Announcement Publications

2024 Election Priorities

Published:   •  2 minute read

Following consultations with our members, APNS has identified the following priorities for the 2024 NS General Election.

  1. Improving public access to mental health services through timely access to services, high quality of care, innovative implementation, collaborative care teams, educating the public on mental health and addictions care services and supporting organizations that provide mental health care.
  2. Public System Recruitment and Retention.  Public health system and school psychologists are leaving public institutions to work in the private sector.  This is mostly due to workplace culture, shortage of resources that affect the standard of care, lack of professional autonomy and wages.
  3. Increased Education and Training. There is a shortage of psychologists across Nova Scotia. Students who leave the province for training often do not return, whereas students who train here often stay. Additionally, the mental health needs of Nova Scotians are increasingly complex, requiring newly trained psychologists to possess very specialized skills.  To meet the complex health needs of Nova Scotians, university graduate programs and residency training sites across the province need to be expanded. Funding is necessary to support increased opportunities for high quality, graduate-level training in psychology within Nova Scotia, which will enable graduates to better support diverse and underserved clients in high needs regions.
Letter to Parties
Letter to Candidates
Parties Responses

Please note that the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia (APNS) is a non-partisan organization and does not endorse specific candidates or political parties. We work with all levels of government to advocate on behalf of our members to support policies that advance mental health care in Nova Scotia.

Increase in Recommended Rate for Psychological Services

Published:   •  1 minute read

Please be advised that effective October 1, 2024 the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia (APNS) has set the recommended fee for psychological services provided by Psychologists registered with the Nova Scotia Board of Examiners in Psychology at $225 per hour.

The official letter from the APNS President in regard to this increase is available here.

This fee increase is based on a review of other psychology association rates across Canada, and those currently being charged by psychologists across the province. APNS also reviewed and compared Psychologists rates to rates of other mental health professionals in Nova Scotia. The rate is reviewed annually and was last revised in 2021.

Liability Insurance Program Renewal (BMS)

Published:   •  2 minute read

Dear Members,

Very shortly you will receive the 2024-2025 CPA/CPAP* Liability Insurance Program renewal, directly from the program’s broker, BMS. If you want to participate in the program for the first time, or if you haven’t received your renewal notice, please contact BMS at psy.insurance@bmsgroup.com. Note that the policy renews on June 1st, 2024.

Read more “Liability Insurance Program Renewal (BMS)”

Child and Adolescent Psychology Interest Group (CAP-I) Meetings in 2024

Published:   •  1 minute read

Earlier this year, we let you know that we would be resuming Child and Adolescent Psychology Interest Group (CAP-I) Meetings in 2024. 

We are pleased to share that we have scheduled the first official meeting for:

 Saturday, June 15th at 10 to 11:30 am

3rd Floor, Room 301, Halifax Central Library (5440 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, NS B3J 1E9)

This first meeting will be a relatively informal, ‘meet-and-greet’ after a couple of year hiatus.  Incoming chairs, Lindsay Bates and Rachel Panton, will provide a brief overview of CAP-I (history and future), and then there will be some discussion around potential speakers and topics for the 2024/2025 year.  The initial overview will be streamed via video conferencing – allowing greater CAP-I meeting access to psychologists from across the province.     

Attendees are encouraged to bring along a potluck brunch item to share (e.g., muffins, timbits, fruits, etc.). 

 If you are interested in receiving information around future CAP-I meetings, please contct admin@apns,ca and you will be added to our new CAP-I group email.  All NS psychologists are welcome.

UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Published:   •  2 minute read

Today is the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The 2024 theme is “A Decade of Recognition, Justice, and Development: Implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent”.

Description from the UN site:

Humanity, not racism

The 2024 theme of the International Day is “A Decade of Recognition, Justice, and Development: Implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent”.

Racial discrimination and the legacies of slavery and colonialism continue to destroy lives and curtail opportunities, preventing billions of people from enjoying their full human rights and freedoms.

This year’s theme is linked to the International Decade for People of African Descent, which spans the timeframe from 2015 to 2024. In proclaiming this Decade, the international community is recognizing that people of African descent represent a distinct group, whose human rights must be promoted and protected.

Around 200 million people identifying themselves as being of African descent live in the Americas. Many millions more live in other parts of the world, outside of the African continent.

Background

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on the day the police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid “pass laws” in 1960.

In 1979, the General Assembly adopted a programme of activities to be undertaken during the second half of the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination. On that occasion, the General Assembly decided that a week of solidarity with the peoples struggling against racism and racial discrimination, beginning on 21 March, would be organized annually in all States.

Since then, the apartheid system in South Africa has been dismantled. Racist laws and practices have been abolished in many countries, and we have built an international framework for fighting racism, guided by the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Convention is now nearing universal ratification, yet still, in all regions, too many individuals, communities and societies suffer from the injustice and stigma that racism brings.

Find more here:

https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-racism-day

https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/federal-anti-racism-secretariat/international-day-elimination-racial-discrimination.html

Announcing the 2023 APNS Award Recipients

Published:   •  6 minute read

APNS is pleased to announce the APNS Award recipients for 2023. These awards were presented at the Annual General Meeting on Friday June 9th.

More information about the awards.

Fellow of the Association honours those individuals who have made significant and enduring contributions to APNS. They are psychologists who have helped shape the Association and have contributed to the development of psychology in Nova Scotia.  

Read more “Announcing the 2023 APNS Award Recipients”

GET 20% Off Psychologists’ Association of Alberta (PAA) Online Courses

Published:   •  1 minute read

APNS has entered into an agreement with the PAA that allows APNS members to have access to PAA Learning Products at a discounted rate!

Courses include:

  • Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
  • Effective Advocacy
  • What’s New inThe DSM-5-TR?

For PAA in person workshops and live webinars visit: https://psychologistsassociation.ab.ca/events/category/workshop/

Find PAA’s asynchronous trainings by visiting our course portal: PAA’s Course Portal (mypaacourses.ca)

Use the coupon code* ASPN20 when checking out to claim your discount.

*Coupon code discounts can only be applied before purchase, no partial refunds are available, PAA refund and cancellation policies apply, PAA member rates apply to PAA members.

Are you an APNS member in Private Practice? You can save money on Credit and Debit Card Processing

Published:   •  1 minute read

APNS is pleased to announce that we have added a new member benefit.

We have entered into an agreement with TD Merchant Solutions to provide a preferred pricing program for APNS members. APNS has been a client of TD Bank and TD Merchant Solutions for many years, and we expect that this agreement will offer significant savings on credit and debit card processing fees to those members in private practice.

For more information please see the advertisement here.

If you are interested in participating please contact our TD Representative: Manoj Chauhan at Manoj.Chauhan@td.com

For information about eligibility contact Susan at apns@apns.ca.

The Town of Kentville and APNS invite you to “sit and chat” to promote wellness

Published:   •  2 minute read

Kentville/Halifax:  The Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia (APNS) and the Town of Kentville are reviving the old saying: “sit and chat a while”.

APNS has been donating park benches to raise awareness of the value of personal interaction as a way to enhance mental and physical health. We kicked off the initiative in Yarmouth in 2017, followed by Stewiacke in 2018 and Blockhouse in 2019. This event in Kentville is the first since our shutdown for the pandemic.

The unveiling will take place at the Kentville Visitor Information Centre at 125 Park Street on Friday, June 2nd, 2023 at 2 pm.

Read more “The Town of Kentville and APNS invite you to “sit and chat” to promote wellness”