Racism in Alberta Psychology

PAA takes a stand to support the health and wellness of all Albertans: Discrimination Harms, Diversity Strengthens.

Rise up against racism. We all have a role in dismantling systemic racism. Racism jeopardizes our success as individuals, families, communities, workplaces, and as a society. We each need to be willing and able to look after ourselves and each other and to work together with kindness, respect, and compassion. There is no room for racism, prejudice, or systemic discrimination in a just society.

Formal letters of apology from the Profession of Psychology

Stay tuned for a library of resources and information that are currently being collected by the PAA Racism in Alberta Taskforce. Have ideas? Send these to the group via Ada@paa-ab.ca.

Racism in Alberta Psychology Task Force

The Task Force was established in November 2020 and operates under the following mandate: To explore racism and psychology within the Alberta context and to make recommendations for actionable implementation to the PAA board in addition to educational opportunities for PAA members or community organizations.

Vision Statement

Psychologists in Alberta have ethnic and racial cross-cultural proficiency, are representative of Alberta’s diverse communities, work to decolonize the profession from within, and actively work to reduce barriers to services.

Mission Statement

The Racism in Alberta Psychology Task Force serves to guide the profession of psychology towards ethnically and racially inclusive and anti-oppressive practices. We aim to do this by:

Acknowledging that the psychology in Alberta is practiced as part of the settler state on the traditional lands of many of the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples of Canada
Decolonizing the profession
Suggesting best practices for inclusive care
Reviewing barriers to care and resiliencies of ethnic and racial minorities in Alberta
Providing recommendations for improvement to the professional bodies that regulate and impact psychology in Alberta
Working within and outside of the Psychologists Association of Alberta to optimize and mobilize recommendations for improvement
Promoting the wellbeing of ethnic and racial minorities in Alberta

The PAA Racism & Psychology Taskforce will consist of 12 members (including a maximum of two from PAA leadership). Taskforce members will regularly consult the community (i.e., community groups, racialized leaders, & Elders) to ensure well-rounded recommendations. The PAA Racism & Psychology Taskforce will:

Strategize – create a strategy for the operations of the task force within its terms of reference & ensure non-hierarchical leadership.

Review – look at relevant literature, not limited to the APA Radical Healing Collective, specific to best practices in psychology in relation to countering racism.
Explore – delve into how psychology in Alberta might move away from psychology’s historical focus on the individual to the collective.
Educate – identify beneficial continuing professional development and training experiences for psychologists.
Communicate – develop communication resources to enhance the development of Alberta psychologists specific to racism and psychology.
Engage – organize and maintain connections, meetings, and guest speakers from the community.
Advocate – collaborate with the PAA CEO to determine related beneficial advocacy initiatives.
Inform – continue to source, read, and summarize critical race theory literature relevant to psychology within and beyond the syllabus of the Radical Healing Collective (RHC), presenting relevant information at meetings.