REGULATING PSYCHOLOGISTS IN NOVA SCOTIA SINCE 1980
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The Standards of Practice require that registrants:
“shall be familiar with the standardization, norms, reliability, and validity of any tests and techniques used and with the proper use and application of these tests.”
NSBEP is not contemplating the development of a position statement regarding use of the DSM V. We do not endorse nor denounce any diagnostic/classification instruments or manuals. It would be up to the registrant to decide on the use of a specific instrument/manual and address any limitations that may exist.
Have an official transcript forwarded to NSBEP along with a request to have your registration reflect the doctorate.
If you have completed all requirements for your doctoral degree but have not convocated, click here for the requirements.
As per the Psychologists Act (2000), those registered on the Candidate Register will need to complete at least one year of post doctoral supervision before being eligible to take the Oral Exam (final step before placement on the Register of Psychologists). Additional supervision is not a requirement for those already registered on the Register of Psychologists.
According to NSBEP standards, by taking the appropriate steps to ensure he/she acquires the appropriate knowledge and skills, a Registered Psychologist can expand his/her activities within the same Area of Practice.
Those on the Register of Candidates must submit a Learning Plan to NSBEP. The Learning Plan process is outlined in detail, on page 18 of the NSBEP Supervision Handbook.
However, those wishing to add a new Area of Practice, according to NSBEP standards, would generally be required to complete a graduate program in the new Area of Practice.
For the definition of Practice Areas, and clarification about the difference between expansion within an Area of Practice versus Adding a new Area of practice, click here for information.
Registrants who are married and assume a new last name or amend their last name are required to provide notice to NSBEP along with a photocopy of their marriage certificate or copy of an updated government issued photo ID.
The first place to go is the Standards of Practice. Many answers can easily be found there. The Board has a combined document entitled Standards of Practice that not only includes the standards and code of ethics, it also provides various guidelines NSBEP has established to direct practice and a listing of relevant legislation for psychologists.
Additionally, the Board has prepared a document for registrants to assist with the process relating to ethical and/or legal consultation. You can click here or on the PDF icon below to view this document.
Consultation with NSBEP
The Board document Communication by Registrants brings together some helpful standards concerning this matter. Click here to view the document.
The Board does not require its registrants to obtain consent if they intend to incorporate. There is nothing in our statute or policy which would prevent registered psychologists from incorporating their psychological practice.
NSBEP requires all registrants to maintain professional liability insurance in an amount not less than $1,000,000.00 per occurrence.
Applicants have 30 days to provide proof of adequate insurance following their placement on either the Register of Psychologists or Register of Candidates.
While this coverage may, in some circumstances be sufficient, such insurance may not cover all actions of an employee. For example, circumstances may arise in which the interests of a psychologist and those of his or her employer do not coincide, thus limiting the coverage provided through an employer. This could lead to a situation that limits the recourse available to a member of the public who believes he or she has been harmed by the actions of a psychologist.
Yes. This insurance coverage is necessary to cover individuals’ prior actions, taken in the course of their previous duties as a psychologist. (e.g., prior to their retirement, leave of absence from the register, leave from work, out-of-province move, or change of profession, etc).
This is because professional liability insurance coverage is written on a claims made form. This means that a policy must be in place when an allegation is made, regardless of when the actual event took place. Claims made policies provide coverage as long as members continue to renew insurance each year. Psychologists who do not renew coverage (or at least obtain tail coverage if they are no longer practicing) will not be covered for a claim made today for an incident that occurred in the past. You should talk to your insurance company. Insurers can typically provide tail coverage for those no longer practicing psychology. Typically such coverage is possible for a one-time-fee, or for a limited period of time at no cost. Again it is important to check with your own insurance company.
Yes. The practice of psychology is not restricted to clinical work only.
The preferred insurance provider for the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) is BMS Group. You may visit the CPA website for more information.
Also, McFarlan Rowlands provides psychologists with access to professional liability insurance, and there are other providers. Ultimately, you are free to select the company of your choosing as long as you hold adequate coverage.
Neither registration category provides registrants with a practice privilege in NS.
The Out-of-Province Register offers registrants the ability to maintain an affiliation with the Board and the ability to transition back to Full Registration status, should they wish to do so at a subsequent date – without reapplying – provided they show confirmation of their good standing in the other jurisdictions in which they hold registration.
The Retired Register offers registrants the ability to maintain an affiliation with the Board and to continue to use the title of Registered Psychologist, Psychologist, or R. Psych., provided they simultaneously clarify their retired status.
The Board has repeatedly examined these issues. Each time the Board has upheld the policy not to issue refund fees for an early withdrawal, or make other adjustments to the fee structure, in typical circumstances. Please click here to see the Policy on exceptional circumstances. The Board has a policy to pro-rate fees in cases where one becomes registered in the last 6 months of the NSBEP Registration Year. However, some registrants have asked whether the Board could go farther and in cases where a registrant withdraws early, apply credit to a future registration fee when that registrant reinstates or whether the Board should refund some of the fee. Some have recommended that a separate pro-rating structure should exist for every month of the year and it has also been suggested that candidate registrants should pay a lesser fee. However, there is tremendous variation among registrants in terms of time worked. It is not practical to accommodate every individual’s circumstances. As a self-regulating professional body, it is important to have stability in the Board’s collective finances. There are operating costs and further potential costs that extend beyond an individual’s period of registration. For instance, the Board maintains the record of those currently and previously registered. Files must be securely stored and public information in the Directory maintained along with providing information about the custodian of records when required. Also, if a complaint were received against a former registrant, the Board would still be required to investigate this matter and would incur costs. Additionally, given the nature of candidate registration, a considerable amount of the Board’s work involves Candidate Registrants. For example, the Board regularly reviews supervision reports and documentation such as Candidates’ Goals of Supervision and learning plans and a fair amount of time is spent corresponding with Candidates and Supervisors during supervision, along with monitoring other issues that often arise during the period of Candidate Registration. The Board feels it has struck an appropriate balance in allowing pro-rating in the last 6 months of the Registration Year, while at the same time maintaining the policy to maintain full payment in typical circumstances.
7.1 Individual client records will include the following:
a. clients name, address and phone number (if available).
b. clients date of birth.
c. the date of every relevant and clinically significant contact with the client.
d. the date of every clinically significant consultation, either given or received by the registrant, regarding services to the client
e. a description of any presenting problem(s) and history relevant to the problem.
f. relevant information about every clinically significant service activity related to the client that is carried out by the registrant or under the responsibility of the registrant, including but not limited to: assessment procedures; assessment findings; diagnoses; goals or plans of service; reviews of progress including any modifications to plans of service; activities related to crises or critical incidents; interventions carried out or advice given.
g. relevant information about every clinically significant service activity that was commenced but not completed, including reasons for non-completion.
h. all reports or correspondence about the client received by the registrant, which are relevant and clinically significant to the registrant’s service to the client.
i. all reports and communications prepared by the registrant regarding the client.
j. a copy of every signed-consent and/or documentation of obtaining verbal consent related to the registrant’s service to the client.
k. relevant information about every referral of the client by the registrant to another professional.
Generally, under the NS Personal Health Information Act and other privacy legislation where applicable (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Privacy Act), the owner/operator of the overall private practice or employer (e.g., IWK, NSHA, School Board) would be considered the custodian of records, unless the treating psychologist is simply a tenant who is renting space from the practice.
If associates/employees have a role in file management, it is often that of an “agent”, not the custodian.
For more information, please see the following NSBEP Guidance document on PHIA Compliance:
https://www.nsbep.org/downloads/PHIA_Compliance.pdf
This would mean that a departing employee would not typically take client files with them to a new practice setting unless there was a lawful arrangement with the current employment setting and this was part of the informed consent process with the client.
The NSBEP appreciates that these concerns arise for psychologists. Given the frequency of these issues, the Board developed a position on the release of file material: “Nova Scotia Board of Examiners in Psychology Statement Regarding the Release of File Materials”. While the document discusses legal obligations when a matter is under litigation, it is intended to address the release of file materials in general.
If legally required to release all materials including raw data and test materials, psychologists are not expected to refuse legal compliance, meaning that if materials are legally required, legally such materials must be provided by the psychologist. There may be legal obligations depending on the circumstances and more information is provided in the below document. You may wish to consult the pro-bono legal hotline of your insurer or another lawyer if you have legal questions after reading the guidance document from NSBEP, as the Board cannot provide legal advice in specific cases.
For more information and clarification, here is the link to the document on the NSBEP website that talks about this.
http://www.nsbep.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Raw-Data-General-Disclosure.pdf
The Board requires applicants and registrants to declare information about their practice area(s), activities and populations when they apply for registration and at renewal time. The Board is aware that some registrants have sought to expand their practice at times. In some cases, an expansion within an area of practice can be achieved, but in cases where a registrant is desirous of a more substantial change (for example, a change in competency areas), there has been no clear mechanism other than completing another graduate program in the other subject area of psychology.
In August 2023, the NSBEP developed draft guidelines for fully registered psychologists who wish to add to their scope of practice. An Email Update was sent to registrants at the time indicating the Board planned to put this approach into force in 2024. A subsequent Email Update was sent to registrants in August 2024.
It is hoped that that these guidelines provide more specific information for registrants to make an expansion using an appropriately supportive process and documentation. Those on the Candidate Register should consult the Supervision Handbook.
Whenever they are planning changes to their scope, registrants should consult the guidelines and ensure they have a learning plan, which should be retained by the registrant.
Scope of Practice & Learning Plans
https://www.nsbep.org/downloads/Scope_LearningPlans.pdf
Changes to Psychological Practice Profile
Registrants can make changes to Section A of their psychological practice profile (hours worked, practice setting, language) by logging into the Registrant Portal of the Board’s website at renewal time or throughout the year.
If you have completed a process to support changes to sections B or C (practice areas or populations) of your profile, please contact the Board Office.
To further support this endeavour, the NSBEP is seeking to build a list of fully registered psychologists who would be available to consult with other psychologists – and possibly the NSBEP – on potential expansions of practice or competency, and learning plans. The purpose of this communication is to share information about this initiative and to gauge the interest of psychologists with serving in this capacity.
We remain in early stage of gauging potential interest of volunteers who have been on the Register of Psychologists for 5 years, and we’d like to know whether you would be interested in any or all of the following:
o Peer consultation with registrants and review of their learning plans
o Advising on subject matter pertaining to learning plans
o Upon request, consulting with the NSBEP on learning plans
Depending on responses, the Board will be able to better consider what role(s) external volunteers/consultants might play in the process.
*Eligibility criteria:
(a) the psychologist is currently on the Register of Psychologists and has had a minimum of five years of professional experience while being on the Register of Psychologists;
(b) the psychologist is not in default of payment of any fees prescribed by NSBEP;
(c) the psychologist’s certificate of registration has never been cancelled;
(d) the psychologist’s certificate of registration has not been suspended or subject to a term, condition or limitation as a result of a disciplinary action in the six years preceding the date of election; and
(e) the psychologist is not the subject of an outstanding complaint with NSBEP.
Psychology, like many health professions, has maintained its ability to self-regulate, but this privilege requires members of the profession and the public to be engaged in the work of regulation.
Please email the Board Office if this initiative is something you are interested in. At this point, we are not trying to recruit members, per se, but simply to gauge interest. We may follow up again with registrants in general and with psychologists who express interest.
In such cases where the registrant is unlikely to be working for a period that exceeds two months, they have the following options:
A. To request Inactive Registration
Any registrant who does not expect to be practicing for a minimum of 2 months to a maximum of 2 years due to a parental leave, medical leave, taking care of a family member, or other reasons deemed acceptable to the Board may apply for Inactive Registration
This registration does not allow one to practice psychology but allows the registrant to self-identify as a Registered Psychologist or Psychologist (Candidate Register) during the period of Inactive Registration.
The fee for Inactive Registration is $100 per calendar year. In keeping with Board Policy, registration fees would not be refunded if a transition from Full to Inactive Registration is made during the calendar year.
Any registrant who would like to apply for Inactive Registration must submit to NSBEP a written request for a leave of absence including a statement that they will not be practicing psychology during the period of Inactive Registration. An email to the office would suffice.
Liability insurance to cover past practice issues would need to be maintained during inactive registration to ensure coverage remains. Registrants should discuss with their insurer a low-cost option during their leave (e.g., tail / gap coverage). Most companies have a period of time where they provide such coverage for little or no charge.
B. To request a Leave of Absence from the Register and thus cease all practice of Psychology and cease to use the designation “Psychologist”.
If a registrant chooses the second option, they can apply for reinstatement at any time within the next two years without requirement of a new application and without loss of credit for accumulated work experience obtained before they withdrew. Registrants who withdraw from Register must submit: a written request for withdrawal. Please click here if you are a Candidate Registrant intend to withdraw.
C. Fully Registered Psychologists can choose to remain on the Register of Psychologists. Registered Psychologists are expected to maintain their annual Continuing Competence requirements unless they have requested and been granted an exemption for the period of time. For more information, please see the Continuing Competence Guide.
Yes. In order to update NSBEP, please either login to the Registrant Portal and select the option to “update your information” or contact the Board Office. Candidate Registrants need to ensure that their supervision reports state the name of their current employer(s).
The Board also requires that registrants provide a valid email address to NSBEP so that they an receive important information in a timely fashion.
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