FROM THE CHAIR MESSAGE
CAN WE DO MORE?Establishing a stronger national presence
"We can do more with what we have". That has been the message across the Canadian health care system in a wave of belt-tightening exercises over the last decade. As government funding decreased, administrators put the squeeze on programs and departments not only to use existing resources more efficiently, but to trim them further. The outcome? Longer waiting lists, and a shortage of professionals in many areas. So, perhaps this wasn't the right direction.
What about psychology - not just in the health care field, but in the broader arena? Can we do more with what we have?
A year ago in Halifax, when meeting with the APA Division 12 executive, I was struck by two things: (1) the large tasks on the table for Canadian psychology (diverse standards for independent practice, multiple professional organizations, pressure for best practice guidelines, funding and research support issues, as a few examples); and (2) the few people around the table who were working to respond to these tasks. Division 12's core executive was three times the size of ours; the APA membership at last count was just over 150,000 with almost 90,000 of those being regular members and almost 60,000 being student members. If you do the math (American population 10 times that of Canada; American psychologists presumably 10 times the number of Canadian psychologists), CPA should have a membership of approximately a tenth that of APA, or around 15,000. Some have estimated the number of Canadian psychologists at 19,000. The membership of CPA is well below both those numbers, at only 4,894 (of which 1,084 are student members).
Well, what do we have?
We have quality people. This is my fourth year on the Clinical section executive, having served two years as member-at-large before becoming Chair-Elect, and now Chair. Through these roles, I have had the pleasure of working and linking with quality people involved with CPA --individuals who have a vision for excellence in practice and science in the field of psychology. They willingly provide their time and expertise to a range of constituents: the government, the public, the media, and, of course, the profession. And all this is in addition to their 'real' work in private, academic or applied positions. These are people like our outgoing executive, Lorne Sexton and Deb Dewey, who played key roles in organizing CPA 2000 in Ottawa, as well as developing fact sheets for public education regarding psychological interventions. These are people like our incoming executive, Darcy Santor and Michel Dugas, who have already spent significant time planning next year's conference in Quebec City. These also include executive from other sections, board members, and those at CPA head office. And they include, you, the section members, who have responded to requests to review a paper, give a media interview, sit on a task force, complete a survey, or organize a symposium. Simply by your membership, you are providing support by joining a network that allows us to strengthen our profession.
We have a network. The Clinical section provides a forum for research, continuing education, and professional links through the annual convention. The section supports CPA in its efforts related to research funding lobbies, psychology's role in health care, public education, and dissemination of information related to evidence-base practice. We are now considering the development of a national document to outline essential working conditions for quality psychology service, based on a charter of psychologist's rights developed and adopted in Alberta.
There is much that remains to be done, some of it urgent. To do more, we must draw in those in Canadian psychology who are still not part of CPA. Echoing the messages of previous Chairs in the Clinical section, we must be unified where it counts. A starting point is to build one strong, representative, national association.
To illustrate by an example that I am familiar with, psychology in Manitoba has changed significantly through the strong vision of a few and the unified support of the many. Resisting the trend toward decentralization of psychology services into other programs, psychologists from traditionally separate territories pulled together, lobbied for, and got their own clinical program across the whole Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. Psychology benefits through autonomy with regard to budget and programming. The public benefits through better access to services across many areas within the health care system. In addition, psychologists negotiated the establishment of an independent academic department within the Faculty of Medicine, which links psychologists in rural and northern communities to their colleagues in Winnipeg and other regions of the province. Not everyone had to be actively involved in these negotiations, but it did require a united front to carry it forward.
I recognize that those of you who are reading this newsletter have already decided, through your membership, that you want to support the national efforts of our profession, and so I am perhaps preaching to the converted. But I am asking you to recruit to CPA. Make it your new year's resolution. Make it your goal for the month of November. Ask your colleagues why they are not members of CPA. Encourage them to support our national organization, through their membership, and their involvement. In Canada, we have strong training programs, excellent academic sites and research centres, skilled consultants and practitioners. They should all be actively represented in our national association.
Can we do more with what we have? If we had them all at the same table -- absolutely! I think we can and I think we must.