Why LRPA Began
The first
of five factors contributing to the formation of LRPA was that the
Conservative Government of Ontario at the time was considering decentralizing
health care in the province (Evans 1995). This factor could be seen
as the most urgent, in that psychologists would suddenly have to band
together and present a unified regional lobbying effort. Decentralization
would delegate funds-allocation decisions related to health care to
regional health units, such as the Thames Valley District Health Unit.
This meant that psychologists would have to lobby regionally for funds
and programs and, therefore, needed to be organized regionally.
Another timely
reason LRPA was formed was that the number of psychologists in the
area had reached a critical mass (Evans 1995, Ferrari 1995). The profession
of psychology saw substantial growth during the 1970's. It was during
this growth period that psychologists in the area felt the need and
the capability to establish a professional organization. LRPA's growth
mirrored the growth of the profession in the early years. Similar
to other professional organisations, LRPA was formed to protect the
integrity and standards within the profession in London.
Also with
this growth came a need for public education. Once the profession
in the area reached a mass large enough to demand distinguishing it
as a separate profession, the need arose for an organization to represent
this distinction. What was and still remains an important objective
of LRPA is to educate the public on the usefulness and various applications
of psychology as a professional field. LRPA also aimed to educate
the public and the press on matters of concern to psychology. Therefore,
in the 1970's an organization like LRPA was needed in London to demonstrate
the distinct capabilities of psychology and the usefulness of the
profession to the public.
Another function
of LRPA was to provide a social-networking forum for psychologists
to interact with their colleagues. Evidence that from the start LRPA
was to provide social contacts is in the relaxed membership requirements
and structure of the by-laws of the organization, of which we will
have more to say later. It is also the relaxed aspect of the organization
that has been recognized as one of the underlying factors contributing
to LRPA's longevity (Evans 1994). The social-networking function of
LRPA was noted in the first meetings and continues as an important
purpose to the members. The responses on the questionnaire which was
used for research in this study offer an insightful perspective on
the priorities of LRPA's membership. LRPA members continue to find
the social-networking function one of the main purposes of the association
as well as being the reason why many members join. In discussing the
features of LRPA many members make reference to the relaxed social
setting as being an integral aspect to their involvement in LRPA.
It is the features like the social setting and the differing levels
of commitment a member can pursue which distinguish LRPA and could
be attributed as the underlying factors in LRPA's twenty years of
functioning as a consistently healthy, viable organization.
The final
reason for LRPA's inception was to act as a bridge between practitioners
and academics in psychology (Howe 1995). There are inherent benefits
to connecting these two areas of the profession. Practitioners working
in private practice or institutions are exposed to the practical needs
of psychological theories and able to benefit from current research
findings provided by academics. While academics have the means to
research topics of current interest to practitioners and can direct
their research towards the issues of greatest concern to practitioners.
This relationship between academics and practitioners is best reflected
in the four founding members, two of whom were professors at the University
of Western Ontario and two were Chief psychologists at local psychiatric
institutions. The four were: Dr. David Evans and Dr. Peter Carlson,
both clinical psychology professors at UWO; Dr. Kalman Csapo, Chief
Psychologist at the London Psychiatric Hospital; and Dr. Anthony G.
Miller, Chief Psychologist at the Goderich Psychiatric Hospital. Conspicuously
absent is a representative from private practice, a significant portion
of LRPA's membership today. However, given the time period it would
not be such an oversight because there were very few private practices
in London at the time (Howe 1995). As well, psychologists working
out of a private practice or institution, although they may have some
different requirements, they generally have the same needs for an
organization like LRPA.
