Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. As a retired CPA from Alberta, Saskatchewan, or Northwest Territories and Nunavut, you still have full access to CPA Assist services, provided you are still a member in good standing registered with your respective governing body.

If you don’t feel like the psychologist is going to work out, please call the services line to discuss your situation and be paired with someone else.

For the service provider to be able to call you back, all we require is your first name and phone number you can be reached. Due to the nature of the program, if you do not leave a voicemail it is not possible to return missed calls.

We aim to connect you to support within three weeks; ideally within three to five weeks if we can. Appointments are booked during regular office hours from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. MT, Monday through Friday.

This is determined by the service provider. Each case and each person is unique, so it is not possible to define generally.

Determination is based primarily on whether multiple issues are related or are presenting at the same time. For example, if an individual uses the service to discuss stress management, however, six months later their significant other passes away suddenly, those two are independent issues.

Third-party billing is not possible. The professional service provider must be associated with Forbes Psychological Services in order to utilize the program.

Yes. The confidentiality of clients who utilize this program is strictly protected by:

• The strict requirements and professional and ethical standards* that govern our professional service provider.
• The strictly statistical reporting is provided by our professional service provider; no personal information is disclosed to CPA Assist.

*Information obtained in counselling sessions is held in strict confidence and will not be released without express written permission, except under certain risk situations and/or legal conditions.

A situation where the law requires confidentiality to be waived includes the disclosure of the information that is necessary to respond to an emergency that threatens the life, health or security of an individual or the public. Examples would include suspected cases of child abuse, a threat of suicide, or other life-threatening situations.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide CPAs who live internationally with counselling support, including telepsychology, as it falls outside the jurisdictional boundaries of registered psychologists in Canada.

No. CPA Assist is only available to CPAs, CPA PEP candidates, and CPAWSB PREP students.

Not directly. CPA Assist services are available to eligible CPAs, candidates, and their immediate family members. Immediate family includes a spouse by marriage or common-law and dependent children who are 21 years of age or younger, or under the age of 25 if attending a recognized school or university full-time.

However, a CPA or candidate may book a family session that includes an extended family member, such as a parent or sibling, provided the covered person attends. The session counts toward the covered participant’s annual entitlement of six hours of direct professional counselling. Additional hours are not allotted for extended family members in attendance.

Please give your provider at least 24 hours’ notice. You can contact them directly to move your appointment.

No. CPA Assist providers do not charge members any fee for a session, whether it was attended or missed. There are no late cancellation or no-show fees. However, if an appointment is missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, and avoidable, it will count toward your annual allotted coverage.

It depends on the circumstances. If it was a genuine emergency or something outside your control such as a illness, a family emergency, an accident, a bereavement, it won’t count against your allotment. If it was something avoidable, such as forgetting the appointment, sleeping in, or changing your mind, the session uses the time that was reserved for it from your allotment (for example, a missed one-hour session uses one hour).

Your provider makes that judgment. They won’t ask you for proof, and where the circumstances aren’t clear cut, the session won’t count against your allotment.

If you miss two sessions in a row, your provider will check in and the administrative team may follow up. That isn’t a penalty – it’s just to make sure the program is still a good fit and to see whether anything needs to change.

Contact your provider directly, as early as you can.