​​​Counsellors

Do you provide counselling treatments to ICBC customers injured in a car crash? Here are a few things you should know.

In order for ICBC to consider treatment funding, you must meet the definition of a "counsellor". According to the Insurance (Vehicle) Regulation, "counsellor" means a person:

(a) who is a member in good standing of an association whose members provide the health care services of clinical or counselling psychology,

(b) who holds a master's degree or doctorate in psychology, psychiatry, social work, or clinical or counselling psychology, and

(c) whose health care services of clinical or counselling psychology are overseen by a person who is a member of a health profession as defined in the Health Professions Act or a similar law of another jurisdiction.

Note: Oversight is the responsibility of a practitioner to ensure treatment plans are in alignment with the treatment goals of the pr​imary care provider(s). This may involve sharing of the assessment findings and treatment recommendations with the primary care provider, in accordance with the association's information sharing guidelines.

Fees

• ICBC Fee Guide for Health Care Providers​​​​

Invoicing and reporting

ICBC is the first payer for counselling sessions administered on or after April 1, 2019.

Counsellors approved to treat ICBC customers with their own claim (grief counselling*, or otherwise) and who have met ICBC's vendor number requirements may use the Health Care Provider Invoicing and Reporting (HCPIR) application or the Health Care Provider Portal (HCPP) to submit invoices and reports directly to ICBC.

A vendor number is required to use the HCPIR application. Both a vendor number and Personal Identification Number (PIN)​ is required to use the HCPP.

If you would like a step-by-step guide on how to use the HCPIR application, you can reference our guide on Using HCPIR for Counsellors.

Note: Social workers providing counselling services are exempt from GST, therefore they must invoice for sessions using the manual invoicing and document submission​.

*Immediate family members may be eligible for grief couns​​​​elling support to cope with the loss of their loved one involved in a crash May 1, 2021 or later. Invoices for these counselling sessions cannot be submitted using HCPIR/HCPP; they must be submitted using the manual billing and document submission process.

Report templates

• CL489G - Counselling Initial Report   
• CL489H - Counselling Progress Report (only complete upon request)
• Counsellor report completion guide

Support on fillable PDFs

Please note that a personal computer (laptop, notebook, desktop, etc.) is required to use the fillable PDF report templates. Mobile devices, including devices using iPad OS and iOS, are not supported.

To fill in and save a PDF:

1. Right-click the link, select “Save link as…" from the menu, and save the PDF file to your computer.
2. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
3. Fill in the form, and review the information you've entered.
4. If applicable, click the “Lock" button at the top of the form. This will set the form to a “read only" state. This action cannot be undone, so ensure you've carefully reviewed the information you entered into the form before locking the PDF
5. Save the PDF document.

Treatment guidelines

Counsellors are expected to assess patients and determine their treatment plans in accordance with the guidelines and practice standards of their association.

When treating a patient with an injury listed in sections 3 or 4 of the Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols in the Minor Injury Regulation made under the Insurance (Vehicle) Act, a health care practitioner must educate the patient with respect to the following:

(1) (a) if applicable, the desirability of an early return:

a. to the activities the patient could perform before the injury, or

b. to the patient's employment, occupation or profession or the patient's training or education in a program or course;

(b) an estimate of the probable length of time that symptoms will last;

(c) the usual course of recovery;

(d) the probable factors that are responsible for the symptoms the patient may be experiencing;

(e) appropriate self-management and pain management strategies.

(2) When treating a pain syndrome and a psychological or psychiatric condition, a health care practitioner must identify comorbid conditions, if applicable.