I hope you are well. I am e-mailing because I have received funding to develop and evaluate a prevention program for individuals at risk of offending. It is a group therapy program. All services are currently planned to be delivered via telepsychology services (via Zoom Healthcare with EMR provided by Jane) in large part due to the pandemic.

I do have to questions related to the development of these services and the administration of the program:I just wanted to confirm that my understanding of the Atlantic Canada telepsychology MOU is correct. My understanding is that I can invite clients from other provinces to participate if they are interested in receiving telepsychology services as part of this project if I contact the boards in these jurisdictions. Please let me know if there are any other considerations beyond the MOU or if I am misunderstanding this document.

I fully intend to offer all services as part of the program virtually but have also considered a hybrid model if the COVID-19 situation changes. In this scenario, I would provide in-person services to people who are local to the Halifax region and have clients who are in other Atlantic Canadian provinces and/or are unable to travel to attend in-person attend the same group via Zoom Healthcare. This hybrid model has been used for teaching, but I am not sure if it raises any sort of concerns for the board in terms of virtual service delivery. Please let me know.

I am planning to have a clinical or forensic psychology trainee deliver the program with me as a practicum. I have a former graduate student who completed her MSc program in forensic psychology and is now completing her PhD at Carleton. She would be an appropriate trainee because she is interested in the population, has relevant experience, and previously completed a similar practicum. The only consideration is that she is physically located in Ontario. Am I able to have a trainee from another province work under my supervision in a clinical capacity or is this a big problem?I think these are the extent of my questions for now. It is possible I may reach back out if further questions emerge as I develop this exciting new program and think through its delivery. I am happy to chat further by phone if that works better for you.

1. I just wanted to confirm that my understanding of the Atlantic Canada telepsychology MOU is correct. My understanding is that I can invite clients from other provinces to participate if they are interested in receiving telepsychology services as part of this project if I contact the boards in these jurisdictions. Please let me know if there are any other considerations beyond the MOU or if I am misunderstanding this document.

Correctn2. I fully intend to offer all services as part of the program virtually but have also considered a hybrid model if the COVID-19 situation changes. In this scenario, I would provide in-person services to people who are local to the Halifax region and have clients who are in other Atlantic Canadian provinces and/or are unable to travel to attend in-person attend the same group via Zoom Healthcare. This hybrid model has been used for teaching, but I am not sure if it raises any sort of concerns for the board in terms of virtual service delivery. Please let me know. The NSRP does not comment on specific models or provision of services via telepsychology other than to indicate that the psychologist needs to ensure that their services meet professional standards. Should the need for in-person service outside of NS arise, the psychologist would need to obtain authorization from the respective jurisdiction.

3. I am planning to have a clinical or forensic psychology trainee deliver the program with me as a practicum. I have a former graduate student who completed her MSc program in forensic psychology and is now completing her PhD at Carleton. She would be an appropriate trainee because she is interested in the population, has relevant experience, and previously completed a similar practicum. The only consideration is that she is physically located in Ontario. Am I able to have a trainee from another province work under my supervision in a clinical capacity or is this a big problem? NSRP would not have an issue with respect to any clients seen virtually by the trainee as we would consider the supervising psychologist to have responsibility for services provided by the non-registered individual (trainee). However, it would be important to check with the other Atlantic jurisdictions as NSRP cannot answer this with respect to services outside of NS