What's New in the Practice Directorate!
- Use of the term Doctor by the Media. Recently a McLeans article did not use the term Doctor when referring to psychologists. This may seem as a petty issue but it is not. In response, CPA wrote a letter to Editor-In-Chief Kenneth White. Please read the letter to learn more about the issue that effects health care funding and delivery in Canada. Read the original article; http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/05/19/concussions-the-untold-story/
- CPA was invited to sit on the advisory committee of the IN4M Project funded by Health Canada. The Project’s goal was to provide a method of linking human resource allocation and development to need as opposed to demand. The final report provides a plan to accomplish this important task. Governments are urged to develop funding to take the project to the next step.
- Poll Results from the Survey of Canadian Attitudes Toward Psychologists and Accessing Psychological Services
- The Canadian Psychological Association has created and resourced the Canadian Elections and Advocacy page to support the participation of the psychological community in the 2011 Provincial/Territorial elections.
History of the Formation of the Practice Directorate
In 2009, the CPA Board voted to approve the formation of the Practice Directorate to facilitate advocacy for the practice of psychology across and among Canada’s jurisdictions.
The Practice Directorate’s primary mandate will be to support and facilitate advocacy across provinces and territories by:
- coordinating and centralizing information and resources about the practice of psychology across Canada (e.g. advocacy initiatives, information about scopes of practice and licensed acts, legislation and changes to legislation affecting the practice of psychology);
- coordinating advocacy initiatives and strategies that are common and can be commonly implemented across jurisdictions; and
- organizing advocacy and leadership training for provincial and territorial leaders of psychology.
The Practice Directorate operates under the oversight of a Council made up representatives from the provincial and territorial associations of psychology across Canada (CPAP). CPA, through its Director of Professional Affairs, also has a seat on the Council. The Council operates as a functionally autonomous body that is accountable to the CPA Board for matters relating to policy and finance. The Council is led by a Chair appointed from among the provincial and territorial representatives of psychology. Because the interests and activities of national and jurisdictional advocacy overlap, the Council works closely and collaboratively with CPA’s Executive Director and Senior staff.
For more information about or to reach the Practice Directorate, please contact CPA's Head Office by email (executiveoffice@cpa.ca) or by phone (613-237-2144 ext. 336; toll-free: 888-472-0657 ext. 336).