Welcome to Advanced Assessment for Canadian Counsellors/Psychotherapists
Your specialization pathway.
ASSESS+ Training by Dr. Erinn Bailey-Sawatzky, Psy.D
JOIN A THRIVING COMMUNITY
Dr. Erinn Bailey-Sawatzky, Psy.D, R.C.C., R.T.C, C.T
APA Award Winning Researcher. Global Psychological Science Presenter (CPA & APS)
Counsellor Educator. Clinician. Supervisor.
ASSESS+ is Canada’s first dedicated clinical assessment training pathway designed specifically for practicing counsellors. Led by
Dr. Erinn Bailey-Sawatzky (Doctor of Psychology, RCC), these programs build the confidence, clarity, and assessment literacy counsellors need to practice at an advanced level—without stepping outside their scope. If you have always wanted assessment to be your specialty, or to increase your knowledge and ability to use assessments- ASSESS+ training is for you!
CLINICAL COURSES
Doctor-level assessment training made accessible for practicing counsellors in Alberta, British Columbia, and across Canada. Finally learn the advanced assessment skills you were never taught or need more of — and elevate your clinical practice with clarity and confidence.
1
Available Now!
Consider your university course in assessment as foundational. This course teaches you advanced clinical assessment skills that you can utilize in your practice to elevate client care and services you offer in the area of clinical assessment, without diagnosis.
10 hours= 10 CE/PD credits
Online, Self Paced Course
Multiple handouts
Exam (multiple attempts accepted)
Certificate of Completion
Prerequisite: Registration with a counselling/psychotherapy college or association.
Upon completion, you may also inquire on supervision services and/or enroll in further courses.
2
Advanced Assessment Battery For Counsellors
Course Level 2
Looking to add professional clinical assessment packages to your counselling business? Are you wanting to elevate your work in this area now that you have taken Level 1, but need some guidance on assessment batteries to include in packages and how to market and price assessment services?
Dr. Erinn will take the guess work out of this for you in this course. You will receive assessment battery information that you can consider for implementation in your practice!
Prerequisite: Advanced Clinical Assessment Level 1
3
Advanced Assessment
Report Writing
Write clinical reports that stand with any clinical discipline.
Strong assessment work requires strong reports.
Dr. Erinn will go into detail on report writing, provide multiple sample reports for you in this course specifically focused on advancing your professional report writing skills!
You will experience Dr. Erinn working through case examples and how that information is specifically written into reports.
This course gives the next step of data integration and advances your ability to use professional assessment reports for your clients.
Prerequisite: Advanced Clinical Assessment Course Level 1
4
Advanced Practice Hub
Biological & Psychophysiological Considerations
in Advanced Practice Clinical Assessment
Mental health isn't just psychological. Assessment that ignores biological considerations may be incomplete. Increase your knowledge in the Biological domain of BioPsychoSocial considerations when providing assessment and/or psychotherapy services to your clients.
Dr. Erinn will teach you how neurobiology, physiology, and systemic factors inform clinical impressions and case formulation- without stepping outside of scope.
Prerequisite: Advanced Clinical Assessment Level 1
5
Advanced Practice Hub
Psychopharmacology
for
Counsellors/Psychotherapists
in Canada
Our clients many times enter our office on medication, or they are in therapy with us while titrating medication with their medical providers.
Counsellors are not prescribing medication, but we should know how those medications are working and potential side effects. You collaborate, monitor, and support clients who use medication while providing them therapy. Increasing your knowledge helps us to make ethical referrals to medical providers in a timely manner.
Prerequisite: Advanced Clinical Assessment Level 1
6
Advanced Practice Hub
Diagnostic Literacy for
Counsellors/Psychotherapists
in Canada
You are not a diagnostician, but you do need to understand what is in front of you to know when to make ethical referrals and to increase the efficacy of your case conceptualizations.
In this course, Dr. Erinn will increase your diagnostic literacy so you can treat and refer with increased confidence. Should diagnostics become advanced practice for counsellors in Canada, like it is in the US, you will need to be prepared.
Prerequisite: Advanced Clinical Assessment Level 1
7
Advanced Practice Hub
Clinical Assessment Counsellor Supervisor
Level 1
Become the next generation of counsellor assessment supervisors!
Counsellors working to gain competence in assessment will need highly trained counsellor colleagues able to provide them supervision services.
Dr. Erinn will provide you with the training to help you confidently add this to your clinical repertoire and business. Become some of the first counsellor-trained clinical assessment supervisors in Canada, and mentor the next wave of competent and confident advanced practice assessment counsellors.
Prerequisite: Advanced Clinical Assessment Level 1, 2, & 3
8
Advanced Practice Hub
Clinical Assessment Counsellor Supervisor
Level 2
This is part 2 of a 3 part series to become competent in supervising other counsellors doing advanced clinical assessment.
Prerequisite: Advanced Clinical Assessment Level 1, 2, 3,
&
Counsellor Supervisor Training Level 1
9
Advanced Practice Hub
Clinical Assessment Counsellor Supervisor
Level 3
This is the final stage of training that gets you to the point of being able to supervise other counsellors in assessment!
Prerequisite: Advanced Clinical Assessment Level 1, 2, 3,
&
Counsellor Supervisor Training Level 2
10
Advanced Practice Hub
ADHD, Autism Spectrum, & Neurodevelopmental Disorders
This course provides comprehensive information on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and other Neurodevelopmental Disorders
for the non-diagnosing counsellor who is treating or identifying and referring/collaborating with other healthcare professionals.
Prerequisite: Advanced Clinical Assessment Level 1, 2, & 3
11
Advanced Practice Hub
Counselling Media Writing & Publication
If you are a counsellor looking to write and publish books as part of your practice, than this course is for you!
Dr. Erinn will educate you through the process- from idea to publishing. And as part of this course, you will begin work on a piece of literature and medium of your choice to get you going, with Dr. Erinn's guidance!
12
Advanced Practice Hub
Projective Assessment
Does the idea of learning about Projective Assessments such as the
-
Rorschach Test
-
House-Tree-Person &
-
Thematic Apperception Test
interest you?
If so, this will be a course you do not want to miss! Dr. Erinn will walk you through the history and development of projective testing and the most common projective tests used by qualified clinicians.
Prerequisite: Advanced Clinical Assessment Level 1, 2, & 3
COURSE RECOMMENDATIONS
Level 1: Advanced Clinical Assessment Foundations
Level 1 teaches the essential clinical assessment skills counsellors must master to practice at an advanced level.
You will learn how to:
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Gather and structure assessment data ethically and confidently
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Use behavioural, cognitive, emotional, relational, and psychophysiological lenses
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Understand Level A, B & C assessment categories and how to access them
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Formulate cases with clarity utilizing your advanced assessment skills
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Build assessment protocols you can use immediately in your practice
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Integrate assessment without stepping outside your scope
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Communicate assessment findings with precision
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Reduce liability through accurate clinical reasoning and appropriate referrals
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Write high quality reports & more
This is the required course before proceeding to further ASSESS+ programs. Your assessment training starts with Level 1. Begin your path toward advanced, confident, ethical assessment practice.
FURTHER TRAINING PATHWAYS
Once you complete Level 1, you gain access to advanced courses and services including:
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Advanced Assessment Batteries for Counsellors
-
Advanced Report Writing Skills
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Biological & Psychophysiological Considerations in Assessment
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Psychopharmacology for Counsellors
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Diagnostic Literacy for Counsellors
-
Clinical Assessment Supervisor Training
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Access your own supervision needs for new assessment use, and more!
Designed for counsellors who want to practice with elevated assessment precision and confidence — to their full scope of practice.
PROFESSIONAL OUTCOMES YOU CAN EXPECT
After completing ASSESS+ Level 1, counsellors often report:
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Greater assessment clarity
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More structured sessions and progress tracking
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Highly aligned treatment planning
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Readiness to take on complex clients and make appropriate referrals
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Increased referrals for your unique assessment skillset
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Development of new revenue streams in assessment
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A stronger professional identity and interprofessional respect
COURSE REGISTRATION
INSIGHTS & UPDATES: ASSESSMENT
blog/ dr. erinn
WHY COUNSELLORS CHOOSE ASSESS +
Training that allows you to confidently conduct assessments that elevate your care and your business
Counsellors across Alberta, BC, and the rest of Canada are being asked to do more complex work than ever before—yet minimal assessment training in university programs does not often leave counsellors feeling prepared. In fact, this gap leaves many counsellors feeling unsure, undervalued, or pressured to “stay away from assessment” entirely.
ASSESS+ was created to change that.
My training programs empower counsellors to use structured, ethical, research-aligned clinical assessment methods within their scope, without needing diagnostic authority. You’ll develop clear, defensible assessment skills that strengthen your practice, support client outcomes, and enhance your confidence as a practitioner.
For years, counsellors and psychotherapists have been able to practice in assessment, but often note not feeling very confident in their training in it. Assessment is often misunderstood by counsellors as something reserved only for psychologists — leaving some counsellors feeling hesitant, underprepared, or worried they’ll “get it wrong.”
ASSESS+ was created to change that.
Grounded in doctoral-level expertise and built for practice-ready application, ASSESS+ provides counsellors with advanced assessment training that is ethical, approachable, clinically aligned, and designed for everyday client work of counsellors and psychotherapists — not for diagnostics or out of scope work.
When you gain real assessment literacy, everything changes:
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Your sessions can become clearer and more structured
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Your clients may progress faster
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Your case formulations can become stronger
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Your interventions may improve
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Your professional confidence in assessment rises
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Your referrals improve
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Your income potential can also expand through specialized services
"Assessment is not reserved for one profession. It is a fundamental counselling skill — and it is within a counsellors scope"
When you take one or more of Dr. Erinn's assessment courses, you are investing in advanced training in a specialty area to ensure you are working to your full scope of practice in the area of assessment. These courses are created by a doctor of psychology specialized in assessment, who is also a counsellor, FOR counsellors. The first of its kind!
ASSESS+ is intentionally designed for counsellors practicing within Canadian contexts — especially in Alberta and British Columbia, where rapid growth in counselling regulation goals is creating a new demand for advanced, ethically solid assessment skills.
Whether you’re based in a rural practice, a private clinic, a community agency, or working virtually across provinces, this training elevates your assessment abilities in a way that fits your scope, enhances your competence, and strengthens your professional identify ensuring you avoid scope atrophy.
Also unique with Dr. Erinn's assessment courses is that upon graduation, you can request to meet with her to see if she (or one of her colleagues) would be a good fit for you for supervision as you get started utilizing assessments that may be a new competency area for you. If the fit isn't "fitting", she has other clinicians to potentially refer you to. Both Dr. Erinn's courses and supervision services provide you with documented evidence for CE/PD credits and for supervision details, should this be applicable to you. Check with your college or association to confirm.
MEET DR. ERINN
& LEARN ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Welcome Message
"As a doctoral-level counsellor specializing in advanced clinical assessment and applied practice, I’ve spent years watching counsellors struggle with “guesswork assessment” or avoiding assessment completely— not because they lack skill, but because they lack access to advanced training to build upon their foundational skills. Counsellors may feel other mental health professionals often guard assessment training as if it belongs only to them. It doesn’t.
Counsellors deserve access to high-level, clinically accurate assessment training that strengthens — not limits — their scope.
ASSESS+ exists to close that gap.
The mission is simple- to make advanced assessment training accessible, ethical, and empowering for every counsellor who wants it"