Public consultation without listening? Ontario patients and the public deserve better.
When it comes to patient care in Ontario, it makes sense that patients should have a say in the standards of their own care. Unfortunately, that appears to have fallen short when it comes to standards suggested by the regulator of Ontario’s psychologists.
A recent Toronto Star column by the head of the College of Psychologists and Behavioural Analysts of Ontario argued that loosening long-standing qualification and training standards is necessary to “modernize” the profession and address shortages — effectively lowering the bar for who can call themselves a psychologist.
Demand for psychological services is indeed growing. Our own recent research with Pollara has shown that growing uncertainty around global events has contributed to more Canadians considering psychological support to deal with anxiety and depression.
But is it reasonable to reduce the standards of the professionals who would provide that care? Would that sound like a wise approach for any other profession that diagnoses and treats Ontario patients at their most vulnerable time?
The public, practitioners and professional organizations were overwhelmingly against the idea during the College’s own public consultation last fall. The College received more than 10,000 responses to its proposals, including from us, the Ontario Psychological Association, and many of our individual members.
It is important to point out that 60 per cent of those 10,000 responses came from the public. And the feedback was clear: On the question of whether the regulation amendments proposed by the regulator are in the public interest, 90 per cent answered “No.” Mental health leaders such as SickKids, CAMH, and Kinark Child and Family Services also publicly spoke out against the proposed changes.
And yet the College’s Board appears to have ignored the feedback and instead, passed most of the proposed changes two days after their consultation period closed.
So what are some of the most concerning changes?
For one, they would slash training by up to 75 percent for post-Master’s training, reducing the current four years to only one. The proposal limits psychologists in training’s exposure to different types of patients and clinical presentations necessary for professional competency. They also eliminate the distinct “psychological associate” title, which currently provides transparency about training differences within an already complex landscape.
Other recently passed reductions in safeguards include changing the current law and ethics exam into a no-fail module and allowing unlimited attempts on the board licensing exam.
We believe there are better ways for the province to increase patient access to publicly funded psychologists, and also expedite registration of high-quality international psychologists.
- A more balanced reduction to post-master’s training, such as three years plus supervised practice, would align with requirements in Manitoba and Nova Scotia. We could immediately increase available psychological services by registering candidates who are still completing post-Master’s work as Qualifying Providers.
- The OPA fully supports the registration of high-quality international applicants to practice in Ontario. Ensuring those international qualifications are ‘predominantly aligned’ with Canadian Psychological Association and/or American Psychological Association will mean every patient in Ontario continues to receive the same high standard of care.
These recommendations, and many more from other groups and people, were made to the College during its public consultation period. They were ignored.
We trust the government will give the public feedback more thought before making any final decision.
If you or someone you love are seeking psychological care, the OPA’s patient referral service, AskForHelpToday.ca, helps people easily find and connect with a psychologist or psychological associate. It is a simple portal that can help match you with a psychologist or psychological associate best suited to your needs – in most cases within a day or two.