Prescription privileges have been debated at great length in this field. The decision to grant psychologists prescription privileges will forever change the nature of psychology. The major question is we need to ask ourselves is, will psychology be changed for the better? In my opinion, no. Psychology is a field that focuses on cognitive, behavioral, and psychotherapy while the rest of the world is focusing on the medical model. There is no doubt that some people do need medication for their psychological disorders but there are many resources to get medication. I believe a resource with less reliance on the medical model is what society needs and wants.
Tonkin and Jureidini (2006) state that medication is already over prescribed, especially
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In my opinion the most difficult part of the debate is that nothing is certain until the privileges are actually granted. Psychologists may retain their preference for therapeutic practices, or they may rely on the medical model. People may become wary of another therapist who will impersonally give them a prescription, or they may not even notice the change. We have a resource in psychiatrists, who already have prescription privileges so we can look at what happened to psychiatrists and use it as a guideline. But even then, psychiatry and psychology are separate disciplines and cannot be treated as the same. Until psychologists experience prescription privileges for themselves, all the arguments are just speculation. We as the academic population need to look at all the evidence and decide if we should stick with a good system, or take a leap of faith that will forever change the current system for better or for …show more content…
Y. (1996). The case against prescription privileges for psycologists.American Psycologists, 53(3), 207-212.
Ferrin, J. M., Tansey, T., Lee, G. K., Leech, L., & Frain, M. (2005). What rehabilitation counselors should know about the prescription privileges initiative for psychologists. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation councelling, 36(1), 20-23.
Fulgieri, M. D. (2000). Prescription privileges for psychologists: An examination of the development of consumer attitudes. Dissertation Abstracts International, 61.
Heiby, E. M. (2002). Concluding remarks on the debate about prescription privileges for psychologists. Journal of Clinical Psycology, 58(6), 709-722. Retrieved from http://journals2.scholarsportal.info.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/pdf/00219762/v58i0006/709_crotdappfp.xml
Jureidini, J., & Tonkin, A. (2006). Overuse of antidepressant drugs for the treatment of depression. CNS Drugs, 20(8), 623-632. Retrieved from
Forcing someone to take medication or be hospitalized against their will seems contrary to an individual’s right to refuse medical treatment, however, the issue becomes complicated when it involves individuals suffering from a mental illness. What should be done when a person has lost their grasp on reality, or if they are at a risk of harming themselves or others? Would that justify denying individuals the right to refuse treatment and issuing involuntary treatment? Numerous books and articles have been written which debates this issue and presents the recommendations of assorted experts.
The following protocol, TIP 48 Managing Depressive Symptoms in Substance Abuse Clients during Early Recovery, will be discussed in conjunct with class notes in order to discern ways to effectively work with clients with co-occurring disorders. Clinicians need to be able to assess accurately for mental health disorders, substance use, and readiness for change.
As time goes on, the law has put more emphasis on facility just like Bridgewater State Hospital in which many of the actions of the facility workers can face legal consequences such as facing prison time, fines, lawsuits, and etc. Society has a better understanding of why certain people act the way that they do and being more knowledgeable about psychology and mental diseases allows us to have a different approach when dealing with these topics or these individuals. In today’s era, there are many normal individuals who are willing to stand up for those who do not have a voice of their own. I believe that this change in one’s ability to stand up for another individual or group of individuals is what brought about change to the medical environment of those who are mentally
Cropper, Carol Marie. “A Cloud Over Antidepressants” Businessweek 3880 (2004): 112-113 Business Source Premeir. Web. 28 Jan. 2014
Although founded and held to the ethical guidelines of the APA, I/O psychology has struggled with licensure. Should I/O Psychologists be Licensed? An article written by Howard and Lowman (1985) address the initial findings of the result of poorly developed licensing requirements. Few articles discuss the gaps between current laws and regulations. However, research reported within the article stated that there was a study conducted of the directory of the American Psychological Association in 1981 which revealed that “fewer licenses were obtained by younger I/O practitioners” (Howard & Lowman, 1985, p.40). The results of the study indicated 22% of those age 34 or younger were licensed, compared with 39% of those age 35 to 44, 51% of those age 45 to 54, and 67% of I/O psychologists age 55 to 64 (Howard & Lowman, 1985). The results may not have been seen as a major concern during the early 1980s however the article continues to highlight the many hurdl...
Antidepressant usage has increased all around the world and is used by all ages. Doctors are prescribing more prescriptions, even if the patient does not need the medication. “Antidepressants prescriptions in the UK have increased by 9.6% in 2011, to 46 million prescriptions” (Are Antidepressants overused?). This study took place in the United Kingdom; however, a lot more prescriptions are being prescribed all around the world. The use of antidepressants is increasing to an all time high because doctors do not want to waste time talking about feelings. The psychologist’s just want the patients to feel better quickly so they prescribe antidepressants. Human beings as well as doctors think that prescribing medicat...
The field of clinical mental health is one of great reward, but also one of grave responsibility. It is the duty of the counselor to provide the client with a safe environment and an open mind, in order to foster a healthy therapeutic relationship. The majority of mental health counselors would never intentionally harm their clients; however; good intentions are not enough to ensure that wrong will not occur. The ethical expectations and boundaries are regulated by both laws and professional codes. When discussing ethics, one must realize there are two categories, mandatory and aspirational. (Corey, Corey & Callanan, 2007)
Antidepressant are a form of pharmacotherapy treatment developed to treat the symptoms of major depression. Antidepressants are used for many other types of conditions including anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, dysthymia, eating disorders, sleeping disorders, and substance abuse, pain syndromes, gastrointestional disorders. Antidepressants usually require several weeks to notice significant effects. There are no antidepressants or any medication that is completely free of adverse effects. This article explains that the adverse effects of antidepressant can decrease compliance and slow down the rate of recovery. It is important for one to take note of potential side-effects before choosing the best antidepressant to suit their personalized needs. Statistics show that about 28 percent of patients sto...
Psychiatry is a medical field that deals with the diagnoses, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. The FDA is constantly approving drugs for psychiatrists to use that are supposed to help with in their practice. For example, Michael Levin-Epstein, who wrote the article “A New Way to Deliver Psychiatric Meds: Drugs for ADHD and Major Depression Now Can Be Delivered with Skin Patches,” shows how pharmacotherapy is continually being advanced by new ideas and approaches. However, Psychiatric drugs are not always the answer. Prescriptions are not a good remedy when it comes to the overcoming of a mental illnesses, because there is not enough information regarding the effects of the drugs, pharmaceutical companies are driven by profits,
“People are very complex. And for a psychologist, you get fascinated by the complexity of human beings, and that is what I have lived with, you know, in my career all of my life, is the complexity of human beings” - Daniel Kahneman.
Depression is a mental illness, which affects millions of Americans each year. Currently there are many prescription drugs, called anti-depressants that have been proven to successfully treat it. The causes of depression are somewhat of a medical enigma, however, it is known that depression is associated with a change in the brains chemistry involving the function of neurotransmitters (Reichert). This chemical change occurs in healthy brain’s, which experience sadness, but ends after the unpleasant stimulus is removed. In people suffering from depression this chemical change does not correspond to any particular stimulus. Symptoms of depression are often incapacitating and include severe and extended sadness, feelings of worthlessness, feelings of emptiness, irritability and anxiety (Reichert, Spake).
In certain circumstances, the consumption of drugs might have had originated because of a psychological disorder that needed drugs in order for t...
... options and therapist should have full discloser regarding medications (pros and cons) with clients. When working with individuals with a mental illness, safety should always be foremost in the therapist mind. If not being on medications or stopping using medications put someone at a greater risk for hurting themselves or others medications should more than likely be part of the treatment plan. With this definition in mind the issue of collaborating between those struggling with a mental illness and professionals I feel is the most important issue brought up in these websites. If therapist do not view themselves as the “expert” and instead listen to their clients and their individual experiences, the client’s treatment plan will be the one best suited for them. Clients are the expert of the illness they are dealing with and therapist inform their understanding.
“Legal, Ethical and Professional Issues” (Chapter 15) is an interesting chapter in the textbook “Abnormal Psychology.” Just like the name of the chapter, it helps understand legal, ethical, and professional issues related to the practice of psychology. This is very important because by offering service a psychologist is responsible for the people that are under his or her care, that even goes for people participating for research. Psychologist have authority to practice in their area of expertise, using methods that are not harmful to their recipients and “ that preferably have a strong scientific basis” and never doing treatments that are unorthodox and will put their patients health and safety in any more jeopardy. This also gives patients
Central Idea: Prescription drugs can cause serious mental and physical health problems if they are taken incorrectly or abused.