Black History Month, recognized and celebrated here since 1995 following the initiative of the Honourable Jean Augustine, Canada’s first Black MP, who represented her Ontario riding for 13 years, is an opportunity for psychotherapists to continue resourcing ourselves for the work we do, and the experiences we have, all year long. We encourage all members to research (and re-re-re-search) the best sources for you.
We do have a few ideas to share below, and would love to hear yours. Please send your favourite resources to mail@psychotherapyontario.org and you may see them posted on our website.
To resource, or “re-Source” ourselves, is appropriate for Ontarians. After all, the word “Ontario'' comes from the Iroquois “kanadario,” meaning “sparkling” water. Lakes and rivers make up one-fifth of Ontario’s footprint. Each lake and river is continually re-Sourced and re-Freshed by springs, aquifers, reservoirs, ponds, streams, estuaries, ice, rainfall, and waterfalls of all shapes and sizes, including at Niagara. These sources continually oxygenate and revive our water – an essential source of vitality for all human, animal and plant life. Continuous flow and circulation, and re-circulation, makes our water safe and effective. So must we as RPs, RP(Q)s, Students and Retired Members continually dip our toes, and occasionally take deep dives, into new sources that re-Fresh and re-Vive our learning and our lives.
As documented in our Annual General Report in November, the OSRP Board was moved by the February 2022 Report released by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, cited in CRPO’s February 2022 Communiqué, entitled "Shining a Light on Mental Health in Black Communities." The MHCC Report spotlighted health disparities in Black Communities that speak directly to the gaps in service and resources that OSRP identified and began responding to in 2021.
Statistics from this report include:
Deborah Adams, Registrar and CEO of the CRPO, responded to the MHCC Report by stating, “The message that these statistics carry is clear: we need to work to reduce barriers like systemic inequities resulting from anti-Black racism and lack of representation in the profession to improve access to much-needed mental health care for the Black community in Ontario.”
Please have a look at the lived experience behind these statistics in “All Booked Up: The Frustration of Finding a Black Therapist” by Alicia Lue from The Walrus https://thewalrus.ca/why-are-there-so-few-black-therapists/
The CRPO has clearly mandated all Registrants to continue developing our cultural competencies. For example:
“Registrants are strongly encouraged to develop their learning on Canada’s Indigenous people and the ongoing effects of colonization.”
–Indigenous Healthcare Law and Policy section of Professional Practice and Jurisprudence for RPs Professional Practice and Jurisprudence for Registered Psychotherapists – College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (crpo.ca)
“A registrant must not discriminate against any person on any prohibited ground. Examples of discrimination may include the following:
It is not discrimination to make clinical decisions for reasons other than prohibited grounds. For example, if an RP does not have the competence to treat or continue to treat a person, a registrant should not initiate or continue therapy with a client. Such a decision to refuse or discontinue services must be made in good faith, communicated sensitively, and documented. It is discriminatory to claim one lacks competence as a pretence for refusing to provide service based on protected grounds.
RPs are similarly entitled to rely on professional knowledge, judgement, and experience to comment upon clinically relevant matters that relate, for example, to a person’s age, gender, or cultural background.”
–Human Rights and Accessibility Legislation section of Professional Practice and Jurisprudence for RPs - our emphasis in bold Professional Practice and Jurisprudence for Registered Psychotherapists – College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (crpo.ca)
The OSRP Board has taken, and continues to take, our role as your elected representatives in this space very seriously. We have found ourselves and our clinical practices richly re-Sourced this past year by many currents of learning, including the following (all of which are intended for all adults):
Also please consider viewing or re-Viewing this OSRP seminar:
Embodied Liberation: Facilitating Healing, Recovery & Transformation, facilitated by Shalyn Isaacs, MEd, Counselling Psychology Candidate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POEk-He5LJo&list=PLYjVEWwVcJEInS0BJ6Ftn_wwmbzhYytfi&index=2
She discussed how:
Other re-Sources, flowing from far and wide:
25 Best Black Therapy Podcasts (chosen by FeedSpot): https://blog.feedspot.com/black_therapy_podcasts/
Some Black Therapist directories:
Wishing all OSRP Members a re-Sourceful, re-Circulating and re-Viving Black History Month!
Dear OSRP Members,
The OSRP Board would like to sincerely wish you and your loved ones all the very best for 2023. We look forward to continuing to serve you in the coming year.
It seems like a lifetime ago, but we held a very successful AGM on November 18, 2022.
As promised, we are including the below, for every OSRP member who attended and those who were not able to.
NB: Please refrain from sharing this material outside of the OSRP Membership.
Please click below for more Board updates:
Thank you for your support as we establish our new Board, Executive Committee and other new Committees, and prepare to address the mandate you generously gave us at the November AGM.
Wishing all members good fortune and felicity,
The OSRP Board of Directors
Thank you, amazing OSRP members, for your overwhelming support. The House of Commons Petition now has almost 13,500 signatures, and rising!
If you haven’t had a chance to sign and share: please do so here!
You can also write to your MP to ask them to support the removal of this unjust tax. Please visit www.taxfreetherapy.ca for a pre-written letter, and a tool to email it to your rep.
All the info you need is at www.taxfreetherapy.ca.
None of this momentum would be possible without engaged members like you. Thank you so much!
PS: You can use the JPG attached & included here, or go here: Resources | TaxFreeTherapy to download our social media shareables, to share with your followers, tagging #taxfreetherapy please!
PPS: Please find celebrity video endorsements here: Media | TaxFreeTherapy alongside statements by MP Lindsay Mathyssen, Party Leader Jagmeet Singh and MP Carol Hughes which you can share as well as the CTV.ca article Psychotherapy should be tax-free in Canada, new campaign says | CTV News endorsing our campaign!
For questions or comments, or to share a response from your MP, please contact advocacy@psychotherapyontario.org
The OSRP office staff is getting ready to wind down for the winter season, and hopes to have time to rest and spend time with loved ones.
The OSRP’s office will be closed from 5 p.m. ET on Friday, December 23, 2022, until 9 a.m. on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, which means we won’t be returning phone calls and emails until January 3 or 4, 2023.
OSRP’s 30th AGM was a resounding success!
A new complement of inspired and talented Members were voted onto the slate and became Board Directors on November 18, 2022.
This year’s AGM ended with a crescendo of cheers, applause and a commitment to elect the largest group of volunteer Board Members that the OSRP has ever seen or dreamed of! This is a clear sign of a thriving Association, and it is thanks to your votes, your membership, your volunteer work and your ongoing commitment to the OSRP that we are here.
Your feedback (in the chat and verbally) was unanimously positive and supportive, and you not only voted in the 2022-2023 slate, but provided a clear mandate (“yes” vote rates of 95% or higher, zero “no” votes on any resolution) to the new Board as represented by the leadership of the AGM. Quorum was achieved and maintained until the end of the three-hour meeting, which concluded with cheers, claps and expressions of gratitude and trust that the OSRP is in good hands.
A few examples of Member contributions from the AGM via Zoom “chat” – all of which were read aloud, because YOUR voices are important – include:
When at first we were a few members short of quorum, a number of you made valuable suggestions, and pitched in to help:
~ “...could folks reach out by email or phone to see if we can get a few more attendees?”
~ “...let's shoot to get 15-20 more, via proxy or attendance”
Many positive comments followed the Land Acknowledgement video prepared by Kimberly Cato, following a description of the Board’s work in this area over the past year:
~ “Beautiful ❤️”
~ “Beautiful land acknowledgement, Kimberly. Thank you.”
~ “Thank you. So beautiful, thoughtful.”
~ “We just reached quorum”
~ “well done everybody!”
Below is the link to the Land Acknowledgement video, as requested by members who attended the AGM.
Click here to view Acknowledging the Land Within video
Honouring fellow psychotherapists who passed away since the last AGM is our way of acknowledging their contribution to this work. We lost three people this past year, one of whom was a former Board member. We sincerely thank the member who shared the name of one of these three at the AGM, who we did not yet know had passed away, so we could commemorate together.
Rest in Peace to the dearly departed:
Joan Lacroix, Clinical Member, Retired. OSRP Member Nov 1994–Oct 2022
Richard Lowery, Clinical Member, former Board Member-at-Large. OSRP Member March 2017–Nov 2022
Mikela Ronning-Philip, Clinical Member, Retired. OSRP Member Sept 1996–June 2022
***
Members expressed felicitations and gratitude to Sonya Gotziaman and Rozanne Grimard as each received the “Honours of the Society Award”:
~ “Congratulations to Sonya and Rozanne!”
~ “Thank you for such a heartfelt acceptance speech. Congratulations!”
Re: the www.taxfreetherapy.ca campaign:
~ “I’m so grateful for all the hard work done to table this issue with the government - Thank you to all on the Task Force!”
~ “Nikki has taken this [Connect] committee and transformed it into a massive member benefit, keeping people informed and connected and supported, which is what makes an association a home. Way to go, Nikki!!
RE: The 11 BIPOC Bursaries provided last year:
~ “I agree Kimberly…I’m so very proud of our organization...taking action, not just words. Excellent.”
~ “Kimberly, thank you so much for all your hard work in EDI which is paramount. Your weaving of EDI into everything we do is necessary!”
Re: Sarah Posh and the CRPO Committee:
~ “Thank you for representing us so well. Much appreciated.”
Re: 2022-23 Slate of Board Members:
~ “This is so exciting! We dreamed of a day when the board would have many members…”
~ “Congratulations to all of you! Thank you and may you have a wonderful experience!!”
~ “This AGM is so exciting to me. I am recalling our first AGM 30 years ago. What wonderful work you are all doing and have done to bring our organization to this place. Congratulations!”
~ “Many thanks to everyone who worked and prepared things for this meeting, beyond all the work that you do throughout the year :)”
The Nomination Committee is honoured to welcome and orient all new Directors during this Interim period before our first Board Meeting on December 9.
Before the end of the calendar year, you and all members in good standing will receive:
We thank you for your time, your energy and your trust in us to serve the OSRP faithfully over the coming year. It is thanks to you that we are in this wonderful position to do meaningful work on behalf of our honourable profession.
May you have a victorious day,
Kimberly Cato (Co-Chair, Nomination Committee)
Rachel Fulford (Co-Chair, Nomination Committee)
The month of December is filled with various festivals, religious events, national days and a multitude of celebrations that bring people together for food, fun, and frollicking. This may include Festivus, Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Independence Days for Kenya, Qatar, Bahrain, Libya, Mongolia, Finland, Tanzania, Portugal, and many more.
Though these are just a few significant dates people may celebrate or take time off to take care of themselves, friends or family, there are many different traditions associated with each holiday or significant day. Learning about the significance, stories and histories of various holidays can help broaden our perspective beyond the holidays we celebrate year after year.
According to AbacusData, a survey was done in 2019 asking Canadians if they celebrate Christmas and if they celebrate Christmas as a secular or religious holiday. 87% of respondents said they celebrate Christmas (51% secular holiday and 35% religious holiday), while 13% responded “no”. While this may or may not be representative of our OSRP population, it supports our awareness of those who may not celebrate Christmas or any of the many holidays during the month of December.
As active, retired and student Psychotherapists, we know that there are many for whom this time of year is uncomfortable, lonely, isolating or riddled with thoughts of traumatic experiences, grief and loss. We are well aware of the tumultuous emotional rollercoaster of this season for many. As we continue through this month of December, we may wish to use inclusive language in how we greet each other and not make assumptions about how people are getting through this time. In addition, we might consider providing our clients and loved ones with a crisis line number/website and other culturally-sensitive community resources to help get through this time safely.
We might practise asking open-ended questions of each other first, so we are not making assumptions. For example, “What are you doing over these next few weeks?” This question does not assume someone will be on holidays because they may choose to or have to work; it doesn’t assume they will be with family members; and it doesn’t assume they celebrate a specific holiday.
Another open-ended question might be, “How do you spend your time in these winter months?” This example invites discussion without imposing a specific belief, expectation, mood or pattern of behaviour. Once we’ve learned more about the person we’re talking to, we can then decide how to wish them well.
May all OSRP Members find peace that surpasses all understanding as you engage with these last weeks of 2022 and prepare for victorious showers of Health, Wealth, and Wisdom in 2023!!!
Thank you amazing OSRP members for your overwhelming support! The House of Commons Petition now has 8,100+ signatures and counting! If you haven’t had a chance to sign and share: please do so here!
As a next step, would you consider writing your MP/calling your MP/asking your network to do so? If so, please visit www.taxfreetherapy.ca for a pre-written letter, and a tool to email it to your rep. Or use this tool to find your MP’s contact info using your postal code: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en
Check out CTV.ca’s coverage of our campaign: Should therapy be tax-exempt? New campaign calls out "bureaucratic semantics."
Let’s keep it going, so we can one day see this tax in the rearview mirror, and know that we did everything we could to make it history.
For questions or comments, please contact advocacy@psychotherapyontario.org
With locations across the province, Goodlife offers group exercise, personal training, group fitness classes and classic fitness amenities.
Registration is now open. To join, log in to the Members Only section of our website and look on the Member Benefits page.
We have been following the development of a new initiative that enables mental health providers to respond to mental health crisis and wellness checks among vulnerable, marginalized and racialized groups in Toronto. Now, by calling 211, people in crisis can receive support from non-police-based multidisciplinary teams working from a harm reduction, consent and trauma-based response framework.
“The Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) is a new, alternate approach to responding to someone in crisis that focuses on health, prevention and well-being. The service provides an alternative to police enforcement, creating a community-based, client-centred, trauma-informed response to non-emergency crisis calls and wellness checks.
This service aims to respond to the needs and desires of the communities most impacted by policing and establish trust and confidence in a new community-based response model.
The service is available six days a week and closed on Saturdays, and serves individuals 16 years of age and older.”
Click here to learn more.
On Wednesday, June 1, the CRPO hosted a Stakeholders meeting for representatives from the cooperative relationships they have been building with the OSRP, CCPA, OAMHP, CAPT and OEATA.
Summary of meeting:
CRPO acknowledged that through the outlook of the nursing and midwifery profession, that quality of care and protection of the public involves a partnership, ongoing relationships and healthy tension between the Regulator, the Educators and the Associations in order to provide care in the best interests of clients.
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