Strong Public Disapproval of Proposed Reductions in Psychologist Competency Standards in Ontario: Findings from 1,141 General Community Adults in an Observational Cohort Study

The regulatory body for psychologists in Ontario, the College of Psychologists and Behavior Analysts of Ontario, has proposed sweeping reductions in competency requirements. These include elimination of the doctoral degree requirement, dramatic reductions in clinical training, and elimination of specializations and would make Ontario the largest jurisdiction with the lowest competency standards in North America. There has been considerable public opposition from active practitioners, but public attitudes toward these changes are unknown. The current study assessed attitudes in 1,141 general community adults in Ontario (mean age = 42.7, 62.1% female) in an ongoing longitudinal observational cohort study. The large majority disapproved of the proposed changes (71%), whereas 20% reported no opinion and 9% approved of the changes. The modal response was strong disapproval (44%), which was more than half of those who disapproved, whereas among those who approved, only a small proportion expressed strong approval (2%). In order of frequency, reasons for disapproval were reduced quality of healthcare (94%), more healthcare providers with a lower skillset and competencies (85%), higher probability of misdiagnosis (78%), and increased risk in high-stakes contexts (69%), increased likelihood of conflicting medical opinions (55%), and adverse impacts on the current workforce and trainees (both 54%). When asked about the single most important concern, 62% identified reduced quality of healthcare followed by an increased number of healthcare providers with lower professional competency (22%). Responses to open text options were highly consistent with the quantitative results (e.g., "We dont need fewer professional standards--we need highly skilled professionals to deal with an increasingly complex world."). Collectively, the results suggest strong disapproval for the proposed reductions in psychologist competency standards among general community adults in Ontario. VISUAL ABSTRACT O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=71 SRC="FIGDIR/small/25340610v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (19K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@cdba53org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@83de21org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@16c75edorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1b2380e_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG Simplified Distribution of Public Attitudes toward Psychologist Competency Reductions (n=1,141) C_FIG