Photo: Jacques Boissinot The Canadian Press This 180-page report, which was tabled in April 2023, is addressed to the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry.
Katrine Desautels – The Canadian Press
Published at 2:34 p.m. Updated at 6:57 p.m.
- Québec
The Quebec government announced several measures Monday that affect the psychology program in higher education. Among other things, it wants to increase the number of internships and placements in the public network, a rare commodity according to universities.
This measure and the three others announced Monday are based on the recommendations of the report of the Working Group on Optimizing Training in Psychology and Mental Health, chaired by Hélène David.
In this 180-page report, which was tabled in April 2023, Ms. David addresses a letter to the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Dery. She argues that Quebecers’ needs for mental health services have increased, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The capacity of our public health, social services and education systems has been put to the test,” points out Ms. David. To improve the situation, changes are needed in the higher education network, she says.
From the outset, the Ordre des psychologues du Québec welcomed the new measures. Its president, Christine Grou, points out that the Ordre submitted a report to Ms. David in February 2023 and that the working group “resumed most of” her recommendations.
The report mentions that all the universities interviewed that offer doctoral programs in psychology are facing “increasing difficulty” in finding internship places in the public health and social services network. “This situation seems to be exacerbated for the 2023-2024 year, with the supply of internships being, according to the universities, reduced compared to previous years,” states the report, which contains 18 recommendations.
It is noted that a decrease in the supply of internships may mean that universities that prohibit internships in the private sector (which is the case for the majority of institutions) will be forced to accept that students complete their internship, in part or in full, in the private system.
To address this issue, Quebec announced measures on Monday to better promote the work of supervising psychologists. It hopes to increase the number of internships and placements in the public network. According to a press release from the office of the Minister of Higher Education, the measures will increase the number of internships by 11.7% for 2024-2025.
A significant portion of a doctor of psychology’s training is done in clinical settings. “That’s the portion we were worried about,” says Ms. Grou. “Having public network supervisors recognized and their work recognized—we’ve been asking for this for a long time—is excellent news. Ms. David and I insisted on this. This fourth measure is important and I’m glad we haven’t forgotten it.” »
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Exodus to the private sector
“What happened in recent years is that we saw an exodus of psychologists from the public network to the private sector for two reasons. Because the salary conditions were insufficient and because the working conditions had deteriorated significantly,” said Ms. Grou.
Quebec recalls that in the last year a salary increase of 17.4% over five years was negotiated and that psychologists benefit from an additional increase of 10%. A retention bonus of 6.5% is also planned for those who work in the public network full-time.
“For the working conditions, we worked with the Ministry [of Health] on the practical conditions of psychologists in the health network. I don't know what the consequences of this work were, I hope it improves,” said Ms. Grou. One thing is certain, in terms of salary, there was good news and I sincerely hope that it will be enough because for me, there is an issue of access to psychological services in the public network. »
A shorter doctorate
Among the other measures announced, some students will welcome a reduction in the length of studies for a doctorate in psychology.
In a press release, Ms. Dery and the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, explained that by reviewing the requirements related to the research project and with better supervision of students, it would be possible to reduce the length of studies for a doctorate in psychology.
“I think that all universities and the Order of Psychologists agree on the fact that we must not compromise on the quality of student training. Training students in much less time with the same skills that we currently have is not possible,” explains Ms. Grou.
According to her, to reduce deadlines, you have to go through student supervision. For example, a university could decide to have more regular meetings with students, ensure that all courses that must be taken are available in a timely manner or even have faster feedback following school work submissions.
The provincial government is also announcing funding of more than $2.6 million to support 24 projects aimed at optimizing university training and creating bridge programs or short qualifying programs , which will see the light of day by fall 2025.
“The programs currently being revised and the new ones to come, including short and bridge programs, will certainly guarantee better access to front-line mental health services for the entire Quebec population,” commented Ms. Dery in a press release.
To improve the cohorts for the clinical doctorate in psychology and increase the number of scholarships offered to psychology interns, the government is also investing $1.8 million for this school year as well as $2 million annually for the next school year until 2028-2029.
In addition, two new doctoral programs in clinical psychology are being offered this fall by Bishop’s University and the Université du Québec à Rimouski. Together, these two programs will train 26 more students.
The implementation of the report’s recommendations will continue in the coming months, and initiatives already implemented by universities will be analyzed.
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