The Association of Canadian Psychology Regulatory Organizations (ACPRO) calls for a summit of psychology regulators, educators, and associations to explore models of professional training and to chart a path to increased access to appropriate professional training in psychology and increased access to competent and safe psychological services for Canadians.
Our current landscape—marked by jurisdictional differences in entry-to-practice requirements, mounting pressures to address both the shortage of psychological services and labour mobility, and evolving models of training—requires collaborative, evidence-informed discussion. A steering committee established by ACPRO and the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) would create an action plan, manage logistics and funding, create a process to identify and invite participants, identify Canadian and international resources for pre-summit engagement, and facilitate follow-up actions.
Advancing access to psychological training, and to competent and safe psychological service that does not risk harm to the public, requires evidence-informed deliberation that is sensitive to our current environment and open to creative possibilities for new models. Working together, Canadian regulators, educators, and associations, engaging with international partners, can identify a path to substantially increase access to both training and service.