Groupes de travail de la SCP

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As needed, the CPA Board of Directors convenes task forces to explore various issues affecting the science, practice and education of psychology. View these pages to find out more information on CPA's current task forces, as well as task forces that were convened in the past.  

 

TASK FORCE REPORTS

 

EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE TASK FORCE

2012-2013 Committee

Co-Chairs

David Dozois
Sam Mikail

Members

Lynn Alden: Professor, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Peter Bieling: Operational Service Manager, Mood Disorders Service, St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton
Guy Bourgnon: Senior Researcher, Public Safety Canada, Ottawa
David A. Clark: Professor, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton
David Dozois (Co-Chair):Professor, University of Western Ontario
Martin Drapeau: Associate Professor, McGill University
David Gallson (Community Representative): Associate National Executive Director, Mood Disorders Society of Canada
Les Greenberg: Professor, York University, Toronto
John Hunsley: Professor, University of Ottawa, Ottawa
Charlotte Johnston: Professor, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Sam Mikail (Co-Chair): Clinical Director, The Southdown Institute

Note: Considerable expertise from a variety of research, practice, knowledge-translation, consumer and community perspectives is represented among the task force members. Interestingly, most of the academics on the committee also have a small private practice. There is also good representation from different theoretical orientations, including interpersonal, emotion-focused, cognitive-behavioural and psychodynamic perspectives.

Objectives

The purpose of this task force is to operationalize what constitutes evidence-based practice in psychology, to make recommendations about how psychologists can best integrate evidence into practice to better inform patient care and to suggest strategies for dissemination.

Progress to Date

By the time of the 2011 fall CPA Board meetings, the task force will have held 3 teleconferences (September 19th, October 19th and one scheduled for November 16th).

The Task Force will limit its consideration to evidence-based practice as it relates to psychological treatment (i.e., mental health delivery to adults and youth) as provided by psychologists. Therefore, other organizational, community, or educational applications of evidence-based practice by psychologists are outside the scope of this task force.

At the first teleconference, the members discussed both the “what” and the “how” of the proposed work plan. We willinitially need to come to some consensus on what we refer to as evidence and then generate an operational definition of what is EBP. Rather than launching a literature review pertaining to the level of support that various psychotherapies have for different disorders, the task force members have decided to define evidence, develop “CPA’s hierarchy” of evidence, and make recommendations regarding how psychologists can best utilize the evidence. A review would have a short shelf-life and is repetitious with what has already been advanced. Like a good theory (which is useful not because it is right but provides a heuristic which generates more ideas and research) this approach will be more likely to stimulate ongoing dialogue. This new direction will provide an important contribution to the literature (rather than increasing competition among therapeutic orientations) and has greater potential to be adopted and utilized than a review of outcome trials. One idea is to model how one would apply evidence-based practice using composite vignettes (in fact, one of the deliverables might be something akin to the CPA Code Ethics for Psychologists – a set of principles rather than a prescriptive document of evidence based practice). We also intend to develop a guide for consumers to help them determine if the psychological treatments that they are pursuing are evidence-based (e.g., your therapist should know the research literature, should collect data ongoing in treatment, etc.). We are using Dropbox to share articles and other information among task force members.

At the October teleconference, discussion focused on defining evidence and evidence-based practice. I was charged with the task of developing a definition of evidence-based practice for the task force to consider and respond to. Peter, Martin and John were going to review different hierarchies of evidence from the research and practice literatures for discussion and consideration at the November teleconference.

After defining evidence and evidence-based practice, sub-committees will be established to move forward on the various components of the project. We aim to have drafts of documents that summarize the work of the task force by summer, 2012.

In November 2012, the Task Force submitted its final report, Evidence-Based Practice of Psychological Treatments: A Canadian Perspective, to CPA's Board. Click here to view the final report.

TASK FORCE ON THE FUTURE OF PUBLICLY FUNDED PSYCHOLOGY SERVICES IN CANADA

Committee

Co-ordinating Group

Dr Joyce D’Eon: Health Care and Hospital Psychology Task Force Co-Chair
Dr Bob McIlwraith: Health Care and Hospital Psychology Task Force Co-Chair
Ms Juanita Mureika: Educational and School Psychology Task Force Chair
Dr Mark Olver: Corrections Psychology Task Force Chair

Dr Lorne Sexton; Future of Publicly Funded Psychology Services Task Force Coordinator

Objectives

In March, the CPA Board passed the following motion: That a Task Force of the Future of Publicly Funded Psychology Services in Canada be formed. This will take the form of three separate but collaborative task forces of psychologists in hospital practice, education, and corrections. The task force mandate is to survey and deliberate the future opportunities and threats to publicly funded psychology services in Canada, recognizing that many psychologists are employed in these facilities and many members of the public obtain their care from publicly funded health, educational, and corrections services. These task forces are also charged with considering the establishment of guidelines as to the organizational structure and standards of psychological practice in public service.

The three task force groups share in common issues of the appropriate organization of psychology services (including leadership, practice standards, professional development and identity) and supply and demand (including training, recruitment, and retention).

Progress to Date

Progress to date includes:

  • In March 2012, the Educational and School Psychology Task Force forwarded discussion points to the CPA Board concerning the practice of school psychology: (1) title, educational type/degree (2) supply/demand (3) professional integrity and autonomy.
  • In November 2011, the Health Care and Hospital Psychology Task Force recommended the establishment of a CPA Section for Psychologists in Hospitals and Health Centers.
  • In November 2011, the Corrections Psychology Task Force formed subcommittees for: (1) public education initiatives; (2) training in Correctional/Forensic Psychology; (3) communication with the judiciary; and (4) psychologist recruitment and retention in Canadian corrections.

On-going Task Force communication and discussion with CPA membership occurs through the relevant CPA Sections of Psychologists in Education, Criminal Justice Psychology, and the recently established CPA Section, Psychologists in Hospitals and Health Centers. Future directions for the task force will be established in consultation with these Sections as well as with the CPA Practice Directorate and the CPA Professional Affairs Committee.