The value of layers of training
What is being proposed
- Removing the four-year supervised practice requirement for master’s graduates
- Requiring only one practicum placement
- Eliminating the oral examination
- Replacing the ethics exam with a non-evaluative online module
Why this matters for clients
Student voices
Graduate students across Ontario, who are training under today’s high standards, have echoed these concerns. They are proud of the rigor of their programs and want the credibility of that training to be reflected in strong licensing requirements. Most importantly, they fear that lowering standards could weaken the safeguards that ensure their future clients are protected. As one student told me: “We want to be held to the highest standards, because that’s what our clients deserve.”
The real issue
The true barriers to access are not high standards but bottlenecks in the training and practice pipeline:
- Too few practicum and residency placements
- Limited time and compensation for supervisors
- Years of unpaid or underpaid training
- Geographic inequities in rural and northern regions
- Long waits for licensing exams and approvals
- Underfunded schools, hospitals, and community agencies
Clients are left waiting not because psychologists are “overtrained,” but because the system doesn’t provide enough infrastructure and support to move trainees through safely and sustainably.
What we really need
Improving access requires addressing these bottlenecks, not lowering safeguards. Solutions include expanding placements, compensating supervisors, offering financial supports to students, reducing licensing delays, funding psychologist positions in public systems, and ensuring psychological services are covered under OHIP.
Ontario’s rigorous training pathway is not about exclusivity; it is about public protection. It is what ensures that people can trust their psychologist has been thoroughly trained, tested, and supervised before practicing independently. Access and quality must go hand in hand. Clients deserve nothing less.
References and Resources
- College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO). Registration Requirements.
- College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario (CPBAO). Consultation on Proposed Changes to Registration Standards. (2025).
- Canadian Psychological Association (CPA). Standards and Procedures for Accreditation of Doctoral Programmes and Internships in Professional Psychology.
- Ontario Psychological Association (OPA). Position Statements and Advocacy.
- Watkins, C. E. (2012). The relationship between psychotherapy supervision and patient outcomes: A review of the evidence. The Clinical Supervisor, 31(2), 188–224.
- Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). Access to Mental Health Services in Canada.
- Ontario Ministry of Health. Reports on Mental Health and Addictions.

Dr. Shireen Abuhatoum is a Clinical Psychologist and the founder and director of Town Psychological Services in Oakville, Ontario. Practicing autonomously since 2018, she provides evidence-based assessment and therapy for adults and supervises clinicians in training. She is deeply committed to expanding access to care while upholding the highest professional and ethical standards in psychology.