The End of a Chapter in the College’s History and the Bright Future Ahead
Dear Registrants,
I am pleased to provide you with an update on the exciting developments at the College. I begin this Registrar’s message with a focus on access to high-quality, evidence-based care. The College is a proud signatory to a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Association of Canadian Psychology Regulatory Organizations (ACPRO) that will permit eligible psychology professionals to provide continuity of care to their clients using telepsychology under specific circumstances in specific jurisdictions. You’re encouraged to visit the College’s website for more information. This MOU is in addition to the College’s MOU with Nunavut, which you can find here. The College continues to be interested in exploring further cross-jurisdictional practice opportunities that are centred around the provision of safe, high-quality care, leveraging technology to facilitate access to psychological services.
The College is also working diligently to prepare for the proclamation of the new Act and the welcoming of Behaviour Analysts. As could be imagined, this has been an intensive undertaking requiring the dedication and hard work of many people, including the College staff. I am immensely grateful for the spirit of collaboration from the Ontario Association of Behaviour Analysts as we share in the value of regulation to support safe, high-quality ABA services for the Ontario public. Establishing the regulatory infrastructure for a new profession while regulating the profession of psychology has not been without its share of challenges, and the team ‘behind the scenes’ deserves thanks and appreciation.
What do these changes mean for the people of Ontario? We believe that it is a privilege for any profession to be able to self-regulate, with the fiduciary duty being to the public. We have over sixty years of experience in health regulation, starting in 1960, with the Psychologists Registration Act, and through to the current, Psychology Act (1991). In alignment with best practices in health regulatory modernization, merging additional professions into a regulatory body enhances interprofessional care through shared values, ethical principles, legislation, and Standards of Conduct.
On a historic day, July 1, 2024, the Psychology and Applied Behaviour Analysis Act (2021), will be proclaimed into law. With ABA joining a well-established infrastructure that has withstood the test of time, we are poised to provide the public with the best that regulation has to offer in the public interest. The expectations placed on our registrants are high, and we take pride in upholding the utmost professional standards. This is what the public has come to expect of psychological care in Ontario. Now they can trust that Behaviour Analysts and those under their supervision will uphold the same tradition of quality care.
By the next edition of HeadLines, our first Behaviour Analysts will have officially joined the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario. Please join me in welcoming our newest professional colleagues!
Thank you for your dedication to the highest quality of care for the people of Ontario.
Sincerely,
Tony DeBono, MBA, Ph.D., C.Psych.