Can Prescribing Psychologists Help Solve the National Mental Health Crisis?

t his 2022 State of the Union address, President Biden focused the nation’s attention on “a national mental health crisis.” Mood disorders and suicidal thoughts and behaviors have been rising at alarming levels for years. The pandemic and government‐​mandated lockdowns increased anxiety, isolation, and despair while also reducing access to mental health services. Approximately 40 percent of Americans currently cannot access mental health services, particularly services requiring drug‐​based therapy.

Clinical psychologists can play a greater role in meeting those needs. Some federal agencies, five states, and the territory of Guam authorize competent clinical psychologists to prescribe medications that affect mood and mental functions. Those jurisdictions refer to such psychologists as prescribing psychologists, medical psychologists, or RxPs. However, most states prohibit competent clinical psychologists from prescribing such medication. To address the mental health crisis, should state lawmakers expand the scope of practice of competent clinical psychologists to include prescribing?

Joining us to discuss this are Dr. Beth Rom‐​Rymer, a clinical psychologist, chair and president of the board of directors of the National Register of Health Service Psychologists, and CEO of the Illinois Association of Prescribing Psychologists; Dr. Rebecca Weintraub Brendel, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, director of the master’s degree program at Harvard Medical School’s Center for Bioethics, and president and distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association; Dr. Thomas D. Lee, a psychiatrist at the Ascension Alexian Brothers Center for Mental Health in Arlington, Illinois, who supervises psychology fellows in the Ascension RxP Fellowship Program; and Dr. Claudia Mosier, a prescribing psychologist licensed in Illinois and Louisiana. The discussion will be moderated by Cato Institute senior fellow Jeffrey A. Singer, MD.

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