News

It was three years ago today that George Floyd’s public murder disrupted the status quo of racial inequity, causing organizations, institutions, and associations in Canada, the United States, and every continent of the world to acknowledge the need for change. There were extraordinary declarations of support, financial pledges made, Solidarity Statements publicized, and heartwarming apologies made to BIPoC, Equity-Deserving people who have carried the weight of oppression on their necks for centuries.

Promises to do better, now that knowledge has come, by representing the communities being supported and served in leadership and decision-making positions to ensure Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion become centred in everything. The Ontario Society of Registered Psychotherapists (OSRP) made these kinds of commitments, with cries of outrage for the injustices seen, and intentions to continue to do better moving forward.

It has been three years, and though we have a diverse Board of Directors, implemented some BIPoC Initiatives, and initiated an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee, OSRP has no measurable way of demonstrating improvement, growth, or change beyond this. From the outside looking in, the efforts of the world’s Associations, Institutions, and Organizations who are similarly positioned are often labelled PERFORMATIVE because they lack any measurable signs of improvement.

With the intention of establishing a measurable benchmark to assess improvement, the EDI Committee of OSRP is excited to announce the Launch of their Race-Based Data Collection Initiative that begins this 2023-2024 Membership Renewal year. 

The OSRP’s EDI Committee is working in collaboration with the Black Psychology Section of the Canadian Psychological Association to launch this Initiative. Race-Based Data Collection is in alignment with the February 2022 statement in the Communiqué made by Deborah Adams, “... we need work to reduce barriers like systemic inequities resulting from anti-Black racism and lack of representation in the profession to improve access to much-needed mental health care for the Black community in Ontario.”

In the collection of this data we can specifically identify gaps in representation, develop plans for inclusion, repair harms due to inequities, and explore the varies areas where much change is required.

It will also put the OSRP in position to justify our declaration of representing the community being served, because we will have the data to prove this, or show what efforts are being made to implement change.

This is a big and bold step for OSRP which requires much discussion, learning and unlearning to ensure its success. Given this, the EDI Committee is facilitating Lunch & Learn about the importance of Race-Based Data Collection in Ontario on May 31st, 2023.

This is an invitation to participate in a Panel Discussion about the importance of Race-Based Data Collection in Ontario.

Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Virtual/Zoom
Cost: none

To register: https://osrp.ca/event-5279392

Feel free to bring your own lunch and enjoy it during the session.

This Lunch & Learn is open to all OSRP members and the community. Please feel free to invite your peers, colleagues, and community to join in this exceptional learning and unlearning event.

Confirmed panelists: 

1. Michael Bowe (Senior Equity and Inclusion Leader)
2. Kafui Sawyer, RP (Canadian Psychological Association)
3. Shequita Thompson-Reid (Senior Director of Equity)
4. Dr. Maria Wallis, Ph.D, Sociology (CASW, OSRP Member)

This is an opportunity for you to learn more about OSRP's new initiative designed to reduce barriers like systemic inequities resulting from anti-Black racism and other systems of oppression, that perpetuate the lack of equitable representation in Psychotherapy in Ontario.

Rajni Sharma, RP, a Ph.D. candidate in Community Psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University, a practicing Art Therapist and Psychotherapist, is conducting a Ph.D. research study on how to address racial trauma in therapy.  She will share the study with the OSRP to help better shape our programming.

“I am inviting you to participate in a research study entitled Addressing Racial Trauma in Psychotherapy by completing an online survey. The purpose of this survey is to understand how much we know and understand on the topics of racial trauma, as psychotherapists.  A vast sample of practicing psychotherapists (18+ years of age) from across Ontario are being invited to complete this online survey…

This survey should take approximately 10-15 minutes. There are no wrong answers. This is an opportunity to identify gaps in training and practices that support the experiences of racialized (visible people of colour) communities. Your honesty, feedback and participation in this survey is highly valued. Your answers will remain anonymous.  

To participate, you must be: 

1. 18+ years of age 

2. Registered or qualified psychotherapist 

3. Practise in Ontario 

Participants in the survey are eligible for a chance to win one $50 Starbucks e-gift card. 

Are you able to fill out the following consent form and survey (or direct link: https://wlu.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bq6fHqBxcwfV0Ds)?  

If helpful, I or my supervisor, Dr. Melody Norton Ninomiya at mmortonninomiya@wlu.ca, are here to answer any questions or provide additional information about this process. This project has been reviewed and approved by the University Research Ethics Board (REB#8524).  

Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely,

Rajni Sharma (pronouns: she/her), MACP, RP
PhD Candidate | Community Psychology

Lab Coordinator, Interdisciplinary & Indigenous Pathways to Wellness 

Wilfrid Laurier University

Waterloo, ON, Canada

I acknowledge that I am on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (Neutral), Anishnaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Learn more at https://www.lspirg.org/knowtheland/"

BREAKING NEWS: the CCPA-ACCP and the Tax Free Therapy Coalition have released a statement in both official languages – please click HERE for more. It’s obvious to everyone that your letters to MPs are making a difference. 

And now there’s a video making a difference too!

OSRP Advocacy Committee member extraordinaire Daniel Farb, RP, created and narrated this entertaining and informative piece on the GST/HST exemption issue. 

It’s the video you didn’t know you needed! 

Please post and share widely. (The link is also on the OSRP website “Advocacy Corner.”)

As reported HERE in the March 28th Central, and ongoing since then, several MPs and their staff have advised that their offices have been flooded with GST/HST exemption letters. 

The newly-merged Advocacy Committee + HST Task Force met April 14, and brought renewed energy to meeting with politicians and decision-makers, now that we are all fully briefed on this important issue.

WHAT CAN I DO?

• Write to your MP AGAIN, cc-ing the Minister of Finance chrystia.freeland@parl.gc.ca. Call on government to take action now that three parties, including the Finance Committee, have advocated for GST/HST exemption for all mental health professionals

• Consider asking for a meeting with your MP.  A member of the Advocacy Committee can join you. If your MP is interested in meeting, let us know at advocacy@psychotherapyontario.org 

• Ask your colleagues and friends to write to their MPs

• Consider writing a letter to the editor of your local paper, as this person did

• Join the Advocacy Committee - click HERE.

• Read our updates - visit our webpage ADVOCACY CORNER.

WHAT IS OSRP DOING?

• Stepping up our work with partners (CCPA, PRPA, Impact etc.) on behalf of our members, to amplify our voices

• Continue to call on the Federal Government to take action now that three parties have expressed support

• Setting up more meetings with decision-makers

• Stay tuned for a survey drafted by OSRP for all PRPA and CCPA members to learn more about rates for psychotherapy/counselling therapy in Canada, and how our rate-setting is affected by GST/HST

Important actions and meetings are arising from your activism, and we will keep you informed of all new developments.

Click here to read the Finance Committee's recommendation, echoing bills from two opposition parties, and our press release!

The CRPO has posted five new practice CBA questions here, in addition to the five previously available: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y527JZ9. They have also added more detailed explanations for each option, to better explain the rationale behind the ranking.

They have also highlighted key resources for CBA prep, or simply to help all registrants understand the standards, and how to apply them to your practice. 

These resources have been shared with all PRPA member associations, including the OSRP.  Click HERE for two key documents.

The “COMPETENCY-BASED CASE STUDY WORKBOOK for ENTRY-TO-PRACTICE PSYCHOTHERAPISTS” was developed with a company called Compass which developed the Exam for non-grandparented RP(Q)s and RPs to take. The workbook is also helpful to review, or read for the first time, when approaching the CBA. 

So is this document exclusively available to members of The Partnership of Registered Psychotherapist Associations (PRPA)  of which the OSRP is a dues-paying and Voting Member:

“PRPA Study Notes, For the May 2023 QAEP-CBA Sitting:  An Assessment of Our Knowledge as Good Enough Therapists & Helpful Hints on How to Do the Ranking”

Each month, the OSRP will highlight more key Practice Review documents that may be useful to members sitting for CBA, or simply for those of us wanting the opportunity to review.

L to r: Shanique Victoria Edwards B.Sc., M.Div.(c), Dr. Oren Gozlan, Dr. Chase Everett McMurren

Have you ever wondered how equipped you are to work with clients from a multiplicity of backgrounds, histories and lived experiences? So have we.

That’s why the OSRP Protect Subcommittee brought together three expert panellists with unexpected and unorthodox approaches, who so delighted us when we heard them speak individually elsewhere, to join each other and us for this Roundtable discussion. This inclusive space will allow for true conversation in a spirit of mutual respect in a desire to better understand.

Just in time for Pride Month and National Indigenous History Month!

And we heard you, so the Subcommittee is allowing much more time for members’ questions, discussion and sharing at this second PS: Protect Seminar with our eminent guests.

Here’s a link to a webcast interview (transcript included) with one of our esteemed speakers, just to give you a sense of how creatively they can approach this topic: CPSO invu Dr. Chase Everett McMurren 

AN INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL COMPETENCY: WHAT IS IT? 

The CRPO has clearly mandated all Registrants to continue developing Cultural Competencies. This roundtable event discusses what this actually means in practice. 

Date: Thursday, June 15, 2023
Time: 11:00 AM-1:00 PM ET
Location: Central YMCA, 20 Grosvenor St, Toronto (Grosvenor Room) and online via Zoom 

Shanique Victoria Edwards, B.Sc., M.Div.(c), a member of Black Mental Health Canada’s Circle of Leaders and Founder and CEO of the Eden Legacy Foundation, works as knowledge translation coordinator for the Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Dr. Oren Gozlan, Psy.D., ABPP, FIPA, is a clinical psychologist and a psychoanalyst in Toronto. He is Chair of the scientific committee at the Toronto Institute for Psychoanalysis and a member of the Committee for Gender and Sexuality of the IPA. He is faculty at the University of Toronto (Applied Psychology and Human Development).

Dr. Chase McMurren (Spirit name: Water Song Medicine Keeper)is Michif/Metis(Turtle Clan) from Lethbridge, AB, located on traditional Siksikaitsitapi, Blackfoot Confederacy Territory and covered by Treaty 7. He currently lives and works in Tkarón:to |GichiKiiwenging and serves as the Indigenous Health Theme Lead in the MD Program and the Indigenous Practitioner Liaison within the Office of Indigenous Health in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

IS IT TOO LATE TO GET INTO A PS: SEMINAR???

No!

You still have a chance to buy a PS: Protect Seminars Flex Pass for $75 + HST. 

This member-only benefit gives you access to the April 6 video, PowerPoint and other valuable materials from this event, allows you to attend the June 15 event at 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., or get the video and material afterwards…and the next three seminars!

The OSRP Board wants all members to have access to this incredible “Risk Mitigation” session. It’s a must-watch for your practice. 

And we know the “Cultural Competency” June 15 roundtable will be memorable, fascinating, and eye-opening. 

So a $2,000+ legal consult + CBA Prep Session + A Cultural Competency Supervision Session – all for the cost of:

$20 per session, or 

$75 for all five seminars – whether you attend in person, online, or simply receive all materials sent to your inbox. 

“It’s the deal of the century,” as one satisfied member told us.

***Flex Pass – availability extended to JUNE 1***

Click HERE for more information & to register. 

THANK YOU to the 131 registered members, including 2 BIPoC bursary recipients  - your support makes it possible to continue offering these programs.

Protect yourself with five seminars offered throughout 2023. Starting with CRPO QA, take a dive deep into culture, sexuality, our cyber world, and then land with you. Yes, you. 

Can’t wait to see you, virtually or in person. 

Registration is open! Flex Pass available till June 1, 2023. 

Also - did you know that the OSRP has launched the second edition of its BIPOC Bursary Program?

See our HOME PAGE for details on how you can donate to help a fellow OSRP member, or someone who wants to join!

Or simply CLICK HERE TO DONATE

To attend/receive materials for all five PS: protect yourself Protect Seminars, if you would appreciate financial support and identify as BIPOC, please email edi@psychotherapyontario.org

Have you considered becoming more involved in OSRP leadership around Advocacy, Professional Development, and more?

Are you Board-Curious?

Or Committee-Intrigued?

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with your friendly neighbourhood Nomination Committee at nomination@psychotherapyontario.org and we can help pair your talents and enthusiasm to work that needs to be done to advance our profession and our Society.

OSRP's EDI Committee of OSRP is excited to announce the Launch of their Race-Based Data Collection Initiative, already part of PS Seminars registration, and now integrated into June 2023 Membership Renewal.

This is an invitation to participate in a Panel Discussion about the importance of Race-Based Data Collection in Ontario.

Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Venue: Virtual/Zoom
To register: https://osrp.ca/event-5279392

Feel free to bring your own lunch and enjoy it during the session.

This Lunch & Learn is open to all OSRP members and the community. Please feel free to invite your peers, colleagues, and community to join in this exceptional learning and unlearning event.

Confirmed panelists: 

1. Michael Bowe (Senior Equity and Inclusion Leader)
2. Kafui Sawyer, RP (Canadian Psychological Association)
3. Shequita Thompson-Reid (STR Consultancy)
4. Dr, Maria Wallis, PhD, Sociology (CASW, OSRP Member)

This is an opportunity for you to learn more about OSRP's new initiative designed to reduce barriers like systemic inequities resulting from anti-Black racism and other systems of oppression, that perpetuate the lack of equitable representation in Psychotherapy in Ontario.

Click here to register.

David Treleaven, Ph.D.
June 2 , 2023, 12:00PM – 3:00PM (ET)
3-Hour Live Online Training via Zoom
CE Credits and Webinar Recording Available

Join The Centre for MindBody Health for an exceptional online training led by internationally acclaimed trauma specialist and author, David Treleaven on mindfulness practices for clients with trauma.

Drs. Shari Geller and Shelley McMain
Co-Directors of Centre for MindBody Health (CMBH)

Click Here to Learn More and Register 

Workshop Overview

Through lecture, case study, and experiential practice, attendees will learn to safely and effectively implement mindfulness interventions with clients who have experienced trauma. By learning specific trauma informed modifications and interventions that actively prevent re traumatization, participants will enhance their ability to support clients with managing dysregulated arousal, traumatic flashbacks, and trauma related dissociation.

Presenter Profile

David Treleaven, Ph.D., is a writer, educator, and trauma professional working at the intersection of mindfulness and trauma. He is the author of the acclaimed book Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness and founder of the Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM) Community – a group of practitioners committed to setting a standard of care through mindfulness-based practices, interventions and programs. David’s work has been adopted into mindfulness teaching programs, including UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, Bangor University’s MA in Mindfulness program in the UK, and Oxford and Brown University.

Counselling Connection offers counselling and support in a confidential, client-centred environment to assist clients in developing and building skills and strategies to battle mental health issues and maintain positive well-being. Counselling Connection is a fast-growing clinic with locations in Bowmanville, and Peterborough. We currently deliver service both in person and virtually. The successful candidate will be expected to work from the Bowmanville location.

Counselling Connection serves clients of all ages through individual, couple, family, and group sessions. We are currently looking for master’s level educated Psychotherapists to fill a full-time or part-time position (preference will be given to those who have experience working with children and youth). Qualifying RP’s will also be given consideration. Applicants show have experience in a clinical setting and be willing to commit to a minimum of one evening shift weekly. Applicants for this position should have experience in delivering both individual and group counselling.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in a mental health related field
• Registration with the CRPO (Qualifying or independent practice)
• Minimum one year experience in a clinical setting
• Solid experience in providing brief psychotherapies and supportive counselling. Preference will be given to those with experience providing CBT and DBT
• Good communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to function both as a team player and independently
• Comfortable working with a broad range of client groups and their families/supports
• Two clinical references

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time

Wages: Competitive wages, commensurate with experience

Resumes and cover letters may be sent to: pmccourt@counsellingconnection.ca

Have you considered becoming more involved in OSRP leadership around Advocacy, Professional Development, and more?

Are you Board-Curious?
Or Committee-Intrigued?

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with your friendly neighbourhood Nomination Committee at nomination@psychotherapyontario.org and we can help pair your talents and enthusiasm to work that needs to be done to advance our profession and our Society.