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Advocacy

Advocacy is at the very heart of OPA’s mission. We advocate not just for the profession of psychology, but for improved access to high-quality mental health services for all Ontarians. The OPA is raising the profile of the profession with the public, government, the media, and other stakeholders. We’re seeing increasing demand for treatment services, and along with that, increasing numbers of positions available for psychologists and psychological associates in the public sector. This is a great time to join your colleagues in supporting the profession through your OPA membership. The more people we have on board, the greater our momentum, and the stronger our voice becomes!

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Part of the OPA mandate is to advocate on behalf of the science & practice of the profession, and to support and enhance the interests of all psychologists in Ontario. Advocacy is raising awareness – in general and around specific issues – with various audiences: government, private sector, other allied associations, and within the profession of psychology itself. To get an idea of the range and scope of the advocacy work being done on behalf of the profession of psychology — and for the people of Ontario — look through our News & Media.

The OPA has been working hard to earn our position as the voice of psychology and to advocate for the thousands of Ontarians who desperately need psychological interventions but cannot access any level of mental health care in a timely way. Here are some of the OPA’s key areas of advocacy:

The OPA is advocating for more funding to support our universities to educate more students to address the unmet mental health needs of Ontarians. We also actively support life-long learning of psychologists and psychological associates through our Annual Conference, Summits and Workshops, the development of practice guidelines and web-based resources.

Psychology Aid Ontario is an OPA initiative aimed at delivering timely and equitable access to psychological interventions.

The OPA is advocating for recognition of psychology as an evidence-based profession whose members should have an increased scope of practice.

The OPA is advocating for more research funding to enable the translation of knowledge into practical applications. Such research will help keep Ontarians as mentally and physically healthy as possible; and it will position the psychological profession where it belongs in the healthcare system - right next to our medical colleagues.

Advocacy

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