherapy: The authority to practice the controlled act of psychotherapy comes from The Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA), 1991 of Ontario, section 33(1) which authorizes the controlled act of psychotherapy to certain regulated professions. When reviewed, you will note that Nurses registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) are included in the list of regulated professions allowed to provide the controlled act of psychotherapy. This gives the authority to regulated Nurse Psychotherapists to the College of Nurses of Ontario through the RHPA. The CNO then prepared their direction for nurses regarding the requirements for practicing as a nurse psychotherapist in the CNO Scope of Practice Document (CNO, 2024) and Ask Practice Directions. This means, Nurses registered in good standing with the CNO have the AUTHORITY to practice psychotherapy. This NPO requires proof of being in good standing with the CNO via "Find a Nurse" and an attestation to register nurse psychotherapists to the registry.

2. CONTEXT for practicing psychotherapy: The CNO states, "A nurse who has the legal authority to perform an activity must also consider whether it is appropriate to do so within the context of their practice setting. Context may include the broader environment in which nurses work, the health care setting, and the available resources to support the nurse and client" (CNO, 2024). Nurses have the Context when they have set up their environment (physical, virtual or both) to support their client and their professional capacity as well as ensuring they have supports and resources to practice safely. This can include mentorship/supervison and belonging to professional associations such as this one. Nurse Psychotherapists practicing and in good standing with the CNO have attested to having this context in place to practice psychotherapy. This attestation is required by the NPO in order to register nurse psychotherapists to the registry.

3. COMPETENCE for practicing psychotherapy: The CNO states, "Competence is the knowledge, skill and judgment required to perform an activity safely within a nurse’s role and practice setting. Nursing competence also includes leadership, decision-making and critical-thinking skills. Nurses are accountable to continually reflect on their practice and determine their learning needs to ensure they can provide safe client care" (CNO, 2024). The QA process from the CNO is a robust process of evaluating your competency through reflection and evidence-informed evaluation of your progress in competently practicing within your area of expertise. Because psychotherapy, specifically practiced by nursing is a complex and multi-dimensional practice required to be done within a holistic and client-centred approach, nurses must evaluate their individual competence and decide yearly how they will not only ensure growth and development, but also provide evidence of evaluation of this. The NPO requires proof of this QA in the form of their learning plan, in order to register nurse psychotherapists to the registry.