APNS Annual General Meeting, Award Ceremonies and Retirement Reception

Please join us for the Annual General Meeting in  person on Friday, May 31st 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm

At Dalhousie University, McCain Bldg., Room 2132, 6135 University Ave, Halifax

In addition to the annual business meeting we will be awarding the annual APNS awards. Immediately following the AGM we will have a retirement reception of Executive Director Susan Marsh, which you are invited to join.

To attend the AGM and/or the Reception please RSVP to admin@apns.ca

This year our in-person AGM is combined with a half day panel discussion on:

Telepsychology: Managing the Challenges, A half-day, hybrid panel discussion and Q&A.

For more information on that see https://apns.ca/publications/news/telepsychology-managing-the-challenges/

Telepsychology: Managing the Challenges

A half-day, hybrid panel discussion and Q&A

Dalhousie University, McCain Bldg., Room 2130, Halifax (or by Zoom)

Friday, May 31 – 9 am to 1:00 pm

Fee: $150 for APNS members; $25 for students.

Contact admin@apns.ca to register now. Watch for the brochure coming soon.

The Panel Discussion is followed by the APNS Annual General Meeting and Award Ceremony; participants are invited to stay for lunch.

Panel: Dr. Marcie Balch, Dr. Elizabeth Church, Dr Natalie Stratton, Carlye Smith-Burke; Moderated by Dr. Robin McGee, Chair NSBEP

Summary

The number of psychologists using telepsychology have increased dramatically in the past five years. The benefits are well know, but what about the challenges? These may not be as obvious, but can cause problems if overlooked. This panel discussion will feature psychologists from various practice areas discussing their experiences with telepsychology, and addressing questions from participants. Some of the topics we hope to address will include ethical concerns, privacy and security, and the whether it is, or is not, appropriate for carious issues or clients.

Panel Discussion: Educating psychologists about government plans to increase access to mental health services

Where are we going and how do we get there? A half-day, virtual panel discussion with those who have been there.

Friday, May 10th, 1 to 4 pm by Zoom

All psychologists are welcome, but there are only 100 spaces available. E-mail apns@apns.ca now and register to receive your Zoom link.

Why are we holding this forum?

The Nova Scotia government has declared its intention to make mental-health care universally available through private services. Government’s role in the private sector of mental-health services may have significant, unforeseen consequences for providers, for public-sector professionals, and for the public. Psychologists have to be prepared for the potential impacts of government’s decisions and anticipate the challenges and opportunities. We seek to understand more about the mechanisms of this change so that we can better navigate our way forward. What do we psychologists need to know in order to play a proactive role in ensuring the wellbeing of the profession and those we serve?

Panel members

David M Clark, CBE is Emeritus Professor of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University. He is well-known for his pioneering work on the understanding and psychological treatment of anxiety disorders. Since 2005 he has also focused on how to disseminate effective psychological treatments within the NHS and international healthcare systems. He is an architect of the English Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, and continues to advise NHS England. He has received Distinguished Scientist / Lifetime Achievement Awards from the British, Canadian and American Psychological Associations. The latter described his work as “pure genius with a real-world application.”

David Peachey is a Principal of Health Intelligence Inc., a Halifax-based healthcare consulting firm with clients in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. Prior to establishing the consulting firm in 1995, he was the Director of Professional Affairs at the Ontario Medical Association for ten years. His clinical experience spanned 40 years, including comprehensive family medicine, emergency medicine, and urgent care. Consulting work has focused on physician compensation and funding models, provider workforce and clinical services planning, fee schedule modernization, clinical governance, compensation database development and analysis, physician accountability, and measurement of clinical performance. In addition to successfully completing provincial workforce and clinical services plans, he has presented workshops on physician compensation models and performance measures, consulted on the reforming of medical services, and advised governments on delivery and funding models for medical care. He has been the lead consultant on number of projects analyzing physician compensation models and trends, drafting revisions to fee schedules and preambles, and conducting inter-provincial fee and benefit schedule comparisons, and clinical scenario analyses. Clients have included federal, provincial, and territorial governments, professional associations and societies, and the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Pierre L.-J. Ritchie is Professor Emeritus in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa. He has extensive leadership experience in the governance and management of national and international organizations as well as in health policy. In North America, Dr. Ritchie served as CEO of the Canadian Psychological Association and as Executive Director of the Canadian Register of Health Service Psychologists as well as a member of the Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association. He was twice President of the Ontario Psychological Association and has collaborated with many provincial associations on advocacy for the profession, health care and health policy as well as on regulatory matters. Internationally, Dr. Ritchie served as the Main Representative (Psychology) to the World Health Organization (1997-2016). He was closely involved in the revision of the classification of mental, behavioural, and neurodevelopmental disorders for the Eleventh Revision of WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). He is Co-Editor of the just published A Psychological Approach to Diagnosis: Using the ICD-11 as a Framework. He was Secretary-General of the International Union of Psychological Science (1996-2012). At the International Council for Science, he instrumental in the establishment of the multidisciplinary Urban Health and Well-being Programme for which he was a member and chair of its Science Committee.

Moderator, Ron Sherrard attended the University of King’s College in Halifax and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism (Honours). He worked for CBC Radio as a reporter and producer in Halifax for 12 years. Then worked in Nova Scotia politics and government for 15 years in communications and outreach, including four years as government/caucus liaison helping individuals and community groups work with government to better communicate their needs and achieve their goals.

UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

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

Dr C. K. Perrier & Associates

POSITION: Psychologist Positions and office space
ORGANIZATION: Dr. C.K. Perrier & Associates
LOCATION: Bedford, Nova Scotia

We are currently recruiting psychologists to join our team as part-time or full-time associates, working out of offices in Bedford. We offer comfortable, accessible, and welcoming office space with free parking. We offer complete administrative support and use encrypted and secure web-based practice management software for managing client scheduling and clinical records. As an associate with our team, you will be compensated at a rate well above industry standards. Work-life balance is prioritized and associates have flexibility in creating their own schedule and limiting or expanding therapy hours, as well as choosing to provide treatment in-person or via telehealth.

If you are interested in joining our team as an associate, please submit a cover letter with CV to info@PerrierWellness.ca

Alternatively, if you are interested in renting office space rather than joining a practice, we have a welcoming environment with multiple rooms available to rent on an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis, including a large group room. Rates are very reasonable and negotiable.

Call for Nominations: APNS Honours, Awards and Bursaries

The APNS Nomination & Elections Committee encourages you to submit nominations for the following awards. To submit please download and complete the appropriate form and email to: apns@apns.ca The deadline for all nominations is April 1, 2024.

AWARD DESCRIPTION

  • APNS Fellow – This designation honours those members who have made significant and enduring contributions to APNS and have helped shape the Association and have contributed to the development of psychology in Nova Scotia.
  • Dr. J.A. Charles Hayes Lifetime Contribution Award honours Dr Charles Hayes, a respected Psychologist whose career may be said to be a model of lifetime commitment. This award recognizes depth and engagement of long-term service and recognizes those who have spent a significant part of their professional lifetime supporting APNS, its member psychologists, and the profession of psychology at the provincial, national and international level.
  • APNS Outstanding Early Career Psychologist (ECP) Award highlights the challenges of being an ECP, those in the first 10 years of their  psychology career, after graduation from a professional post-graduate psychology program. The recipient is an APNS member who has actively participated in APNS at the committee or Executive level, has used the services of APNS to advance their career in psychology, and who plans to continue a career in psychology in NS.
  • APNS Excellence in Psychology Award focuses on excellence in the profession of Psychology. The recipient of this award is an APNS member who is in mid-career (~11 to 30 years) who has demonstrated excellence in their professional activities or in their volunteer activities while acting as a Psychologist. The award may be given for work relating to: 1) area of practice (health, forensic, neuropsychology, addictions, assessment); 2) work setting (school, hospital, private practice, teaching, research); 3) population (child, teen, geriatric, couple, diverse groups, first responders, marginalized populations); 4) treatment area (PTSD, pain, grief, workplace, etc.); and 5) peer-related (supervision, mentoring, peer support, consultation, collaboration).
  • APNS Outstanding Psychology Student Award highlights the challenges of preparing for a career in psychology at the Masters or Doctoral level. The recipient is an APNS student member who has not previously won this award, has participated in APNS at the committee or Executive level, has actively used the services of APNS and who hopes to pursue a career in psychology in Nova Scotia.
  • APNS Community Service Award for Psychologists recognizes the contributions of psychologists who do outstanding volunteer service in the community beyond their role as a psychologist. It acknowledges and raises awareness of the important contributions that psychologists make to the greater community. These contributions may include on-going volunteer work or commitment to a specific community or cause, e.g., fostering inclusion, promoting sensitivity and understanding of marginalized populations, poverty and health promotion initiatives.
  • APNS Community Service Award in Mental Health recognizes the contributions of non-psychologists who have made valuable contributions to the community in a health and wellness setting or through other activities that touch and benefit the greater community by raising awareness or advocating for mental health or wellness issues. Recipients are individuals who work on their own or as part of an organization, or organizations for their programs or initiatives.
  • APNS Diversity in Psychology Bursary – This $1,000 Bursary assists Psychology students who identify as being from a diverse population and are in pursuit of post-secondary education in Psychology with a long-term goal of having a more diverse profession. The Selection Committee will evaluate the applications on three factors — financial need, community involvement and career goals. Although all are important, financial need is considered the primary factor, followed by community involvement and career goals.

APNS strives to foster a sense of community among all who identify with psychology by supporting inclusion, equality and celebrating diversity. We welcome nominees who indicate that they identify as Indigenous People, African Nova Scotians and other racially visible persons, persons of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, persons with disabilities and genders in occupations or positions where they are under-represented.

Submitted on behalf of the APNS Nominations & Elections Committee.

Call for Executive Committee Nominations

This year the APNS Nominations and Elections Committee is asking the membership for nominations for the following positions on the APNS Executive: 

PRESIDENT-ELECT

MEMBER-AT-LARGE – HUMAN RESOURCES

MEMBER-AT-LARGE

TREASURER

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE

Download and complete the Executive Nomination Form. Submit the form to apns@apns.ca. Deadline for nominations is Monday, April 1, 2024.

The person elected to the President-elect position will serve for a three-year term, as President-elect, President and Past-president. The other positions are for a two-year term. Only registered psychologists may be nominated for the President-elect position, however registered and candidate psychologists are eligible for all other positions, and graduate students for the Student Rep. If more than one person is nominated for the same position, APNS is required to hold an election. If you know anyone who would be a good addition to the Executive please consider nominating them.


APNS strives to foster a sense of community among all who identify with psychology by supporting inclusion, equality and celebrating diversity. We welcome nominees who indicate that they identify as Indigenous People, African Nova Scotians and other racially visible persons, persons of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, persons with disabilities and genders in occupations or positions where they are under-represented.

Submitted on behalf of the APNS Nominations & Elections Committee.

Announcing the 2023 APNS Award Recipients

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

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

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

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”