The Council of the NSCSW is accepting letter of intent from any members interested in joining the College’s new clinical committee.
In 2019 the NSCSW private practice committee recommended to the membership of the College that the NSCSW move to deregulate private practice and explore the regulation of clinical practice.
The NSCSW then launched its major mental health paper on January 13, 2021. This research paper made 29 recommendations, including exploring how the NSCSW could support regulation of clinical practice. The paper articulates that the social work profession should be re-positioned within mental health and addiction services in order to deliver a bio-psycho-social model that understands that mental health is shaped by a person’s environment. To ensure that there is a system that understands that the process of healing should be relational, and recognizes that mental health services aren’t just supporting the person in the room, but that this person exists within a family, within a community, and within a society. A system that recognizes that care is delivered through collaboration, and acknowledges that the client is the expert in their own lives, and both the practitioner and the client bring expert knowledge to therapeutic conversation.
Vision
The clinical committee will work to strengthen clinical social work practice in Nova Scotia by exploring the regulatory tools best positioned to serve and protect the public interest; preserve the integrity of the clinical practice within the social work profession; and maintain public confidence in the ability of the social work profession to regulate itself. The clinical committee will establish a clear clinical scope of practice; assess risks to the public associated with that practice; and develop recommendations and draft policy to ensure that only those fully qualified are entitled to practice clinical social work in Nova Scotia and are doing so.
Objectives
- Identify clear scope of practice for clinical social work;
- Examine all risks to the public associated with the delivery of clinical social work services;
- Examine regulatory tools best positioned to mitigate risks;
- Develop rationale and recommendations, and propose policy for the successful regulation of clinical social work in Nova Scotia.
Applications
Letters of intent and current CV can be sent to Alec Stratford (Alec.Stratford@NSCSW.org) no later then February 26, 2021. The Council of the College will review letters of intent and appoint 12 Registered Social Workers, Social Worker Candidates and/or Private Practitioners who reflect the intersecting identities of social workers in Nova Scotia.