‘Safety, sanity, at stake’

Press, 24 August 1976, Page 5

‘Safety, sanity, at stake’

PA Hamilton Safety and sanity of the community is at stake in the issue of registration for psychologists, the president of the New Zealand Psychological Society (Professor J. E. Ritchie) has said in Hamilton.

Addressing the society’s annual meeting at Waikato University, he said the public had a right to know where to tum and whom to trust in seeking psychological aid. The society’s council had reported an increase in reported malpractices, mostly minor but some potentially dangerous, in the last year. “Medical people need to know to whom they may responsibly and ethically make referrals. The safety, and indeed rhe sanity of members of the community is at stake in this issue.” The society had been making representation for six years to have its profession registered. Last year a draft bill was endorsed and members had been working on moves to protect the public from “dubious” practice. .An approach through

heads of Government departments had not been successI ful. They seemed unaware of the need to regulate private practice and regarded the . present situation as satisfac- | tory. Professor Ritchie said New . Zealand had its share of i quackery. It was callous and cynical of Government departments to take an “I’m all right Jack” attitude because they were major employers in the public sector who provided services adequate in standard, but inadequate in scope, to deal with their own waiting lists. Deputy Leaders on both sides of Parliament had shown appreciation and concern, while only two Ministers — those of Health and Defence — were against the proposal for registration. Professor Ritchie urged the society’s executive to make further representations to the Government, proceed through a private member’s bill if this failed, co-ordinate support and accumulate evidence of extortion, misrepresentation, and malpractice.