Pre-Convention Professional Development Workshops
Pre-Convention Professional Development Workshops: 3+ Hour/3-CE credit and 6+ hour/6-CE credit
It is important for the educational opportunities offered by the CPA carry the maximum impact and take advantage of opportunities to provide current, evidence-based topics that are of interest to all constituencies represented by the CPA: clinicians, researchers, educators, and students.
Beginning this year, the CPA will not be accepting submissions for Pre-Convention Professional Development Workshops. Instead, our team will be actively seeking out presenters and topics for the Pre-Conference Education Day. We hope this will result in subject matter that is better connected with the needs and interests of members and attendees.
Materials will still be built on a foundation of innovation and information, with a specific focus on relevance to psychological research, teaching, learning, and practice. We are taking this new approach based on an analysis of attendance patterns for recent Pre-Conference Workshops, in response to member suggestions, and with an eye toward relevant topics of interest.
The Pre-Convention Professional Development Workshops will be built around a solid core of specific subject areas that will be available each year starting in 2024, along with a selection of relevant and timely education opportunities that will be renewed annually.
Suggestions for workshop topics are always welcome – if you have an idea for a topic you would like to see, please submit it to education@cpa.ca.
Attendees will still be able to register for 3+ hour and 6+ hour Pre-Conference Professional Development Workshops and the full Convention program using a single transaction.
As the program evolves, we will have more news to share, check back often for updates
Pre-Convention PD Workshops
See below for the Pre-Convention Professional Development workshops being offered as part of the CPA’s 2025 annual convention. Pre-Convention Professional Development Workshops (PCPDW s) are scheduled to take place on June 11th. These workshops will be 3+ hours or 6+ hours in duration for corresponding CE credits. A separate fee, over and apart from the CPA’s convention registration fee, will be required. Registration for PCPDWs are incorporated with this year’s Convention Registration form. If you wish to ONLY attend the PCPDWs, or add a PCPDW after you’ve completed your Convention Registration, a seperate registration form will be available.
The CPA reserves the right to cancel any Pre-Convention Workshops due to low registration. In the event that this should happen, registrants can register for another workshop or be reimbursed their payment.
Workshop Fees
| CPA Members & Student Affiliates | Non-Members & Student Non-Affilites | |
| Full Day Workshop | $399.99 | $599.99 |
| Half Day Workshop | $199.99 | $299.99 |
Workshops
Full Day Workshops
Half Day Workshops
Morning
Afternoon
Full-Day Workshops
Synergy – A Holistic Healing Framework for Addressing System Gaps and Inequities
Presented by: Peter Cornish, Gillian Berry
Sponsored by:
Continuing Education Credits: 6 CE Credits
Language: English
Duration: Full Day – 6 Hours (PM) (8:30 – 16:00)
Target Audience: Clinicians and Students in Psychology
Skill/Difficulty Level: Introductory
Workshop Description:
This six-hour interactive workshop explores the transformative potential of a holistic framework for addressing systemic gaps and inequities in mental health professional practices. Participants will engage in discussions, experiential learning, and reflective exercises to deepen their understanding of how a shift from scarcity-driven paradigms to synergistic models can enhance outcomes and foster equity, while respecting and integrating cross-cultural perspectives. The targeted audience includes trainees, psychologists, and professionals from diverse cultural backgrounds, curious about impactful healthcare system transformation strategies, and those interested in exploring the global dimensions of mental health and healing.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- dentify systemic challenges in professional environments, including inequities, resource limitations, and cultural barriers, and examine their root causes.
- Explore personal and organizational experiences with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, highlighting successes and identifying unresolved challenges, particularly in cross-cultural contexts.
- Understand and contrast the Scarcity Paradigm with the Synergy Paradigm, focusing on how each influences decision-making and systemic outcomes across diverse cultural settings.
- Apply holistic and synergistic strategies to reframe professional practices and organizational policies toward healing, inclusivity, and cultural sensitivity.
- Cultivate collaborative approaches that emphasize abundance, interconnectedness, and cross-cultural respect to drive innovation and equity.
Facilitating difficult conversations in clinical supervision
Presented by: Edward Johnson
Sponsored by: Inxhology
Continuing Education Credits: 6 CE Credits
Language: English
Duration: Full Day – 6 Hours (PM) (8:30 – 16:00)
Target Audience: Faculty members in Psychology, Students in Psychology
Skill/Difficulty Level: Introductory
Workshop Description:
Using didactic and participatory learning strategies, this six-hour workshop will provide attendees with helpful models and strategies for discussing difficult issues in clinical supervision and applying this knowledge in practice.
In the morning, attendees will consider difficult issues in supervision such as: professional competency challenges in a supervisee, a supervisor who fails to provide constructive feedback, disagreements over client conceptualization or treatment orientation, and differences in culture and identity. Attendees will reflect on and discuss the issues they have encountered and the barriers that make them difficult to address. This discussion will be contextualized with respect to the goals, methods, and intended outcomes of supervision and how they affect and are affected by the quality of the supervisory relationship.
After lunch, attendees will practice preparing for, initiating, and navigating difficult conversations in supervision with relevant scenarios. Consideration will be given to strategies that reflect the distinct roles and power differential of supervisors and supervisees. The workshop will end with a final summary and opportunity for group discussion and feedback.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Identify and address personal obstacles to having difficult conversations
- Identify their goal in having a difficult conversation
- Choose which issue to discuss
Creating Culturally Safe and Socially Responsive Space in Clinical Practice: Foundational Concepts and Strategies Through Experiential-Reflective Learning
Presented by: Ben C.H. Kuo
Sponsored by:
Continuing Education Credits: 6 CE Credits
Language: English
Duration: Full Day – 6 Hours (PM) (8:30 – 16:00)
Target Audience: Practicing Psychologists, Faculty members in Psychology, Students in Psychology
Skill/Difficulty Level: Introductory
Workshop Description:
This workshop will introduce participants to the foundational knowledge and concepts related to culture, diversity, and clinical practice and supervision, as a means of promoting cultural safety in psychological and mental health services. Specifically, the concepts of cultural competence and cultural humility, as the two complementary frameworks for facilitating clinicians’ multicultural development and identity, will be discussed. This workshop approaches cultural training from an experiential, personal-growth and professional-development perspective and a social justice stance. Using mental health counselling and therapy intervention as an example, this workshop will survey and guide participants in reflecting and thinking through critical cultural diversity issues about themselves and others. Practical and evidence-based examples will be used to illustrate the content and to help participants integrate their learning with their personal and professional experiences.
Learning Outcomes:
Participants in this workshop will be introduced to the following topics, and engage in guided reflection on these subject matters::
- Intersection of culture and diversity issues and clinical/health care and supervision training
- Definition and Illustration of multicultural competence and cultural humility in practice
- Issues on clinicians’ intersectionality of identities and implicit biases
- Strategies to enhance individual-level and institutional/organizational-level changes to promote racial equity and cultural safety
Psychology and Planetary Health: Ethics in Action for the Climate Emergency
Presented by: Dr. Patricia Huston, Dr. Carolyn Houlding
Sponsored by:
Continuing Education Credits: 6 CE Credits
Language: English
Duration: Full Day – 6 Hours (PM) (8:30 – 16:00)
Target Audience: Psychologists, psychology associates, academics, behavior analysts, and students.
Skill/Difficulty Level: Introductory
Workshop Description:
Have you thought about taking climate action in your professional life but were not sure where to start or how to find time or whether it would even be part of how psychology could contribute? This one day live in person professional workshop is facilitated by a team of four different professionals:
● A psychology training director, clinical psychologist & climate activist,
● A federal ethics director, psychologist & environmental non-profit founder,
● A family physician, public health expert & climate change champion,
● A clinical psychologist, group practice founder & mindfulness based nature connection volunteer.
Each facilitator will offer a different but complementary set of options for climate action, and together the facilitators will create a context for all members of the psychology community to learn about, build skills, plan for ethical action, and make choices for effective engagement with climate change.
This 6 hour pre-conference workshop will combine experiential, didactic and inquiry practices to offer all members of the psychology community a balanced approach to addressing the intersection of climate change and mental health. The workshop is structured to focus on four complementary themes, with optional practices offered over the midday lunch hour break:
1. Mindful Climate Action: Reconnecting to natural capacities for engagement with climate challenges through practices of mindfulness, compassion, reflective dialogue, collective inquiry and compassionate listening.
2. Clinical Preparedness: Equipping practitioners with foundational knowledge to address climate-related distress of clients and communities
3. Ethics and Advocacy: Examining the ethical mandate for climate action by psychological practitioners and exploring exemplars for individual and collective action for psychology practitioners in any role.
4. Collective & Personal Action: Visioning, storytelling, collaborating & committing to action plans that all members of the psychology professional community can use to engage the climate emergency.
Learning Outcomes:
Participants will leave with::
- A knowledge of the ethical case for all psychology practitioners to engage in climate action grounded in CPA Code of Ethics
- An improved working knowledge of key issues and solutions in climate related communication and action for psychology practitioners.
- Mindfulness and compassion practices to support effective and sustained climate action while preventing burnout.
- A foundational understanding of options for addressing climate-related distress as a public health issue.
- Greater awareness of existing models, tools and research-based options for effective climate action as a member of the psychology community, whether as a student, researcher, scholar, policy leader, clinician or ally.
Advocacy in Action – A Practical Approach to Initiating Change for Psychology
Presented by: Glenn Brimacombe
Sponsored by:
Continuing Education Credits: 6 CE Credits
Language: English
Duration: Full Day – 6 Hours (PM) (8:30 – 16:00)
Target Audience: Practitioners, Academics, Administrators, and Students
Skill/Difficulty Level: Introductory/Intermediate
Workshop Description:
This workshop will focus on understanding what advocacy is, why it is important, and how one can advocate for change within the many systems within which psychology works. Building on the foundational elements of advocacy illustrated with practical examples, participants will look to actively apply these skills in group exercises. This workshop is intended for individuals who have no understanding, or a limited understanding of the role and impact that advocacy can have in identifying and moving an issue(s) forward.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand the components that underpin advocacy.
- Understand why advocacy is an important (strategic) tool in advancing change.
- Apply the principles of advocacy in group exercises.
Half-Day Workshops
Half-Day Morning Workshops
Operationalizing the new CPA accreditation standards and infusion of the values into professional psychology programs: Creating community through sharing resources
Presented by: Sara Hagstrom, Allison Jane Ouimet, Marjory Phillips, Naomi Slonim
Sponsored by: CCPPP
Continuing Education Credits: 3 CE Credits
Language: English
Duration: 3 Hours (AM) (8:30 – 12:00)
Target Audience: Academics, Administrators, and Training Managers in post-secondary education.
Skill/Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Workshop Description:
In Fall 2023, CPA approved updated accreditation standards to ensure quality training in professional doctoral psychology programs. The standards include a new competency framework that integrates functional and foundational competencies. The standards provide opportunities for academic and residency programs to develop innovative and collaborative ideas for training; however, it can be daunting for training directors to know how to approach the challenge of change. In this workshop, we will present practical ideas for conducting internal reviews of academic and residency programs to determine standards that are met and ones that will need implementation. We will identify common gaps and challenges to implementation. Using break-out groups, we will collaborate and brainstorm to identify ways in which professional programs may implement the new standards. Following the workshop, we will integrate the ideas into practical resource documents and sample templates on the CCPPP members website, for shared access.
Learning Outcomes:
- Participants will gain practical ideas for how to implement CPA Accreditation Standards 2023 (sixth edition) into academic and residency training programs
- Participants will share ideas for methods of conducting environmental scans of their training programs to identify ways in which they meet new standards, and areas for development
- Participants will contribute to the creation of practical resource documents and sample templates for the application of accreditation standards.
Indigenizing Practice Through the Medicine Wheel
Presented by: Beverly Keeshig-Soonias
Sponsored by:
Continuing Education Credits: 3 CE Credits
Language: English
Duration: 3 Hours (AM) (8:30 – 12:00)
Target Audience: Professionals working in direct service provision that involves case conceptualization, assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, and/or intervention, and forming collaborative relationship with Indigenous communities.
Skill/Difficulty Level: Introductory
Workshop Description:
The Canadian Psychological Association’s (CPA) response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report, December 15, 2015 recognizes that much work needs to be done within the profession to address psychological assessment with Indigenous clients. This presenter will discuss the medicine wheel as a model of Indigenous assessment.
The Medicine Wheel integrates the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists and Standards of Practice by recognizing and integrating Indigenous principles when serving Indigenous individuals and Indigenous communities.
It is an example of participation and collaboration with members of Indigenous communities.
In addition, this workshop considers the experiences of an Indigenous clinician who has worked primarily with Indigenous children, youth, and families over a number of decades. Development of the clinician will be traced from an Indigenous theoretical, historical and philosophical perspective, as they worked with and examined the discipline of psychology with its various constructs.
The Medicine Wheel will be considered as an assessment tool. Participants will be introduced to the Medicine Wheel with its cultural historical and philosophical context. All participants will be given an opportunity to do their own assessment using the Medicine Wheel.
Use of the Medicine Wheel will be shown as a way to respect and ceremonialize traditional ways of knowing and ways of being.
Learning Outcomes:
- Consider what colonization means in the context of psychological practice.
- Implement the Medicine Wheel as a tool that supports (re)connecting with, (re)opening to, and (re)engaging one’s personal and collective wisdom and medicine for healing;
- Move toward decolonizing and Indigenizing their practice in a good way.
Using WIAT-4 Canadian Data to Understand Reading Challenges and Foster Literacy Development
Presented by: Liz Grose, Michael Charron
Sponsored by:
Continuing Education Credits: 3 CE Credits
Language: English
Duration: 3 Hours (AM) (8:30 – 12:00)
Target Audience: School Psychologists, Psychologists, Neuropsychologists, Educational Diagnosticians, Special Education Teachers, Reading Specialists, and Researchers
Skill/Difficulty Level: Introductory
Workshop Description:
This workshop is presented by Pearson Clinical Assessment Canada. The session is designed for individuals who are familiar with the WIAT–III-CDN to better understand the updates on the WIAT-4-CDN.
Learning Outcomes:
- This session will help participants understand the prominent theoretical models that guided the development of new subtests and changes reflected in the WIAT-4 Canadian, focusing on new research in word reading development and the importance of phonemic proficiency within the orthographic mapping process
- This session will discuss the development and standardization process as well as the reliability and validity qualities of the WIAT-4 Canadian, including guidelines for interpretation of scores derived from post-COVID normative sample
- This session will help participants apply this knowledge to a case study example walking through the selection of subtests, interpretation, and intervention recommendations using the WIAT-4 Canadian
- This session will also introduce the upcoming Test de rendement individuel de Wechsler—quatrième édition—version pour francophones du Canada (WIAT-4 CDN-F).
Half-Day Afternoon Workshops
Complexities in the Assessment of Adults with ADHD: Best Practices for Diagnosis and Treatment
Presented by: Saeid Chavoshi
Sponsored by:
Continuing Education Credits: 3 CE Credits
Language: English
Duration: 3 Hours (PM) (13:00 – 16:30)
Target Audience: Clinicians and Students in Psychology
Skill/Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Workshop Description:
The diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD have garnered significant interest in recent years, creating a growing demand for psychologists equipped to assess and support these neurodiverse individuals. This workshop aims to enhance awareness and build competence among professionals seeking to provide these services.
We will explore best practices for assessing ADHD in adults, including a detailed review of standardized processes such as screening tools, core assessment batteries (with explanations for measure selection), diagnostic considerations, and strategies for managing complex cases.
Our goal is to offer a comprehensive overview of adult ADHD assessment and guide you in developing a clear roadmap for acquiring the necessary skills and supervision to confidently deliver this service to your clients.
Learning Outcomes:
In this workshop, participants will:
- Review and discuss the evolution of diagnostic criteria for ADHD and the current social and cultural factors influencing the increased awareness and interest in Adult ADHD.
- Review Canadian best practice guidelines regarding the assessment and treatment of adult ADHD.
- Review commonly used adult ADHD assessment tools, with a focus on gold standard diagnostic tools, and discuss how different tools are used together and separately as part of a thorough assessment.
- Explore differential diagnoses of disorders that commonly co-occur with ADHD, including PTSD/C-PTSD, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder.
- Discuss core elements of ADHD not currently included in the DSM-5-TR diagnosis and their importance as supporting information for a thoughtful, intentional, and well-rounded diagnostic process.
- Explore the importance of gathering collateral information from observers, common difficulties in obtaining that information, and the importance of gathering a detailed client history.
- Other areas of discussion will include challenges faced by marginalized groups in accessing ADHD diagnosis and treatment, gendered, cultural and SES components of those challenges, and how these challenges impact clinician bias in assessment and diagnosis.
- Lastly, participants will learn about the current evidence-based bio-psycho-social treatments available for adults following an assessment
Psychological Tele-Assessment: A Primer for Curious Psychologists
Presented by: Chris Pawluk, Ryan Matchullis
Sponsored by:
Continuing Education Credits: 3 CE Credits
Language: English
Duration: 3 Hours (PM) (13:00 – 16:30)
Target Audience: Practicing Psychologists, Faculty members in Psychology, Students in Psychology
Skill/Difficulty Level: Introductory
Workshop Description:
The digital era has ushered in transformative changes across various sectors, and psychology is no exception. Dive into a condensed exploration of the realm of virtual psychological assessments, tailored to provide professionals with a foundational understanding of this burgeoning field.
This 3-hour introductory session offers participants a glimpse into the world of virtual assessments, highlighting their importance, benefits, challenges, and the ethical considerations they entail. Through a blend of theoretical insights, real-world examples, and hands-on activities, attendees will gain a comprehensive overview of what it means to conduct assessments in virtual spaces.
Designed as a precursor to our in-depth two-day training, this introductory session serves as both a standalone learning experience and a stepping stone for those keen on delving deeper into the intricacies of virtual psychological assessments..
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand the foundational concepts and history of virtual psychological assessments.
- Identify the primary benefits and challenges associated with conducting assessments in virtual environments.
- Recognize key ethical and legal considerations specific to virtual psychological assessments.
- Engage in a hands-on demonstration that showcases the practical aspects of virtual assessments.
- Evaluate the relevance and importance of transitioning to virtual assessment methods in contemporary psychology..
Emerging Issues for Psychology Practice and Research with Indigenous Peoples in Rural, Remote and Community Settings.
Presented by: Jennifer Chalmers, Shona Adams
Sponsored by:
Continuing Education Credits: 3 CE Credits
Language: English
Duration: 3 Hours (AM) (8:30 – 12:00)
Target Audience: Psychology practitioners and researchers; Psychology students- undergraduate and graduate; Training personnel in psychology
Skill/Difficulty Level: Introductory
Workshop Description:
In this workshop, we will explore emerging issues in 2025 impacting psychology services for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples in rural, remote and community settings. We will review and consider practice knowledge and application to rural/remote and community settings including the CPA Task Force on Responding to the TRC (2018), the Calls to Action from the TRC (2015), the Calls to Justice from the MMIWG (2019) and others including the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996).
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Explore psychology practitioners, researchers and students’ current views on how psychology is doing in the post- TRC era of reconciliation and implementation of change with core areas of psychology practice.
- Engage participants in shared learning, dialogue and self-examination in working with diverse individuals from First Nations, Métis and Inuit People, groups and communities.
- Collaborate on a shared feedback process of what resources, support and guidance is needed for the future of psychology in Canada and practice with Indigenous Peoples.