A group of Black psychologists is fearful of a rollback to equity, diversity and inclusion as well as truth and reconciliation initiatives within the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) following proposed changes to the organization’s strategic plan, while the association’s leadership insists those goals remain foundational.
The CPA is Canada’s largest association for psychology, with over 7,000 voluntary members and 35 specialized sections, including for Black, Asian, and Indigenous psychology.
The organization recently sent a draft proposal for its new strategic plan to members for discussion. In its new plan, the board proposed removing two specific goals relating to equity, diversity and inclusion as well as truth and reconciliation initiatives and making them “foundational elements” instead.
Goal 5 of the previous strategic plan stated that the CPA “promotes and models equity, diversity and inclusion in all that we do.”
Goal 6 said the CPA “is accountable to Indigenous peoples through the CPA’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s report.”
CPA leadership argued the purpose of the changes was not to eliminate but to elevate those two focus areas to ensure they are top of mind in operational decision-making.
But Ottawa psychotherapist Kafui Sawyer, who is the founding chair of the CPA’s Black Psychology Section, is incensed by the proposed changes.
“They should not be removing strategic goals that impact racialized people without consulting these groups. It’s disrespectful,” she said.
The Black Psychology Section of the CPA was founded in December 2021, partly to address the underrepresentation of Black people in the field.
Helen Ofosu, the current chair of the Black Psychology Section, estimates just 140 Black people in Canada have a master’s or PhD in psychology.
“So this is a very underrepresented group,” said Ofosu, an organizational psychologist in Ottawa and adjunct professor of psychology at Carleton University.
The underrepresentation of Black people in psychology is one of the barriers that prevents Black people from accessing mental health services, Ofosu said, as people feel more comfortable seeking professional help from people with relatable backgrounds.
This underrepresentation also contributes to poor mental health outcomes, according to Sawyer.
Sawyer cited high prevalence of PTSD, insomnia, depression, bipolar and other disorders in Black and racialized communities.
The Black Psychology Section has advocated for specific changes within the CPA, including asking the organization to collect race-based data to better understand the issue of representation.
The Black Psychology section has not always felt heard, said Sawyer, who sees the proposed changes to the CPA’s strategic plan as an erasure of the inequities Black people face in mental health delivery.
“How can you be making decisions for a particular group without discussing your concerns with them?” she asked. “We’re not looking to fight. We’re looking to have a conversation.”
The CPA board is listening, according to the association’s CEO Lisa Votta-Bleeker.
“The CPA stands behind our commitment to advancing issues related to equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, as well as truth and reconciliation,” she said. “And this commitment will continue to be reflected in our strategic plan.”
Votta-Bleeker said the intention behind proposing the removal of specific goals relating to those issues was to make them “foundational elements.”
“What we would have been doing with going this route was actually elevating those two focus areas within the strategic plan so that everything we did operationally … you’d always be keeping these top of mind,” she said.
Sending the proposed strategic plan to the CPA’s membership represented an opportunity to receive feedback, Votta-Bleeker said.
But Sawyer and Ofosu believe that racialized sections should have been specifically consulted.
“We have not seen real change within the CPA,” Sawyer said. “Even when they had the EDI goals as its own strategic goal, we still suffered. And now they are saying that they want us to trust that they are on this path?”
Sawyer said her concern is heightened by seeing the backlash against EDI to the south, where U.S. President Donald Trump has issued executive orders outlawing EDI initiatives within the federal government and threatening law firms and universities over their EDI policies.
But Votta-Bleeker insists there is no such rollback underway within the CPA and notes that the strategic plan was presented to the group’s membership in January, before Trump’s second term commenced.
In hindsight, Votta-Bleeker says the CPA could have communicated better with its members.
“I’m certainly sorry that our members experienced angst around that,” she said. “All I can do right now is really just confirm that we’re not done. The feedback is being heard and our plan will be stronger for the feedback that has been given to us.”
Citing ongoing negotiations within the CPA, the Indigenous Psychology section and the Asian Psychology section declined interview requests.
Both said in emailed statements that they stand in solidarity with the Black Psychology Section and its initiatives.
