A: Our organization has always welcomed any physicians who perform psychotherapy. When the GPPA was first started in 1984, the majority of members were general practitioners who had a special interest in psychotherapy (hence the original name). But physician demographics are changing. As you know, since the early 1990’s, Canadian medical graduates have had to go directly into residency programs in either Family Medicine or a Medical Specialty. There are no new General Practitioners. Our new name reflects these changes, as well as our national focus.

A: For our purposes, Medical Psychotherapy is simply psychotherapy that is practiced by a physician. Our current direction is analogous to a movement in the U.K. that values the support and training of both specialists and family physicians who want to be skilled in providing psychotherapy to their patients. 

A: All modalities. Short-term, long-term, CBT, psychodynamic, mindfulness, group, family, marital, etc.  We are a “Big Tent” organization.  We’re not concerned about exclusivity.  We value both evidence-based and experience-based approaches to quality psychotherapy.

A: Having a solo practice can be very isolating. In the MDPAC/GPPA, you will find a community of like-minded physicians who believe that the art and science of psychotherapy is a lifelong pursuit.  We encourage interaction with colleagues who can offer support, guidance, and new ideas.  You will find a peer group that values your work, and you will receive regular communications on psychotherapy workshops, conferences and training in various psychotherapeutic modalities, all across Canada.

A: a) Must be a Canadian physician
b) Payment of an annual fee in the fall
c) Interest in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) related to psychotherapy, psychiatry or mental health
d) Willingness to volunteer on a Committee at some point in your tenure

A: The CPD requirements for Clinical Member status in our organization are not onerous. In fact, if you are a psychiatrist, most of the CPD you submit to the Royal College also counts as “Continuing Education” (CE) credits for MDPAC/GPPA (although you will have to resubmit them into our online tracking system). 

The requirements for “Continuing Collegial Interaction” (CCI) may require more planning.  This category of CPD encourages meeting with colleagues in small groups.  Some of the activities that count towards this include:  psychotherapy supervision (either as supervisor or supervisee); discussions with colleagues outside of regular work; peer discussion groups and journal clubs; peer assessments and volunteering on MDPAC committees.  A limited number of hours can also be obtained by online discussion through our professional internet “Listserv” group.   Volunteering for our organization (usually by teleconference meetings) is a great way to get to know other MDPAC members and to gain CCI credits.  You’ll also feel that you’re actually doing something about the shortage of doctors who practice psychotherapy.

A: So do we! In fact, we often have non-physician therapists talk at our conferences and we accredit many workshops and seminars put on by world-renowned psychologists, social workers, and other mental health professionals.  In addition, we try to keep up with the excellent psychotherapy standards practiced by our non-medical colleagues (e.g. in the Canadian Psychological Association and the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario).  But most provincial insurance plans (such as OHIP) do not cover psychotherapy performed by a non-MD.  Essentially, this creates a 2-tier system whereby people who can afford to, pay for psychotherapy out of pocket and those who can’t afford it – go without (or go on long waiting lists for time-limited therapy at hospital clinics).  Thus, we feel it’s important that the public has access to quality psychotherapy from physicians.

In addition, we believe that doctors are in a unique position to offer psychotherapy as we are very knowledgeable about physiological and pharmaceutical factors that can affect mental health.