CRPO Communiqué
May 2018
May 14, 2018


Message from the Registrar 
Deborah Adams Registrar


Before writing this message, I looked at the number of times the College has reached out to members over the last six months and see that it was not insignificant.

Since December, we've asked members for their input on: a draft guideline for disclosing information to prevent harm; providing care to individuals seeking gender affirmation surgery; the controlled act documents, followed by the controlled act regulation (both in French and English); a draft policy related to the "cooling off" period; proposed changes to College by-laws; and topics for discussion at upcoming member town hall meetings. We've also made a request for members to participate in a focus group on electronic practice and put out calls for peer assessors as well as candidates for the upcoming College elections.

We'll be back to members over the coming months to invite you to attend town halls, to consider further amendments to the by-laws that will be required by recent legislative changes, to make your voices heard as we develop a strategic plan and to help shape the development of planned Quality Assurance resources. 

I recognize that these requests may feel frequent to busy clinicians who have professional and personal commitments to juggle. For this reason, I will keep my message this month short: I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to participate and to commit to sharing the work that results from these consultations, as well as to evaluating how we communicate with our members to ensure that we are providing comprehensive, timely information in formats that are geared toward best meeting your needs.
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Communiqué de l'OPAO - Mai 2018- Version française
In This Issue
Professional Liability Insurance Audits Have Begun

This month, CRPO began conducting audits of members' professional liability insurance (PLI). Are you ready?
 
Any member who is audited during this process will be asked to provide proof of insurance for all current practice sites (generally a copy of their insurance certificate or a letter from their employer), which must include the following information:
  • policy number;
  • name of the insured that matches the name of the member;*
  • address of the insured;
  • policy period; and
  • coverage details.
Members who are found to have inadequate, lapsed or no insurance may have their CRPO membership suspended or be faced with disciplinary action.
 
Members are responsible for determining whether their coverage  meets the requirements  CRPO has of all members.

* There may be instances of members whose insurance is covered by employers, and are therefore not able to produce a certificate with the member's name on it. In this instance, the letter from the employer must indicate that the member is indeed covered by the policy being cited.
CRPO Election: Voting Opens Next Week!

Members in District 1  West,  District 5  South West  and District 6 - Central West can start casting their ballots next week in the upcoming CRPO election. 

Three  candidates will be running in District 1 - West:  Kevin VanDerZwet Stafford, Heidi Ahonen and Catherine Carpenko Two candidates, Kayleen Edwards and Miranda Monastero, will be running in District 5 - South West. No nominations were received for District 6 - Central West.
 
Candidate statements are now posted, as well as information about sitting on Council. Voting will begin  May 23 and continue until 12:00 noon on Friday,  June 22

Once voting opens, members who are eligible to vote in these two districts can access their ballots on the Elections tab of their CRPO user account. Each member's electoral district, determined by their primary practice site (or residence if not practising), is noted on the Elections tab. 

Inquires related to Council elections can be sent to  elections@crpo.ca
Clinical Supervision Changes

We are aware that the College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO) has recently amended and clarified its standards of practice that relate to supervision provided by its members. We understand that many members of CRPO are concerned about potential impacts on their relationships with clinical supervisors who are psychologists.

This matter is being explored deeply, and more information will be available in the future. For the time being, we invite you to review responses to the most frequently asked questions on this subject.
Learn moreLearn more
Message from CRPO President, Andrew Benedetto 

I want to personally encourage all CRPO members to attend one of the town hall events happening this October. The town halls will be an opportunity for me, and  our registrar, Deb Adams, to share and exchange knowledge with members I hope  to hear more about the successes and challenges you face as we move more deeply into regulation. I'm also very much looking forward to sharing with you our ideas for initiatives in the near and longer term.

Thank you to all members who filled out the survey indicating the topics of discussion and information sharing you're primarily concerned with. Your feedback will help significantly with shaping a productive meeting that helps build our relationship and sheds light on the path ahead.

Please see below for dates and times of town halls in your community. A video recording of our first meeting  will be available at a later date  for those who are unable to attend in person.

October 2 - Toronto   4:30 - 6:00 pm   Location TBA
October 16 - Sudbury   12:30 - 2:00 pm   Location TBA
October 23 - Ottawa   4:30 - 6:00 pm   Location TBA
October 30 - London   4:30 - 6:00 pm   Location TBA
Update on the Controlled Act of Psychotherapy

The process of defining psychotherapy as a controlled act continues. Thanks to the feedback received from members and stakeholders regarding the Draft Consultation Documents circulated in March, CRPO has drafted a proposed regulation. There regulation itself is now open to a 60-day consultation period, closing June 15. The proposed regulation, Categories of Prescribed Therapies Involving the Practice of Psychotherapy, is as follows:
 
1. The following are the categories of prescribed therapies involving the practise of psychotherapy:
  • Cognitive and Behavioural therapies
  • Experiential and Humanistic therapies
  • Psychodynamic therapies
  • Somatic therapies
  • Systemic and Collaborative therapies
T he proposed regulation is being circulated for the required 60-day consultation process before it is approved and submitted to government for their approval. Get more information on our website , and fill out the survey here . Links to the French documents, as well as the survey, are available here.
Current Public Consultations

There are currently three opportunities  open for member and stakeholder input:

Closing today!: By-law review

Closing June 9: Draft policy for "cooling off" period

Closing June 15: Draft regulation categories of prescribed therapies involving the practice of psychotherapy

Details of each consultation can be reviewed on our website.
Quality Advisory: Custody & Informed Consent

I'm working with a young child whose parents are going through a divorce. What do I need to know about consent in this situation?

According to Professional Practice Standards Section 3: Client-Therapist Relationship, members have a duty to place the well-being of the client at the forefront of the therapeutic relationship. With this in mind, consider the following...
Accessibility Requests

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, along with CRPO's Accessible Customer Service Policy, obligates CRPO to provide reasonable accommodations for all members and applicants with disabilities.
 
The basic principle of accommodations for members and applicants is to remove barriers to enable equal opportunity with dignity and without impediment. An accommodation, based on disability (whether temporary or permanent), is considered appropriate if it results in an equal opportunity to attain the same level of performance as persons without a disability and meets the individual's disability-related needs.
 
Members/applicants are asked to alert CRPO of their accommodation request with enough advance notice to reasonably give CRPO an opportunity to evaluate the request, seek resources and confirm arrangements.
 
For more information regarding accommodations, please contact info@crpo.ca .
3 Easy Tips for Managing Your CRPO Member Account

Getting too many notifications from your CRPO member account--or not enough? Here are three easy steps to improve how you receive communications.

1. If there's a message waiting for you in your CRPO member account, you'll receive an email notification at the address you've indicated you want CRPO to use. Be sure this is an email address you check frequently.

2. If you don't read the message in the system, you will continue to receive notifications. So the best way to stop receiving email notifications is to read the message waiting for you in your account.

3. If you don't open and read the message in your account (if you only read the subject line, for example), you will keep getting that notification. This can cause confusion! Opening (and reading) the message makes the " !" go away, ensuring you won't receive that particular notification anymore.
Please do not unsubscribe. CRPO works on the assumption that our members receive all of our emails. CRPO uses email to communicate with members about important College updates. If you choose to unsubscribe, it is then your responsibility to regularly check our website to keep yourself informed. 

It is the responsibility of each member to make sure CRPO has your current contact information, updated within 30 days of a change, and ensure that the organization you work for does not block CRPO emails.