We also released several policies.
The listserv policy and acknowledgment form were released in the spring, in conjunction with the launch of our new listserv platform. All members signing up for the platform are required to sign off, ensuring a safe and productive space for member exchange.
Listserv Acknowledgement Form
Listserv Policy
The new policies that were released can be found below.
These policies were crafted in tandem with the by-laws changes that were approved. The intent and vision was to ensure that our by-laws and policies align with and encompass OSRP's commitment to equitable practices in everything we do. We have come to realize in recent years that these policies are necessary as we grow and forge a path forward. Click on the buttons below to view the new policies.
Conflict of Interest Policy
Conflict Resolution Policy
Contractor Hiring Policy
Anti-Discrimination Policy
Sharing of Race-based Data Policy
Whistleblower Protection Policy
Abolish the Position of Parliamentarian
The Protect Committee presented a seminar with Aisha Heywood on October 9 titled Mastering Test-Taking Strategies for Professionals.
Aisha shared a range of tools, from understanding key action words in exam questions to using mnemonic aids for memory retention, making them valuable for improving overall exam performance
The following resources have been carefully selected to support Professionals & Psychotherapists in enhancing their test-taking strategies. These materials provide insights into effective exam preparation, case study analysis, managing test anxiety, and developing practical skills for various types of exams
If you require strategies for the upcoming CRPO exam, the list is provided here
Click here to purchase the recorded seminar.
All members in good standing with OSRP are entitled to:
This is win-win for all our members who want to save! Details can be found on the member benefits page once you log in to our website.
Click here for details.
Are you interested in advertising your event with OSRP? Are you looking to hire an RP? To assist you, we have initiated a new, streamlined process for submitting advertisements.
Information on how to advertise can be found on our Advertise With Us page. You have two options:
1. Include your ad in a Central e-blast
2. Send a standalone e-blast
Information on how to advertise a job post can be found on our Post a Job page.
Advertisements are submitted through our new online form. Once you have submitted your advertisement, you will be directed to our payment page. Payment must be submitted along with your advertisement.
As I reflect on my recent conversation with Alethia, our very own OSRP board member and Protect Committee Chair, I am reminded of the importance of our shared experiences in psychotherapy and community engagement. Alethia has been a psychotherapist since 2017, but her journey spans over two decades, working with adolescents and adults in various hospital settings. Her extensive background in emergency departments and psychiatric stabilization units has shaped her understanding of mental health care for Black and marginalized communities.
Our dialogue delved into the evolution of mental health interventions, particularly concerning the Black community. Alethia raised valid concerns about the initial Eurocentric focus of these interventions, emphasizing the necessity for culturally sensitive approaches that consider family involvement and community support. This perspective resonates deeply with me as I find it so important that as psychotherapists, we create treatment plans that are not only effective but also respectful of individual identities and cultural backgrounds. Throughout our discussion, I was inspired by Alethia's commitment to personal growth and community outreach.
Alethia also spoke about her practice called , where she not only offers individual therapy, along with two interns, she also organizes wellness retreats that incorporate mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and nutrition — her first event attracted 50 attendees! She brings the same energy for community outreach and self-healing to the OSRP through the various offerings of the Protect Committee.
Alethia’s two student interns are offering free counselling to young adults ages 18-30 until April 2025, and starting in November, Alethia is starting a DBT group for women of colour.
Feel free to reach out to her via alethia@mindsilike.com, or through her website to find out more.
Thank you for your continued support of the OSRP. As a valued member, you had the opportunity to vote on proposed by-law amendments that will ensure you continue to have a voice while also supporting the advancement of the society and its mandate.
The amendments were released for electronic vote in July and the motions and results will be read into the minutes of this meeting to make them official.
Unfortunately, we were challenged with registrations for the August 30 Special Session of the Membership meeting (18 received) and proxies (9 received). Under our current by-laws, we require over 90 registrations and proxies to achieve a quorum, so we have rescheduled this meeting.
The new meeting date and time are:
Thursday, October 10, 2024 12 to 1 p.m. ET, Zoom
To register for the meeting, please use this link.
If you are unable to attend the OSRP Special Session of the Membership meeting scheduled for October 10, 2024, please click on the button below to complete a proxy form. There will be no voting during the meeting. Proxies are required so we can ensure we have a quorum to hold the meeting.
Click here to register your proxy.
Alice is a lively and passionate human. We spent our time talking about her journey to becoming a therapist and what matters to her in her work. She shared her positive experience with therapy during her teenage years, her volunteer work at Jesse's and Sistering, Assaulted Women's and Children's Counsellor/Advocate Diploma at George Brown College, and her ultimate decision to apply for a 5-year experiential psychotherapy training program at OPC to further her personal growth and become the therapist she aspired to be.
Alice does standup comedy and loves to read and see impactful films. She just saw the film “Hard Truths” at TIFF festival and recommended the book Love Me Tender by Constance Debray, which I’m looking into.
Alice has an office in central Toronto and offers a combination of in-person and virtual sessions. She works mostly with queer young adults and has a trauma-informed and anti-oppressive approach to therapy. She is accepting clients at the moment and can be contacted via: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/therapists/alice-blackwell-toronto-on/1122544.
Thank you Alice for this inspiring conversation. Your energy is contagious!
On June 27, we were pleased to announce that the GST/HST exemption from counselling and psychotherapy services went into effect as of June 20, 2024, after having received royal assent.
As of June 20, 2024, certain psychotherapists and counselling therapists are no longer required to collect the GST/HST on their services. The Canada Revenue Agency wants to ensure that all providers of these types of services have the information they need to determine their tax situation and take any next steps, such as closing their GST/HST account. The CRA released a statement on July 15 which provides further clarity.
Please keep in mind that the exemption applies only to psychotherapy services. If you are providing other services (e.g., coaching, workshops, etc.) that you charge HST on, you should continue to charge HST on those services.
We would again like to thank all those who worked diligently over many years to make this happen, including those on the Tax-Free Therapy campaign, our partners at the Partnership of Registered Psychotherapy Associations (PRPA) and the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), and our very own OSRP Advocacy Committee.
Presented by RBC
Marty Nanasi, investment retirement planner-financial planner with RBC, will be presenting a free seminar only for OSRP members on how to best utilize RSPs to reduce taxable income, save for first time homebuyers’ downpayments, including advice towards how to invest and options available within an RSP at RBC.
He will also cover how to use a RSP vs TFSA to maximize results and First Home savers account, which is a new addition the Canadian government has put in place to allow further deduction from income taxes and save further in addition to first-time home buyers' account allowable in RSP.
Wednesday, September 18, 202412 to 1 p.m. ET, Zoom
Fees: Free for members
Click here to register.
By Brandon Hay (MES, Business) Founder of the Black Daddies Club Therapist-in-Training at the Gestalt Institute of Toronto OSRP member
Less than 1% of therapists identify as Black men in the USA. This statistic was shared at a Black Men Therapists conference in Chicago that I attended in February 2023. This number is even less for Black men practicing therapy in Canada.
This lack of representation of Black men in the mental health profession in Canada has impacts on the larger mental health crisis that Black folks across Canada are navigating. The Shining a Light on Mental Health in Black Communities report states that 60% of the Black Canadians surveyed "would be more willing to use mental health services if the mental health professional were Black". The report also indicated the importance of innovative mental health interventions for the Back community, as “Black persons in Canada have higher unemployment rates, as well as lower average incomes, which may preclude them from the wider selection of mental health services available to those able to pay privately or go through employer-covered insurance plans."
My name is Brandon Hay and I am a Black man who is a therapist-in-training in Gestalt therapy, and I am also the founder of the Black Daddies Club (BDC), which is a social grassroots movement that has been co-creating spaces for Black folks and Black men in Toronto for the past 18 years.
As a therapist in training, I believe the trauma that Black folks experience looks different due to racism and their other lived experiences that come with the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, class, etc. The events below will be co-created communal and decolonized spaces for Black therapists, counsellors, healers, and those who support Black folks to learn and network with each other.
On Sunday, August 11th, 2024, BDC is collaborating with community stakeholders from Canada, USA, and South Africa to do two events (virtual and in-person) that will focus on innovative approaches with Black folks and mental health. The event will take place at Movember Canada, Toronto, 588 Richmond Street West, Toronto,
The first event taking place from 11 am-2:30 pm, will be Sunday Brunch: A Decolonized Space for Black Therapists, Counselors, Healers, and those who work with Black Folks, a panel discussion and networking and knowledge-sharing event for the purpose of decolonizing therapeutic strategies for Black, Indigenous and Racialized therapists, counselors, healers and those who support Black folks with their mental health.
This event, the first in a series, will launch The Revelry Group, an Employment Assistance Program (EAP) that works with Black, Racialized, and Indigenous Counsellors, Therapists and Healers. We are currently working on inviting Black and Racialized therapists to be a part of this network.
The second event for the day, taking place from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm, will be Sunday Dinners: Conversations with Black Men. The purpose of the Sunday Dinner gatherings is for Black men to have conversations with other Black men to explore our similarities and differences. This conversation series is for Black men who identify as cis-gendered, heterosexual, trans-men, gay, bi-sexual, mixed race, living with a disability or non-binary Black men, etc.; as long as you identify as a Black man, the Sunday Dinners space is for you.
The Sunday Dinners initiative is innovative because it takes away the stigma of therapy which is still prevalent in some Black communities. The event is also free which helps to decrease the financial barriers that often stand in the way of Black men and their mental health and wellness. The design of Sunday Dinners is built on the Gestalt Therapy theories of dialogical relationship, awareness of our bodies, and being present in the here and now with the other person. Sunday Dinners also relies on Black men connecting (speaking and listening) with other Black men in a vulnerable way, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, as one participant who attended the in-person Sunday Dinners event which was held in March 2024 in Toronto, said,
“I love having an intergenerational space where I can learn from black men. Having a space to talk to other black men is healing, especially during COVID. I also like having this space because I can share my experiences and unpack some of my own insecurities and experiences. It feels like therapy’.” Sunday Dinner attendee
If you are a Black therapist or counselor, or a non-Black therapist or counselor who works with Black men, Black boys, and the Black community at large, please register for the Sunday Brunch (in-person or virtual).
If you are a Black man and interested in attending Sunday Dinners, please register (in-person or virtual).
As these events are not wheelchair accessible, we encourage folks who experience mobility issues, or those who will be out of the geographic area, to access both events via the virtual registration options.
I would love to see you at these events. Bring a friend!
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