FAQs for Members of the Public

Contact the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia: www.apns.ca or 422-9183.  Most private insurance plans in Nova Scotia do not require a doctor’s referral to access a psychologist’s services. Check your plan to confirm what your coverage requires.

A complaint is a signed complaint, report or allegation in writing concerning the conduct, actions, competence, character, fitness, health or ability of a current or previously registered Psychologist. The complaints process is intended for those activities a psychologist engages in by virtue of being a psychologist. There is no intention to guide or regulate a psychologist’s activities outside of this context. Personal behaviour becomes a concern of the discipline only if it is of such a nature that it undermines public trust in the discipline as a whole or if it raises questions about the psychologist’s ability to carry out appropriately his/her responsibilities as a psychologist. Psychologists may be disciplined for engaging in practice that falls below acceptable minimum standards for the profession, incompetent practice or other unethical conduct.  The Board has inclusion and exclusion criteria for what constitutes a complaint within the Psychologists Act.  It may be important and helpful for you review the following document to outline the issues that the NSBEP can and cannot investigate.  For more information, click here. 

If a decision is made by to file a formal complaint, a complaint form must be completed and submitted to the NSBEP. The Complaint Form is found on the NSBEP.org website. The Complaint Form is first reviewed by the Registrar to determine if immediate action is required and/or whether the allegation is properly within the jurisdiction and appropriate for processing by the NSBEP.

The purpose of the initial review by the Registrar is to ensure the public is protected and to make best use of the extensive volunteer and administrative time it takes to process a complaint. Upon review of the complaint, the Registrar shall review the allegations to determine whether the matter is in fact a complaint appropriate for processing by the NSBEP. Upon review, the Registrar may determine that the allegation does not constitute a complaint within the meaning of the Psychologists Act and decline to process the matter.

In order to assist the Registrar in determining whether allegations are within the meaning of a complaint, the Board has established the following inclusion/exclusion criteria. If the allegation does not meet all of the inclusion criteria, or meets one or more exclusion criteria, the Registrar may decide that the allegation does not constitute a complaint and decline to process the matter

Before lodging a complaint an individual may wish to contact NSBEP. The NSBEP Registrar may be able to provide the complainant with important information about how to proceed with their concerns.

If an individual decides to lodge a formal complaint, he/she must submit the complaint in writing using the Board’s Complaint Form. If for any reason the complaint cannot be provided in writing, please contact the Registrar to discuss this issue. Normally complaints cannot proceed unless they are made in writing.

Yes. Once a formal complaint is received, the registrant (psychologist complained about) is provided with a copy of the complaint.

Typically, time to closure is between 6 and 18 months, depending on the complexity of the complaint.

Please click here and refer to the following PDF document for some suggestions on this topic.

Under the Personal Health Information Act (PHIA) and professional standards, an individual could request a copy of their records (though there may be some material that could be exempted from a request). According to PHIA, there would be someone responsible for such requests in the practice setting of the psychologist.

This could be the individual psychologist if they are owner of the private practice or the operator of the private practice (or person they have assigned to this role).

And, in the public system it would be patient records department of the hospital, where one would make such a request.