Moving Forward: Lessons From Abroad and the Need for a Unified Approach to Clinical Neuropsychology Training in Canada

Clinical neuropsychology as a field was fundamentally informed by Canadians almost a century ago and has seen significant growth over the past twenty years globally. While doctoral-level training has been the most common and expected training route to become a clinical neuropsychologist in Canada, there is no current uniform pathway. With regulatory changes in the practice of clinical psychology occurring across Canada, there is no consensus or standard on the regulation and training of clinical neuropsychologists. Different models of clinical neuropsychology training are summarized from around the world as well as the status of clinical (neuro)psychologists within the Canadian health care system. The challenges present in practice-based training models inherent with master’s degree training are outlined for the Canadian context, including lack of regulatory structure and supervisor availability. Overall, this paper argues for the need for a unified Canadian clinical neuropsychology training pathway for both educational and regulatory bodies that be used for future generations of trainees and trainers, and ease movement of practitioners across the country and globally.