Illinois Allows Psychologists to Prescribe Drugs

10
274

The American Psychological Association is lauding a new Illinois law allowing certain types of psychologists to prescribe psychiatric medications. “This is a landmark moment for mental health care,” says CEO Norman Anderson in an APA press release. The new law doesn’t allow psychologists to prescribe psychiatric medications to children, adolescents, adults age 66 or older, or to those with serious medical conditions. However, the press release states, “Psychology advocates are hopeful that prescribing psychologists in Illinois will eventually earn a broader scope of prescriptive authority.”

According to the APA, New Mexico was the first state to pass a prescribing law for psychologists in 2002, and Louisiana followed in 2004.

APA Applauds Landmark Illinois Law Allowing Psychologists to Prescribe Medications (Press Release, American Psychological Association, June 25, 2014)

 

10 COMMENTS

  1. Great! Just what we need! More people to coerce people into taking the toxic drugs! We already have GP’s prescribing most of the psychiatric drugs used today in this country so let’s let psychologists belly on up to the bar and let them start handing out more of the same!

    Report comment

  2. I couldn’t agree more. What a dreadful state of affairs.

    As well as the disaster of more people having the power to prescribe these neurotoxins, it will also act as a support for an embattled psychiatric profession. Nothing like bringing paramedics into the fold to bolster a flagging reputation.

    Sigh.

    Report comment

  3. Well, it could mean more people to help wean people off drugs, too? However, the clinical psychologists I knew in Illinois (both friends and the one who misdiagnosed me) all seemed to be pretty much strict DSM believers.

    One I volunteered with, and we were volunteering with some drugged children, kept blaming the children’s drug induced misbehavior on ADHD. But when the kids’ grandmother had me check the kids’ drugs, we found the poor children were on drug cocktails with major drug interaction warnings that perfectly explained the symptoms of a recent hospitalization. Of course, the hospital also missed the drug interaction problems, too.

    Report comment

  4. What do they definite as serious medical conditions? Even ones allegedly not serious can be that way if you’re dealing with a patient who has extreme drug sensitivities.

    And if doctors are clueless about med side effects, are these psychologist going to be? I don’t think so.

    Finally, are they allowed prescribe if someone is on a combination of meds?

    This cr-p never ends.

    Report comment

LEAVE A REPLY