The maturing RxP vision: In 2006, APA President Gerry Koocher proclaimed: “We can anticipate many new ethical challenges unfolding as psychologists continue to advance our science and profession to promote human health and wellbeing…Prescribing Hazards and the Demise of Psychiatry…Advances in psychopharmacology and the demonstrated effectiveness of prescribing psychologists, with appropriate post-doctoral training, signal the end to any claims of uniqueness or incremental quality by medical providers trained in the traditional psychiatric model…Psychiatric residencies no longer hold much attraction for the best and brightest young physicians interested in brain functions and their relationship to mental health. The best young physicians with such interests increasingly seek additional Ph.D. degrees and specialization in clinical neuroscience.
“As psychologists with post-doctoral credentials in psychopharmacology grow in numbers, and the aging population of baby-boomer psychiatrists retire, psychiatry will disappear as a medical specialty. The hazard facing us will involve avoiding the pitfalls that 20th century psychiatry ignored. We must guard against potential loss of competence in the skills that have traditionally offered our clients incremental value: our scientific foundations in assessment, psychotherapy, and other non-medical interventions. Reaching for a prescription pad is easier than conducting a well founded assessment and expert psychotherapy. The demands of the marketplace may make it more lucrative to prescribe than to talk.”
This winter, Beth Rom-Rymer co-chaired, via Zoom, the 1st Conference of the International Movement of Prescriptive Authority for Psychologists, which was attended, over a two-day weekend, by 80-plus colleagues from 15 countries, including graduate students from the Uniformed Services University (USU). Former APA President Tony Puente and Gerardo Rodriguez-Menendez of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology were among the 25 speakers who presented at the conference, as were a number of prescribing psychologists (especially from the military). Gerardo: “Our Master of Science in Clinical Psychopharmacology (MSCP) Program began on January 8, 2018, and received the approval of its APA designation application on February 5, 2021 for a 3-year period. The program must submit a new self-study in 2023. The program’s APA designation is also notable, given it is the only designated program that accepts predoctoral and doctoral students. To date, our MSCP Program has enrolled its tenth consecutive cohort of students. Due to the popularity of the program, numerous practitioners from other professions sought admission to increase their knowledge of psychopharmacology.
“Therefore, the MA Psychopharmacology Program was developed in May, 2019 to provide non-psychologists with general knowledge of psychopharmacology and medical conditions that are relevant to mental health care. Our MA Psychopharmacology Program is designed for practitioners and leaders who are not psychologists or psychology students, but who have undergraduate/ graduate degrees in related fields. Program students include licensed clinical social workers, hospital staff, physician assistants, pharmaceutical researchers, and related fields in psychology (e.g., Mental Health Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, Applied Behavior Analysis). Whereas the MSCP and MA Psychopharmacology programs are separate and distinct (i.e., students from both programs do not sit together for joint courses), the same faculty consisting of MSCP psychologists, board certified physicians, and neuroscientists teach in both programs. Thus, providing a working knowledge of psychopharmacology is of fundamental importance across the range of mental health disciplines.”
Reflecting upon the future: Is your state one of the 15 visionary states that have joined the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT)? Alex Siegel: “As of March 1, 2021, in addition to the 15 states which have adopted PSYPACT, the District of Columbia will become the 16th jurisdiction in the next couple of weeks. Close to 6000 psychologists from those 15 states have already applied for Authorization to practice under the auspices of PSYPACT.” “Now I long for yesterday” (The Beatles). Aloha.