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Cited by 40Telemedicine and Telehealth ImplementationCounseling Practices and SupervisionOccupational and Professional Licensing Regulation

Toward uniform competency standards in telepsychology: A proposed framework for Canadian psychologists

Johnson, Gerald R.·2014·Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne
DOI 10.1037/a0038002
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Abstract

As Canadian psychologists increasingly incorporate Internet-based technologies into their practice, they are reminded that telepsychology-the application of technologies for the delivery of distance psycho- logical services-requires special skills, knowledge, and judgment that extend beyond the core require- ments of professional practice. However, what constitutes competence in both face-to-face and telepsy- chology practice is still evolving in Canada. This article explores how the existing framework for Canadian psychologist competence found in the Mutual Recognition Agreement of the Regulatory Bodies for Professional Psychologists in Canada (Council of Provincial Associations of Psychologists, 2001/ 2004), along with current research and other supporting documents in distance mental health, may serve as a useful foundation for the development of uniform telepsychology competency standards across Canada.Keywords: competence, telepsychology, Canadian psychologists, Mutual Recognition Agreement, pro- fessional practiceResumeTandis que les psychologues canadiens augmentent leur utilisation de technologies offertes par Internet dans leur pratique, ils pren- nent conscience que la telepsychologie - le recours a des tech- nologies pour la prestation de services de psychologie a distance - requiert des competences particulieres, des connaissances et un jugement qui depassent les exigences de base de la pratique professionnelle. Toutefois, la definition de ce que constitue une competence, a la fois pour les seances en personne et de telepsy- chologie, est en pleine evolution au pays. Le present article exam- ine en quoi le cadre actuel de competences du psychologue cana- dien, tel que defini dans Y Accord de reconnaissance mutuelle des organismes reglementaires pour les psychologues professionnels au Canada (Conseil des societes provinciales de psychologues, 2001, 2004), ainsi que dans la recherche actuelle et divers docu- ments connexes sur les soins de sante mentale a distance, peuvent servir de fondements a l'etablissement de normes de competence uniformes en telepsychologie pour l'ensemble du Canada.Mots-cles : competences, telepsychologie, psychologues canadiens, accord de reconnaissance mutuelle, pratique professionnelle.The use of technologies by psychologists to deliver tailored psychological services and information over distance, also known as telepsychology, is now seen as a viable alternative to traditional face-to-face (F2F) therapy, and has generated a growing body of research (Mallen & Vogel, 2005a) and increasing professional consideration (Association of Canadian Psychology Regulatory Organisations [ACPRO], 2011; Joint Task Force for the Develop- ment of Telepsychology Guidelines for Psychologists [JTF], 2013). Mental health professionals who practice telepsychology are now combining evidence-based psychological interventions such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) with both traditional distance platforms (e.g., telephony, King, Bambling, Reid, & Thomas, 2006; videoconferencing, Simms, Gibson, & O'Donnell, 2011) and newer mobile health (mHealth) smart technologies that can have synchronous (e.g., chat, cell phone), asynchronous (e.g., e-mail), social media, and videoconferencing capabilities all within the same device (JTF, 2013; D. M. Kaplan, Wade, Conteh, & Martz, 2011; Luxton, McCann, Bush, Mishkind, & Reger, 2011; Maheu, Pulier, McMenamin, & Posen, 2012). Other emerging technologies such as cloud computing and virtual reality (VR) are also now starting to appear in telepsychology interventions (Maheu et ah, 2012) to help clients from diverse cultural back- grounds (Choi et al., 2012) with a range of presenting issues (e.g., obsessive-compulsive disorder, E. Andersson et ah, 2012; depres- sion, G. Andersson & Cuijpers, 2009). Although F2F counselling still remains the preferred medium of delivery for psychological services (JTF, 2013; Kraus, 2010a), telepsychology is now seen as a useful adjunct to F2F therapy (e. …

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Authors
Johnson, G. R.
Corresponding author
Johnson, Gerald R.
Venue
Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Published
2014-11
Volume
55
Issue
4
Pages
291-302
ISSN
  • 0708-5591 (ISSN-L)
  • 1878-7304
DOI
10.1037/a0038002
OpenAlex
W2160930442
Cited by
40
References
72
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 6
FWCI
3.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Counseling Practices and Supervision
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Occupational and Professional Licensing Regulation
Keywords
telepsychology, professional competence, competency standards, remote therapy, mutual recognition agreements, professional regulation, professional practice guidelines, United States comparison

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