Title: Psychologists Allowed to Prescribe Drugs
Headings: Psychologists Allowed to Prescribe Drugs
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Psychologists Allowed to Prescribe Drugs

Content: Physicians are set up to do this in ways that will have not even entered the mind of psychologists when they have finished their training program. The idea that a brief course will let them bypass that whole process built up over a number of years -- well, it is not the way I would like to see my family treated." Continued
Psychologists say that there are too few psychiatrists to go around. They note that family doctors -- not psychiatrists -- now write eight out of 10 prescriptions for mental-health drugs. Psychologist Elaine LeVine, PhD, chairs the task force on prescriptive authority for the New Mexico Psychological Association. "Psychologists are better trained in determining which [mental-health] medication might be best for a particular patient's mental-health condition, because that is what we work with every day," LeVine tells WebMD. " When psychologists work hand-in-hand with family doctors, patients are going to get better care. We spend the time it takes with the patient to really know about their psychological functioning." Harding says that this isn't the issue. "Let's say I'm a psychologist and I decide to prescribe for an individual with depression," Harding says. "