The Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia is a voluntary professional organization established in 1965 to represent psychology in Nova Scotia. APNS is the only provincial association devoted to representing the needs of psychology professionals in the province. APNS promotes psychology as a profession, as a science, and as a means of promoting human welfare.

Time and Money Worries Give Way to Holiday Stress

APNS Offers Strategies to Curb Stress during Holidays

Halifax — With pleasant thoughts of food, family and decoration, the holidays can be a source of joy for many people. For others, this time of year can be associated with anxiety and stress. In fact, the American Psychological Association's (APA) Stress in America survey finds that many report money as a significant source of stress in their lives and also report lack of time as a reason they're not doing more to manage their stress. During the holiday season, however, money concerns can be elevated and personal time can be tight, which may add to people's stress says the APA.  

Dean Perry, R.Psych., APNS Public Education Coordinator says: "While this survey included only American participants, the similar culture between the U.S. and Canada would suggest that the stressors and the subsequent effects are also the same. With the majority of Canada's population living near the U.S. border, and affected strongly by the U.S. economy, it is important for Canadians to pay attention to the growing stress of their American neighbours. For example, 2008 Statistics Canada survey reported that 22.3% of Canadians aged 15 or older reported that most days were extremely or quite a bit stressful.”   http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-625-x/2010001/article/11108-eng.htm

“The holidays can be a stressful time for everyone, but there are some steps you can take to help manage your stress,” says Mr. Perry . “You can begin by developing a simple approach that helps you set realistic goals. Then, be sure to make time for relaxation and enjoy low-key celebrations with good friends and family.”

APNS and APA suggest the following strategies to help manage your holiday stress:

•  Set realistic expectations. No holiday celebration is perfect; view inevitable missteps as opportunities to demonstrate flexibility and resilience. Create a realistic budget and remind your children that the holidays aren't about expensive gifts.

•  Take time for yourself. Taking care of yourself helps you to take better care of others in your life. Go for a long walk, read something that interests you or listen to your favorite music. By slowing down you may find more energy to accomplish your holiday goals.

•  Volunteer. Many charitable organizations face new challenges as a result of the ongoing economic downturn. Find a local charity, such as a soup kitchen or a shelter, where you and your family can volunteer together throughout the year. Helping others can put hardships in perspective and build stronger family relationships.

•  Remember what's important. Commercialism can overshadow the true sentiment of the holiday season. When your holiday expense list is running longer than your monthly budget, scale back. Remind yourself that family, friends and the relationships in your life are what matter most.

•  Seek support. Talk about stress related to the holidays with your friends and family. Getting things out in the open can help you navigate your feelings and work toward a solution. If you continue to feel overwhelmed, consider talking with a professional such as a psychologist to help you develop coping strategies and better manage your stress. A psychologist has the skills and professional training to help people learn to manage stress and cope more effectively with life's problems.

For additional information on stress and lifestyle and behavior, visit www.apahelpcenter.org , read the blog www.yourmindyourbody.org and follow @apahelpcenter on Twitter.

Find out more about APNS's new Early Career Psychology committee.

The Nova Scotia Mental Health and Addictions Strategy consultations

Tackling Mental Health Issues Results in Improved Physical Health

Nova Scotia Personal Health Information Act (PHIA)

APNS Meeting and Presentation to the Mental Health Strategy Advisory Committee

On March 17th the APNS Executive met with the Mental Health Strategy team to discuss implications for psychologists and to present their recommendations for issues that must be addressed by the Strategy. Download the document here.

The Mental Health Strategy Advisory Committee will be holding service provider consultations throughout April. These consultation sessions are happening across the province and are open to mental health and addictions service providers. The service provider consultations are intended to provide a forum for individuals who provide services to mental health and/or addictions clients/patients/consumers. 

Those attending will have the opportunity to provide input into the development of the Strategy, hear what others across Nova Scotia have said, and build on their points.

Consultations are now closed. More info soon...

To access the Online Consultation, or more information regarding the development of the Mental Health and Addictions Strategy, please visit:

www.nshrf.ca/mentalhealthandaddictionsstrategy

In addition to the service provider consultations, the Advisory Committee will be holding public consultations across the province. See the above website for more informaiton.

Tackling Mental Health Issues Results in Improved Physical Health

Halifax NS: —

It's mid-February, mid-winter and mid-flu season in Nova Scotia with no holidays in sight. Some are lucky enough to go south and others are hoping the Canada Winter Games will raise our spirits, but many are badly in need of a few “mental health days.” That is one reason for designating February as Psychology Month. It's a time to remember that mental health has a huge effect on physical wellness. Stress and depression are just two of the issues that may be dragging down physical health. If so, it may be time to talk to a psychologist.

“Amid all the talk of cutbacks for education and health, it is a positive sign that government, corporations and the public are beginning to realize that integrating mental health strategies into primary healthcare can improve the health of Nova Scotians,” says Dean Perry, Public Education Coordinator for the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia. “When psychologists work together as a team with physicians, nurses and other professionals, not only can it point to the role that psychological factors play in physical illness, but can identify the first signs of mental health issues.”

Taking the team approach can also signify a cost saving to the health care system. It eases the pressure on family physicians, making more room in their schedules to see more patients, thus providing access to more people. Studies have found that patients decrease their use of medical and hospital services when provided with psychological services.

Research suggests that the average savings to the health care system attributable to the addition of outpatient psychotherapy services is about 20%, that is, every $1 spent on psychological services, yields a savings of $5 in medical costs. This figure does not include the gains to the patient's quality of life or to employers and the economy as a result of reduced absenteeism, lowered frequency of workplace accidents or reduction in disability payouts (Chiles et al., 1999) . Furthermore, a review of 35 studies on psychotherapy and its cost implications showed that, in 90% of published studies, the therapy cost was more than offset by other system savings (Gabbard et al. 1997).

A psychologist has the skills and professional training to help people learn to manage stress, alleviate depression and cope more effectively with life problems, using techniques based on best practice research clinical skill and experience. Psychologists take into account an individual's unique values, goals and circumstances.

Psychologists can play a key role in promoting and maintaining the health of Nova Scotians. For more information on how a psychologist can help, contact the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia. www.apns.ca

Nova Scotia Personal Health Information Act (PHIA)

*Update:

Please note that APNS reps are meeting with provincial authorities regarding roll-out and regulations surrounding the PHIA to attempt to address concerns of the profession.

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APNS hosted the Personal Health Information Act (PHIA) Forum on Nov 18th. APNS urged its members to attend as we have concerns that PHIA will impact our clients in profound ways. Based on the information we have collected, APNS believes that PHIA may lower the minimum standard of consent for the sharing of health records across a wide domain of health providers and open the door to numerous potential negative implications for our clients and the practice of psychology.

APNS' submission (as well as others) to the Law Amendments Committee  on the Act and status is available here.  Next to "Law Amendments Committee", click on "Print Submissions".    Click on "download all written submissions for this bill".  Within that, scroll down till you come to the "change sheet" which lists all the changes that were accepted by the Law Amendments Committee. 

Read the most recent available version of the Act here

APNS would welcome your input on PHIA as it is being implemented. If you wish to express your opinion or concern, provide information, or relate a personal experience about PHIA please email us at apns@apns.ca.

Please see a summary of the Fourm below. To allow those who could not attend a way of viewing the Forum proceedings, please follow this link.

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Thanks to all who attended or logged-in to the Personal Health Information Act (PHIA) Forum on November 18, 2010. The event had a good turnout and achieved APNS' goal to raise awareness of PHIA as well as our concerns about how this may affect client/patient confidentiality. Approximately 70 individuals attended the forum, either in person or remotely by logging-in online. Five panellists presented on PHIA and the forum was moderated by psychologist, Dr. Richard MacGillivray.

•  Suellen Murray, Project Manager, Health Information Legislation Project, N.S. Dept. of Health provided background information on the development of PHIA and an Electronic Health Record and explained a bit about the legal context. Similar legislation has been enacted in other provinces.

•  Elizabeth Iwaskow, NS SHARE/EHR Portfolio Manager, Senior Project Manager e-Health, N.S. Dept. of Health , spoke about the development and workings of SHARE, an electronic data base for health information. She explained that there will be different levels of access for different types of health care providers.

Ms. Iwaskow and Ms. Murray discussed the concept of a “lock box,” a measure of protection that would allow patients/clients to prevent certain individuals from accessing their health information. However, they conceded that this may be difficult to enact in practice. According to Ms. Murray, “custodians” of health records can make decisions about the use and dissemination of information. Unfortunately however, Psychologists working in the public sector and covered by PHIA will not be considered “custodians” and therefore will not have the ability to make such decisions.

•  David Fraser, partner, McInnes Cooper, encouraged Psychologists to maintain high levels of confidentiality. He noted that Psychologists could apply higher standards of confidentiality than called for by this legislation.

•  Psychologist Dr. Myles Genest, Genest Psychological Services Inc. summarized pertinent sections of the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists and addressed the conflict between these and the PHIA.

•  Dr. John Service, Director of the Practice Directorate, Canadian Psychological Association, reported on the national agenda for Psychology and reframed this as an opportunity for positive change within the discipline.

Subsequent to the Forum, the APNS Executive discussed strategies as to how APNS might proceed to monitor PHIA as it is implemented and to continue to make its concerns felt. PHIA has passed 2nd reading in the Legislature and we expect it will be enacted soon. The Law Amendments Committee has now met to discuss PHIA and APNS took advantage of this opportunity to submit a written brief of our concerns.

APNS also plans to take the following actions:

•  Post the link to the archived PHIA Forum for those who were unable to attend;

•  Gather information from psychology regulatory bodies and associations in other provinces to determine how they have handled the implementation of similar legislation in their jurisdictions;

•  Continue to follow-up with media and the Department of Health;

•  Create a place on our website with information on PHIA, as well as a method for collecting feedback.

last updated June7, 2011