The College’s Guidelines for Completing the Declaration of Competence & Supervised Practice Training Plans
View the Guidelines for Completing the Declaration of Competence
Psychologist | Psychological Associate
View the Guidelines for Training Plans for Supervised Practice Members
Psychologist | Psychological Associate
Download the Training Plan Manual
Download the Training Plan Proposal Form and the Supervisor’s Training Plan Evaluation Form
In 2019, the College’s Registration Committee (the Committee) undertook an extensive review of the Guidelines for Completing the Declaration of Competence and the Guidelines for Training Plans for Supervised Practice Members. Recommended changes were approved by the College’s Council in 2020 and have been in effect for over a year. This information is important particularly for autonomous members of the College who supervise candidates for registration, as well as individuals who are in the process of applying for registration with the College.
Guidelines for Completing the Declaration of Competence
The review of these Guidelines was initiated due to concerns regarding the extensive training plans that some applicants were being required to complete during the registration process. The Committee noted that, in completing the Declaration of Competence, some applicants were selecting areas of practice and/or client groups that were not based upon their academic background and training, resulting in extensive training plan requirements.
The Committee noted examples in which an applicant with a degree in child clinical psychology declared adult clinical psychology, even though the applicant did not complete graduate level coursework or training in adult clinical psychology. Such an applicant would require an extensive training plan, typically completed during the supervised practice period, and typically via supervised readings. In reviewing such situations, the Committee agreed that the Guidelines needed to be clearer in advising applicants of what is acceptable/not acceptable to declare based on their academic background and training.
In keeping with the College’s role of establishing standards of qualifications for individuals seeking registration, authorized areas of practice should include only those areas for which the applicant has documented academic background and training. To permit applicants to request authorization in areas in which they are not clinically trained is not in the public interest. Even an extensive training plan is not equivalent to formal education and training. Should a member wish to expand their authorized areas of practice beyond that for which they were formally trained, they may take advantage of the College’s existing post-registration process.
Guidelines for Training Plans for Supervised Practice Members
The review of these Guidelines was initiated in conjunction with the Committee’s revisions to the Guidelines for Completing the Declaration of Competence. The review was undertaken to address the Registration Committee’s concerns regarding variability in quality of training plans; to assist candidates and their supervisors in understanding the College’s expectations for preparing acceptable training plans; and to enhance accountability.
The substantive changes in the Guidelines are:
- Reflecting the need to achieve competence, the term “Training” rather than “Retraining” is seen as more appropriate.
- Candidates requiring training in any of the four foundational knowledge areas[1], which typically are acquired in undergraduate study, must complete this training through a university course. That is, candidates cannot satisfy this training requirement by completing a course equivalent of supervised readings.
The Registration Committee believes that a formal course is preferable to supervised readings in all cases, and courses in foundational knowledge areas are readily available to candidates at various Canadian universities.
- For graduate level training requirements, the College expects training will be completed through formal coursework. Only in exceptional cases, where completion of a course is not possible, will the Registration Committee consider a coursework equivalent of supervised readings.
The substantive changes in the Training Manual instructions to candidates are:
- Advising candidates that training in any of the four foundational knowledge areas must be completed through a university course, as noted in the Guidelines.
- For training completed through a course equivalent of supervised readings, the Training Manual now specifies a minimum hourly requirement for meetings to discuss the readings between the candidate and the training plan supervisor. Candidates are also advised that the meetings with their supervisor must be documented in the supervisor’s evaluation form, which is submitted following completion of the training plan.
- The Supervisor’s Training Evaluation Form is filled out electronically and includes a meeting log for the supervisor to document each meeting and identify the specific readings discussed.
[1] Biological bases of behavior, Social bases of behavior, Cognitive-affective bases of behavior, and Psychology of the Individual.