by Cheryl Scott

Created on: September 29, 2009   Last Updated: October 19, 2010

The fact of the matter is that some psychologists are already prescribing medications and with some great success. Commander John Sexton, PhD, head of the mental health department at a Navy Hospital in Camp Pendleton, Calif., "is living proof that licensed clinical psychologists can be trained in medicine and psychopharmacology to safely and effectively prescribe," reported Lisa Rabasca of the APA Monitor Online. Ms. Rabasca further reported that after a rigorous training program for military psychologists from the Department of Defense Psycho-pharmacology Demonstration Project (PDP), Commander Sexton has treated 976 patients and written hundreds of prescriptions, and not one patient has had a significant adverse event. The training program was instituted due to the extreme shortage of prescribing physicians.

Two states now allow psychologists to prescribe medications for mental illness, that is New Mexico and Louisiana. The American Psychological Association branch in Florida has actively lobbied lawmakers to allow training programs for psychologists followed by prescription writing privileges because the wait time for a psychiatrist's appointment in Florida in some counties can be easily 7-8 weeks.

The 1999 Surgeon General's report revealed that less than one-third of all people with a diagnosable mental disorder in the U.S. receive treatment in a given year. And, the 1998 Schizophrenia PORT study revealed that fewer than 50% of all people with schizophrenia receive even minimally adequate treatment in a given year. These treatment access problems are even worse for children and adolescents with mental disorders.

Currently, it is estimated that 70% of mentally ill patients are actually receiving their medications from non psychiatrists in clinics with nurse practitioners and primary care doctors, both having less psychology education and experience then psychologists. Though primary doctors have medical knowledge, and nurse have some training, these practitioners may miss vital pieces of information from their patients and prescribe for the wrong diagnosis.

Excellent training coupled with superior ethics can be a hope for the future of mental illness if states open up to the idea of prescribing psychologists. Poor training or ethics by any professional, be they primary care doctor, nurse, or even psychiatrist is always bad for a patient. Of the professionals I have had the pleasure to work with, I tend to put my faith in APA approved psychologists.

Should psychologists prescribe drugs? Yes, under the conditions they practice in a state which legalized this and they are trained in a special post-doctoral training which involves extensive coursework on anatomy, physiology, neuroscience, biochemistry, clinical medicine, general pharmacology and clinical psychopharmacology. An additional qualification, in my opinion, should be that they have graduated from a American Psychological Association (APA) approved program. If psychologists are not adequately trained, or living in a state which does not allow this, then a resounding no.

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