Canadian Psychological Association Research Articles

Message from the incoming editor.

The Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology (CJEP) publishes rigorous experimental psychology research through a fair and constructive review process. CJEP is supported and managed by the Canadian Psychological Association, who partners with the American Psychological Association with respect to journal production. CJEP represents world class research communities that affiliate with the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Sciences (CPA), and the Brain and Cognitive Sciences section of CPA. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

On Whose Territory Does Our School District Reside? Beginning Steps Toward Relationship Development With Urban First Nations

Following the 2015 release of Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report in Canada, disciplines at various levels of federal and provincial infrastructures have begun taking up reconciliation in their practice. In 2018, the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) and the Psychology Foundation of Canada (PFC) released a joint response, which outlines how the profession has violated its own ethics with respect to practice with Indigenous peoples and how to move forward through a reconciliatory process as individuals and as a profession. What is unclear is how individual psychologists and psychologist teams are taking up reconciliation in their practice, years after the CPA/PFC Response to the TRC. As psychologists and other helping professionals learn about the history of marginalization of Indigenous peoples within the discipline of psychology, many may be searching for more specific examples of how to begin or extend the process of addressing reconciliation. This Brief Commentary will focus on the practice of one group of school psychologists working in a public school district in an urban setting in British Columbia who are engaging in relationship development with First Nations communities on whose territory the district resides. Psychologists from the team will contribute reflections regarding their experience with the process as a whole. These psychologists have been part of a school psychology team that has been involved in reconciliation for some time and are actively pursuing individual and group accountability toward Indigenous people. The context of the group and steps taken from the team’s personal and professional introduction to the topic of reconciliation, and facilitators and considerations that impacted the group’s progress will be explored.

Differences Between Canadian Psychological Association Nonmember and Member Counseling Psychologists

Generalizations about Canadian counseling psychologists have been based on research that samples members of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), leading to questions about the extent to which this portrayal of the profession is accurate. In this exploratory study, answers to a 61-item questionnaire representing 86 variables were compared between 78 Canadian counseling psychologists who were members of the CPA and 107 Canadian counseling psychologists who were not members of the CPA. Inferential analyses found that CPA-member and nonmember counseling psychologists differed significantly on 11 of the 86 variables assessed, indicating that the currently available portrayal of Canadian counseling psychologists used by licensure bodies, professional associations, academic programs, instructors, and researchers is not wholly accurate. Reliance on inaccurate information about the profession can hinder the future development of Canadian counseling psychology as its members strive to meet the needs of counseling psychology students, counseling psychology professionals, and the populations they serve.

An examination of accreditation standards between Australian and US/Canadian doctoral programs in clinical psychology

ABSTRACT Objective Clinical psychology involves the integration of clinical science and clinical practice, and the application of this integrated knowledge for the purpose of alleviating human distress. Method The best way to train these competencies has been a matter of debate. In this editorial, we compare the standards of three accreditation bodies: the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC), the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), and the American Psychological Association (APA). Results Although the three accreditation standards are similar in terms of required coursework for core clinical psychology competencies, research output, and clinically supervised placement hours, the APA/CPA standards involved more coursework in statistics, research methodology, and topics highly relevant to clinical psychology that elucidate for whom and under what circumstances a treatment may be helpful (e.g., developmental and social psychology). The APA/CPA standards also required coursework on the history of psychology, which provides the opportunity for students to learn about and better appreciate the developments and influences on current knowledge and practice. The APA/CPA accreditation standards also required more clinically supervised placement hours to be obtained prior to graduation than did the APAC standards. Conclusions Unfortunately, data do not directly support one training system over another. We therefore urge psychology programs to routinely monitor their students’ clinical practice effectiveness after graduation so that accreditation standards can be reenvisaged if needed. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic (1) Accreditation of degree programs leading to the practice of clinical psychology is overseenby regulatory bodies in Australia, the US, and Canada. (2) Greater synchronization with international competencies is a stated goal of the Psychology Board of Australia. (3) No prior comparisons of accreditation standards between Australia and Canada/US has been published. What this topic adds (1) APA/CPA and APAC accredited programs tend to have very similar coursework in clinical psychology. (2) APA/CPA programs tend to require substantially greater training in research methods/statistics and other domains of psychology such as social and cognitive psychology. (3) An individual with an APA/CPA-accredited degree would be close to meeting Australian psychology registration requirements, while an individual with an APAC accredited degreewould require substantial additional coursework if wishing to become licensed/registered as a psychologist in the US or Canada.

An examination of the examination of accreditation standards between Australia, the United States, and Canada

ABSTRACT This paper seeks to clarify some of the assertions made by Norton et al. (2022) regarding the accreditation standards of the American Psychological Association (APA) Commission on Accreditation (CoA) and the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), as well as examines two critical issues raised by the authors. In their editorial, Norton et al. sought to examine accreditation standard similarities and differences between Australia and North America to promote an exploration of effective educational practices. This commentary applauds their effort and after making some clarifying comments about the First Street Accord, Exemplar Institutions, Program Differences and Supervised Experience Requirements and Licensure, this commentary explores competency-based education and assessing competency. The commentary concludes by underscoring Norton et al.’s challenge to the field to develop a clear consensus on what constitutes competent practice and instruments that would allow researchers to measure competence.

Learning from the Standpoints of Minoritized Students: An Exploration of Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Training

The results of a feminist research endeavour that explored multicultural (MC) counselling and social justice (SJ) training experiences from the standpoint of eight culturally non-dominant doctoral students are presented. Participants represented students within the five counselling psychology programs accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association. Specifically, the research aimed to address the following research question: How do counselling psychology doctoral students who self-identify with non-dominant cultural identities perceive their experiences of MC and SJ training? This research adopted a feminist standpoint theory epistemology to guide an interpretative phenomenological analysis to reflect the culturally rich, complex, and situated experiences of participants, while concurrently emphasizing the role that systems of privilege and oppression play in influencing these experiences. Results point to seven superordinate themes, including: (a) MC and SJ are personal and rooted in identity; (b) Instructors—their role and impact; (c) Classmates—a mixed bag; (d) Perceptions of MC and SJ courses; (e) Perceptions of clinical supervision; (f) Systemic engagement with MC and SJ principles; and (g) The emotional and psychological burden of MC and SJ training. Findings are discussed considering sociocultural practices in North America, and MC and SJ training implications are explored.

School Psychology Practice in Nova Scotia: An Update and Implications for Role Diversification

A survey of school psychology practice in Nova Scotia was conducted to update and extend previous work. Thirty-one school psychologists completed a survey about their practice across the six areas of competency identified by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) and their current versus preferred time in various areas of psychology practice. Results indicated that most participants currently practice across all areas of competency to some degree but spend most of their time engaged in assessment and evaluation. Findings suggest that the role of the school psychologist in Nova Scotia has changed very little since the previous work was completed and that school psychologists would like to diversify their practice to include more intervention and professional development. With appropriate training and supervision, the time is right to expand school psychology services to provide much-needed mental health services to a broader range of children and families. Recommendations for training and role diversification are discussed.

Relating the importance of psychological science in addressing climate change to cities and health

ABSTRACT The Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) recommended that a task force draft its official position on how psychology can help to address climate change. The aim was to craft a position paper that underscored, for Canadian governments and for members of the public, literature at the intersection of psychology and climate change. The position paper also generated a clear list of recommendations for governments to consider as they make decisions about climate change mitigation, adaptation, and communication strategies. This commentary is a summary of the position paper’s message, focusing on topics germane to international urban living, city governance, and mental health.

Experiences and learnings from professional psychology training partners during the COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts, challenges, and opportunities.

The declaration of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in March 2020 has impacted all of society and had unprecedented, transformational effects on professional psychology training within just a few months. This review gathers knowledge from the leaders of three of the main training partners in Canada, the Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Programs (CCPPP), the Accreditation Panel of the Canadian Psychological Association, and the Association of Canadian Psychology Regulatory Organisations (ACPRO), as well as the Editor of Canadian Psychology. We share our experiences and learnings about the profound effect COVID-19 has had on academic programs, internships, accreditation, and regulatory functions. The review discusses the training pathway from student learner to licensed psychologist; the prominent educational, advocacy, and regulatory bodies associated with psychology training in Canada; pandemic-related challenges to training; an ethical decision-making framework developed for the Canadian context that may help in mitigating these challenges; the resulting guiding and aspirational principles for decision making during the pandemic; and personal examples of the pandemic's impact on our roles and affiliated organisations. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges for professional training, the pandemic has also been a catalyst for change within the profession, encouraging expansion of tele-education and telehealth practices. The pandemic has encouraged enhanced communication within the whole training community, consensus-based ethical decision making, and has encouraged a focus on defining our professional priorities. The professional psychology training community has faced and will continue to face multifaceted and complex problems as a result of the pandemic. In the end, however, we hope to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic as a more resilient, reflective, and cohesive professional psychology training community.

Developing and revising the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists: key differences from the American Psychological Association code

ABSTRACT There are several key differences between the codes of ethics developed by the American Psychological Association and the Canadian Psychological Association. This paper tells the story behind the key differences between the U.S. and Canada codes. It starts with an introduction to the two countries and a brief history of what led up to the American Psychological Association’s (APA) decision to develop the world’s first ethics code for psychologists. This is followed by a description of the development process used by APA, and the reasons why the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) originally adopted the APA code but subsequently chose to develop its own “made-in-Canada” code of ethics. The key differences of the CPA code, the cultural, legal, and philosophical contexts that help explain the rationale for those differences, and why the differences have been maintained are discussed. In particular, attention is given to the CPA code’s strong focus on: (a) the concept of a contract with society; (b) aspiration vs. enforcement; (c) ethical reasoning and decision making; and (d) organizing standards around ethical principles.

Indigenous land-based interventions and nature-oriented wellness programs: Commonalities and important differences.

The importance of Indigenous mental health has been highlighted and affirmed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada report (2015), the Canadian Psychological Association and The Psychology Foundation of Canada’s Task Force report responding to the TRC findings (2018), as well as numerous recent studies. Unfortunately, Indigenous Peoples in Canada continue to suffer from a lack of appropriate mental health care. Land-based interventions have been cited as one culturally appropriate approach to wellness; nevertheless, given the diversity of nature-oriented wellness programs, confusion exists over the qualities unique to and common across each program. As such, this paper will discuss the qualities of nature-oriented wellness programs currently in use by Indigenous communities (e.g. landbased interventions) with land-based approaches outside of Indigenous communities such as forest bathing, Outward Bound programs, and green or blue space research. The authors will then explore what sets Indigenous land-based interventions apart from these other wellness programs and discuss why land-based interventions hold a deeper meaning for Indigenous Peoples.

Outcome and progress monitoring in psychotherapy: Report of a Canadian Psychological Association Task Force.

Outcome and progress monitoring in psychotherapy: Report of a Canadian Psychological Association Task Force.

A survey of the characteristics and professional practices of members in the Canadian psychological association’s section on counselling psychology

ABSTRACT We administered a questionnaire to 78 counselling psychologists who were members of the Section for Counselling Psychology of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), achieving a 35.4% response rate. There was high satisfaction with the profession and no evidence of gender differences in satisfaction. The sampled counselling psychologists tended to see counselling psychology as moderately different from allied professions with academics and older counselling psychologists reporting the strongest distinctiveness. Respondents were concerned about other professions’ increasingly overlapping scope of practice, and thought that the most important next step was advocacy for the profession and its core values. The results of this study can be used to better address training and professional identity issues adversely impacting the field (e.g. counselling psychologists with graduate degrees in subjects other than counselling psychology, trained counselling psychologists who license as other types of professionals), promote the profession, and prepare for future challenges to the field. The results also are relevant for those seeking to increase their knowledge of the profession in other countries to learn ways to better expand and promote the profession in their own country and for those looking to create country-specific surveys to better elucidate the profession in their own country.

Allan Urho Paivio (1925–2016).

Presents an obituary for Allan Urho Paivio, who passed away on June 19, 2016. One of his many accomplishments was the development of a dual-coding theory. Dual-coding theory, while very influential, has, unfortunately, been discussed all too often as a theory of mental imagery, and not within its larger context wherein mental imagery and verbal processes are separable but interconnected representational systems, an academic battle in clarification that Paivio waged much of his life. He published prodigiously, even in the decades after retirement. Among his many honors, he served as president of the Canadian Psychological Association (1975) and was appointed a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1978). (PsycINFO Database Record

Well-being after trauma: A review of posttraumatic growth among refugees.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR, 2015) has estimated that close to 60 million people have been impacted by war and armed conflicts worldwide. Those affected include refugees, refugee claimants/asylum seekers as well as internally displaced and stateless persons. With respect to refugees in particular, there are approximately 16 million refugees worldwide. This figure is of significant global concern given that the number of refugees continues to escalate. Most refugees originate from Middle Eastern countries, with Syrian refugees currently accounting for the largest proportion (4.2 million). Afghani refugees account for another 2.6 million. In addition, countries in the Horn of Africa and surrounding regions, such as Somalia, Ethiopia, and Sudan, continue to be a significant source of refugees.Although Canada has traditionally been viewed as a safe haven for refugees, only an average of 1% have been resettled yearly (UNHCR, 2015). Given the Syrian refugee crisis and recent changes in governmental policies, the acceptance rate for Syrian refugees has increased dramatically (Immigration, Refugees, & Citizenship Canada, 2016). Recent statistics indicate that over 28,000 Syrian refugees have resettled in Canada. Moreover, an additional 2,700 Syrians have been granted refugee status and are due to arrive imminently.In response to the Syrian refugee crisis, Canadian psychologists and other mental health professionals have become more active in refugee research, are expanding their clinical services, and are engaging in advocacy work (Canadian Psychological Association, 2016). As part of this special issue of Canadian Psychology, this review article will synthesize and discuss the literature on posttraumatic growth (PTG) among refugees. Refugees experience high levels of trauma and tend to have poorer adjustment and well-being outcomes (Kirmayer et al., 2011; Young & Chan, 2015). However, there is emerging research suggesting that some refugees experience positive well-being (Kroo & Nagy, 2011; Teodorescu et al., 2012). In the following sections, the mental health sequelae of refugee trauma will be reviewed. The literature on PTG will then be explored as well as factors that are related to PTG. A much more recent concept, vicarious PTG (vPTG) among mental health providers, will also be introduced. This review paper will conclude with new directions for PTG research with refugees in Canada and abroad.Refugee TraumaRefugees experience a host of stressful and traumatic events during the various stages of migration (Kirmayer et al., 2011; Teodorescu et al., 2012; Young & Chan, 2015). In their countries of origin, many refugees experience the following typical traumatic events: physical and sexual assaults, persecution, torture, witnessing the deaths of loved ones, friends, and neighbours, and having one's home ransacked and belongings destroyed (Kilic, Magruder, & Koryurek, 2016; Teodorescu et al., 2012). Often, basic needs, such as food, water, housing, and medical care, are either very limited or unavailable. Women living in armed conflict areas are disproportionately affected because of the prevalence of gender-based violence (Young & Chan, 2015). Intimate partner violence, rape, and ethnic cleansing often come to mind in the context of women and war. Within refugee families, family members may be separated in the chaos of flight and parents are sometimes faced with the difficult choice of parting from their children (i.e., smuggling their children out of the country) to ensure their survival (Young & Chan, 2014).During flight, refugees often encounter additional traumatic experiences, such as undertaking dangerous and arduous journeys and/or ending up in refugee camps (Ssenyonga, Owens, & Olema, 2013). Despite lay notions, refugee camps are often overcrowded with rationed food and little potable water. Women and children are often sexually violated (Young & Chan, 2015). …

Evidence-Based Practice and Psychological Treatments: The Imperatives of Informed Consent.

A decade after physicians (including psychiatrists) endorsed the shift toward evidence-based medicine, the world's largest association of psychologists, the American Psychological Association (APA), belatedly but officially embraced the tenets of evidence-based practice (EBP) [American Psychological Association (APA), 2006]. Other clinical psychology associations, including the Canadian Psychological Association, soon followed suit (Canadian Psychological Association, 2012). The interpretation of medical evidence is deeply entwined with ethics; although mainstream medicine has until recently paid relatively little attention to the ethical repercussions of evidence-based practice, the neglect in the field of psychological treatments is even more glaring. Why does EBP matter for the ethical practice of psychological treatments? Evidence carries ethical imperatives. Both the decision about what is considered to be beneficial in psychotherapy, and the current paucity of research regarding the potential negative effects of psychological treatments, carry ethical implications. We argue that the failure to pay attention to psychotherapy research effectively risks undermining key requisites included in professional codes of practice for clinical psychology, psychiatry, social work, and allied fields. First, EBP bears repercussions for the clinician's duty of professional competence, or what O'Donohue and Henderson (1999) have collectively termed “epistemic duties”—the responsibility to acquire and apply accurate knowledge. Second, EBP is relevant to the duty to respect patient autonomy—namely, the patient's right to make informed decisions concerning his or her treatment plans. Evidence shows that there are divergent views about the importance, and feasibility, of informed consent among practicing psychotherapists (e.g., Croarkin et al., 2003; Barnett et al., 2007; Goddard et al., 2008). Some of this variation, we argue, probably owes to differences in opinion about what is materially relevant to patients in deciding to undergo psychotherapy; other omissions of informed consent may persist because of continued debate and confusion about what constitutes “evidence” in psychotherapy research and practice. We argue that—despite these challenges—the profession of psychotherapy must find ways to meet the moral obligation of providing adequate informed consent to patients.

Psychology in and out of the shadows.

the last few decades, the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) has taken stands on controversial social problems including the rights of First Nations, capital punishment, same-sex marriage and adoption, and homelessness and housing. It has developed and revised its ethics code (CPA, 2001) to reflect these and other social concerns, notably under Principle IV, Responsibility to Society.The American Psychological Association (APA), has also taken stands on social issues, often the same issues and similar stands. But in some cases the approaches of CPA and APA to social issues, and the role of organized psychology, have diverged. this paper, I will outline some areas of similarity and divergence, concluding with a look at present and future social issues that might engage, or are engaging, organized psychology.Psychologists and Capital PunishmentCapital punishment provides an example of an issue on which APA and CPA basically agree, but on which they have a somewhat different focus because of different legal and political contexts. Canada, capital punishment was a divisive political issue, and abolition was slow in coming. the 1970s, the federal government decided to try a demonstration project: Capital punishment was still on the books, but for a 5-year period every death sentence was commuted. During the moratorium, public support for formal, total abolition continued to grow, and on July 14, 1976, Bill C-84 was passed by a narrow margin of 130 to 124 in a free vote. Most progressive conservatives voted against abolition and continued to campaign for another free vote to bring back the death penalty.Many, but not all, Canadian psychologists favored abolition. 1987, as Parliament moved toward holding a free vote to reinstate the death penalty, a motion against capital punishment was prepared for the annual meeting of CPA. An issue arose that has bedeviled professional organizations who take political stands: Should the group's intervention be based entirely on empirical research, or can it also express an ethical and moral position?Some thought that CPA should only make a public pronouncement if it was supported by empirical evidence. the case of the death penalty, such evidence would involve research on the deterrence value of capital punishment. A first version of the motion said, In our scientific judgement studies have shown no evidence whatsoever for deterrence. But many expressed reservations about the narrow empirical approach. They wanted the CPA motion to make a moral/ethical pronouncement. After vigorous debate, members combined the two ideas in a single motionWhereas use of the death penalty is against our professional, ethical, and scientific values; and whereas in our scientific judgment studies of the effects of capital punishment on homicide rates have shown no evidence whatsoever for deterrence; be it resolved that the membership of the Canadian Psychological Association opposes the reinstatement of the death penalty in Canada. (CPA, 1987)With passage of the motion, CPA became one of a number of professional organizations to argue against reintroduction of the death penalty. On June 30, 1987, a bill to restore the death penalty was defeated by the House of Commons in a 148 -127 vote.Despite the decline of the death penalty in Western countries, the United States largely resists. Thirty-one American states use the death penalty, 19 have abolished it, and 4 have capital punishment on the books but current governors have imposed a moratorium.As in Canada, there is strong sentiment against capital punishment among American professionals. APA has joined other social scientists in pointing out to the courts that the death penalty, like incarceration itself, has a strong racial bias. APA's legal staff has submitted amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court arguing against various aspects of the death penalty, including the execution of children under 18 and of people with serious intellectual disabilities. …

A snapshot of Canada’s psychology graduates: Initial analysis of the 2015 Psychology Graduates Survey.

Statistics Canada's cancellation of the University and College Academic Staff System Survey and Survey of Earned Doctorates-after over 60 years and over 30 years of data collection, respectively-has left significant gaps in health human resources planning and surveillance as it relates to the discipline of psychology. In response to these gaps, and in follow-up to a summit on need, supply, and demand held by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) in 2013 (Votta-Bleeker & Cohen, 2014), the CPA initiated a comprehensive survey of individuals who had graduated with a terminal master's or doctoral psychology degree, whether or not they were registered psychologists. In developing the survey, the CPA conferred with the American Psychological Association (APA) and obtained their permission to use and modify the APA's Doctorate Employment Survey (Michalski, Kohout, Wicherski, & Hart, 2011) for the Canadian context.1MethodThe goal of the 2015 Psychology Graduates Survey was to obtain a demographic profile of all individuals with a graduate degree in psychology working across the multiple domains of psychology in Canada. The survey was structured to produce a minimal dataset with a limited number of questions tagged as mandatory, while collecting useful data relevant to education, science, and practice, as well as data at national and provincial/ territorial levels. Specifically, the survey was designed to provide data that would help to answer several important questions about the present and future of psychology in Canada, such as the following: How many people graduate each year in Canada with a master's or doctoral degree in psychology? What is the job market like for a psychology graduate? Are there enough jobs for psychology graduates? How many psychologists are there working in Canada? How many psychologists do we need to meet the teaching, research, and service needs of Canadians? During its development phase, the survey underwent extensive review by chairpersons and members of the CPA's Education and Training and Scientific Affairs committees, as well as the CPA's Board of Directors. The survey was launched on April 24, 2015, in both English and French, and remained open until December 1, 2015. The survey was circulated via numerous means including CPA's Website, electronic newsletter, and social media outlets; CPA's section chairpersons, committee chairpersons, and Board of Directors; Council of Canadian Departments of Psychology (CCDP) Listserv, followed by direct/personalized e-mails to all department chairpersons and faculty whose e-mail addresses were publicly available; provincial psychology associations; psychology regulatory bodies; informal networks (e.g., Statistics Canada, Canadian Mental Health Association, Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Institute for Health Information, Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science, Association for State and Provincial Psychology Boards, Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Programs, Department of National Defence, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada); and a paid advertisement on Facebook.ResultsRespondent DemographicsA total of 4,812 respondents completed the full survey; additionally, 1,060 started but did not complete the survey. After removing respondents identified as students, a total of 4,502 usable surveys were analyzed for the purposes of the present article. Table 1 presents an overview of the survey respondents. Notably, respondents represented a typical gender division within psychology (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2013). While the bulk of respondents were between the ages of 30 and 49, we were nonetheless able to obtain responses from individuals at all career stages. As well, respondents included a large proportion of individuals who work in French. Lastly, the current findings represent the experiences and opinions of a mix of CPA members and nonmembers, as well as provincial/territorial/state psychology association members and nonmembers. …

Clinical psychology in Canada: Challenges and opportunities.

It is a singular privilege to prepare this article, related to the future of in Canada. Consistent with other definitions, clinical psychology is conceived of here as a broad domain of professional (Vallis & Howes, 1996). Within the Canadian context, the Clinical Psychology Section of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) adopted a working definition shortly after its creation in 1991, and this definition was subsequently voted on and approved by the Board of Directors of the CPA in 1993. This definition serves several purposes, including the following: (a) an advocacy document that identified training requirements and provided a discussion point related to competency, (b) a document to begin the process of specialty designation in professional psychology, and (c) public education and awareness of the specific skills and limits of psychologists in practice.Included in the definition was the concept that is a. . . broad field of practice and research within the discipline of psychology, which applies psychological principles to the assessment, prevention, amelioration, and rehabilitation of psychological distress, disability, dysfunctional behaviour, and health-risk behaviour, and to the enhancement of psychological and physical well-being. (Vallis & Howes, 1996, p. 124)This definition incorporates the idea of the scientist-practitioner, who is a professional trained to both conduct and evaluate research, and to engage in professional activities within the scope of practice incorporated into the definition. Clinical psychologists work with individual clients, couples, families, groups, organizations, and systems.1 Some would argue that the domain of comprises five subspecialties, including adult mental health, child (and family) mental health, health psychology, neuropsychology, and forensic psychology, although advocates of the latter three areas may also argue that these are distinct areas of practice, and indeed, the CPA has distinct sections for each of these areas. For the sake of the current article, these five areas of research and practice are considered under the umbrella term of clinical psychology. Admittedly, however, this article was written by an individual with a particular place in the field, which includes a focus on adult mental health. It must be left to others to flesh out recent developments and the future of the other subspecialties of psychology.This article is comprised of four major sections, related to training, evidence-based practice, in practice, and the current and potential roles for in Canada. Each section is in turn divided into critical issues which either currently shape the profession, or which can be reasonably argued to be on, or just over the horizon. Unlike Nostradamus, I profess no ability to predict generations or centuries into the future!Training Issues in Clinical PsychologyThe training of psychologists in Canada has shown relatively steady growth. Universities have recognized that these programs are very much in demand, and that the desire for such training far outstrips the collective ability of universities to provide the training. As a result, the applicants who gain admission to these programs have very strong academic abilities and performance and as a partial consequence, their academic success in graduate school is also uniformly high. The training of psychologists in Canada has benefitted enormously from the process of accreditation. Although the earliest programs in Canada had to seek accreditation from the American Psychological Association, as CPA had no such program, CPA has conducted program accreditation since 1994. The criteria for accreditation have evolved over time, and most notably as a result of the Psy.D. Task Force, which examined the acceptability of the scholar-practitioner model of training as an alternative to the scientist-practitioner model that is more typically seen in degree programs that culminate in the Ph. …

A sign of the changing times? Perceptions of Canadian psychologists on assisted death.

In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that all Canadians had the right to control their own end-of-life (Carter v Canada, 2015). The federal government, in response, began drafting legislation to regulate physician-assisted death (PAD) in Canada. Assisted death is an umbrella term for [a] death that requires an intentional act or omission [from] second (Downie, 2004, p. 6). PAD refers to form of assisted death where a physician knowingly and intentionally provides person with the knowledge and/or means required to end his or her life (Canadian Medical Association, 2014). Clear terminology is essential because different definitions, according to Downie (2004), serve as the bases for superficial arguments (p. 6).PAD provides challenges and opportunities for Canadian psychologists. Challenges include limited understanding of the perceptions and competency of psychologists surrounding assisted death. Further, limited training exists for psychologists to develop competency (Werth, Lewis, & Richmond, 2009). Opportunities for psychologists emerge from their experience in treating mental illness, common occurrence at end-of-life (Wilson, Curran, & McPherson, 2005), large contributions to end-of-life research (Galbraith & Dobson, 2000), and experience providing assessments of client competency (Niederjohn & Rogers, 2009). Like psychiatrists, who are grouped with physicians for the purposes of research (Emanuel, 2002), psychologists seem to be among the most qualified professionals to provide insight and practical knowledge to the current debate (Galbraith & Dobson, 2000). In the context of legalizing PAD, psychologists have already provided information to the Supreme Court regarding the psychology of assisted death (Canadian Psychological Association, 2015).This study examined the knowledge and perceptions, both personal and professional, of Canadian psychologists on assisted death. To inform the literature as well as provide further perspectives to the PAD debate, the researchers asked two questions. What are the personal and professional perceptions of Canadian psychologists on assisted death? To what extent do Canadian registered psychologists feel confident in their abilities and training for assessing the competency of individuals requesting assistance in dying?MethodParticipants (i.e., registered psychologists practicing in parts of Canada) responded to 32-question online survey that took 20 min to complete. The survey was available for period of 2 months and was accessible through R2P2 (Canadian Psychological Association, 2014), Facebook (2015), as well as through consenting psychological associations.The authors developed six-part survey to address the research questions; Sections III, V, and VI are relevant to the current article. The questions in Section III, based upon the work of Wilson et al. (2013), addressed studied psychologists' personal and professional perceptions toward two elements of PAD: letting die (i.e., the right to refuse life-saving medical treatment) and receiving medical assistance in dying. Participants could answer yes, I believe every competent adult should have this right, yes, but I believe it should be allowed only in certain cases or situations, or no, I do not believe anyone should have this right. In Section V, the questions assessed studied psychologist's beliefs on their own ability to assess the competence of terminally ill adults pursuing PAD. In Section VI, psychologists were presented with two vignettes, based on the work of Levy et al. (2013), that aimed to assess the participant's personal and professional perceptions of PAD under different conditions (e.g., cases of mental illness vs. terminal illness). In Sections V and VI, participants rated statements on five point scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree.ResultsA total of 97 individuals responded, with all but four having listed themselves as being registered psychologists practicing in Canada. …