Due to the public health risks and challenges presented by the novel coronavirus pandemic, the 32^nd International Congress of Psychology (ICP) 2020 and the Annual General Assembly of the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS), which was to be held from July 19-24, 2020 in Prague, Czech Republic, has been re-scheduled to July 18-23, 2021 at the same Prague Congress Centre. 

BMS is producing an ongoing series relating to COVID-19.

As health professionals begin to resume practice across the country, many have been asking for direction on incorporating waivers of liability. This resource follows on from the Considerations When Resuming Practice article that was recently shared.
This resource provides sample language for a Waiver of Liability, as well as considerations for implementation. Waivers of Liability 05/24/2020

See all of the articles here.

The CPA has produced a series of Fact Sheets in response to the coronavirus pandemic:

• Grief, Bereavement and COVID-19 – PDF | HTML NEW 05/12/2020

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• Research Funding Information as relates to COVID-19 – PDF | HTML NEW 05/08/2020
• Guidance for Psychology Students as Relates to COVID-19 – PDF | HTML NEW 05/08/2020
• Guidance for Psychology Faculty and Researchers as Relates to COVID-19 – PDF | HTML NEW 05/08/2020

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• Emotional and Psychological Challenges Faced by Frontline Health Care Providers During the COVID-19 Pandemic – PDF | HTML NEW 04/07/2020
• Psychological Practice and the Coronavirus (COVID-19) – PDF | HTML NEW 03/18/2020

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• Student Wellness and COVID-19 – PDF | HTML NEW 04/02/2020

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• Helping Teens Cope with the Impacts of and Restrictions Related to COVID-19 – PDF | HTML NEW 03/31/2020
• Psychological Impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) – PDF | HTML NEW 03/20/2020
• Working from Home During COVID-19, With and Without Children – PDF | HTML NEW 03/17/2020
• Coping With and Preventing COVID-19 – PDF | HTML Updated 04/04/2020

You can find all of our “Psychology Works” Fact Sheets here

Professional liability insurance brokered by BMS renews on June 1st. All renewing members should have been contacted directly by BMS with a link to renew. Click here for important information about the renewal.

Dear Members,

We hope that you are continuing to stay healthy during this challenging time.

On or around May 1st, you will receive the 2020-2021 CPA/CPAP^[1] Liability Insurance Program renewal from the program’s broker, BMS. You will see that Professional Liability Insurance (PLI) premium has increased this year. We regret that the increase comes at this challenging time of COVID-19, but please know that the increase is not related to the pandemic but to the increased cost of claims on the psychology program. There has been a steady increase in the cost of claims on the program year over year, with several years where the costs of claims paid by the Insurer have exceeded the premium they collected.

More…

BMS is producing an ongoing series relating to COVID-19.

This article includes an overview of considerations for health professionals who are able to re-open their businesses. There are also links to provincial resources and information relating to liability.
Considerations When Resuming Practice 05/07/2020

See all of the articles here.

The federal government has announced a series of programs to address disruptions in employment income and business revenue.  Most recently the CPA was pleased to see changes in the Canada Emergency Business Account [CEBA], which expands the payroll threshold from $50,000 to $20,000 to be eligible for a maximum loan of $40,000.  The CPA remains concerned that members in private practice are still not eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit [CERB], the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy [CEWS], and Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) programs and has communicated with the Minister of Finance and Health (see letter). In coordinating its efforts, the CPA has worked closely with the Extended Health Care Professionals Coalition.

Given the impact of COVID-19, the CPA and the provincial-territorial psychological associations have written the large insurers in Canada (i.e., Aviva, Canada Life, Greenshields, Manulife, Medavie/Blue Cross, and Sun Life) to remove barriers to psychological care across sponsored plans and evolve in their coverage (see letter).

The Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre (www.mbmc-cmcm.ca), along with international team of over 100 researchers from more than 20 countries around the world, are trying to assess the public perceptions and responses to the various measures put in place to prevent or reduce the spread of COVID-19.The study, led by Dr. Kim Lavoie (UQAM) in collaboration with several CPA members across Canada, will link the survey to policy and case data from around the world to estimate the effectiveness of current strategies used to ‘flatten the curve’ of COVID-19.

To find out more information or to take the survey (which is available in multiple languages), please go to: www.mbmc-cmcm.ca/covid19