NAFTA AND PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY - COMMO N STANDARDS FOR THE RECOGNITION OF COMPETENCE - PURE FANTASY OR ACHIEVABLE DREAM

As of January 1st. 1996 will come into effect tha NAFTA legal obligati ons concerning the transborder movement of services in the three signa tory countries. Before this deadline, and following a protectionnist s tance, many present requirements concerning the regulation of psycholo gical practice in Mexico, Canada and USA should be exempted from appli cation by a mechanism of reservation. However, the most innovative asp ects of the treaty are those that deal with the development of profess ional standards by arriving at mutually acceptable agreements (Art. 12 10 and Annex 1210.5). In our opinion, this is where tripartite discuss ions should immediately begin, with an open mind. Only consensually ca n we ever achieve common standards for the regulation and the practice of psychology and the recognition of competence. By analyzing the pre sent situation in the three countries concerning particularly the educ ation and training of psychologists, we can predict that the road will be long but that someday we should get there.