British Psychological Society: Should some psychologists have the option to prescribe medication?

[Andy]

What could possibly go wrong???

Launched today, our new discussion document, Prescribing rights for Psychologists, is the result of a yearlong extensive consultation with individuals and stakeholders, including medical doctors, pharmacists, psychiatrists, nurses and experts by experience.

In a response to an NHS England request, the society established a project group a year ago to consider whether the experience of service users would be improved if psychologists had the option to prescribe medication.

Dr Rebecca Courtney-Walker, chair of the project group, said:

“The positive feedback we’ve received so far has given us the confidence to proceed to this next, wider stage of consultation.

At this time, we are still at an exploratory stage and no decisions have been made, but we recognised the need for further information and consultation to allow an informed decision as to whether psychologists should have the option of prescribing rights.”

https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/should-some-psychologists-have-option-prescribe-medication

 

[Diluted-biscuit]

Hmm, I’d rather see easier access to psychiatrists that this.

eta- for mental health conditions not ME/CFS obviously.

 

[Patient4Life]

I wish I had never seen psychiatrists and just psychologists just because I wish I never had depression and other types of meds prescribed to me by them. I think it is best to have these drugs under the care of a specific set of doctors that are able to monitor their use. Psychologists just have too many loose ideas on what they might be used for. And, as @Diluted-biscuit mentions, having easier access to psychiatry is a better answer.

In the US just about any doctor can prescribe just about any psychiatric drug and I do worry about that, too. Why would an OBGYN prescribe anxiety medication? Or like my Rheumatologist did to me, prescribe a low dose of Quetiapine for sleep as he read one two-bit piece of information that utilized it for Fibro patients. Then, later on I read a paper that said not to use it for sleep. What a mess.

 

[DokaGirl]

Big pharma will be happy. Apparently, lots of docs learn about meds from drug reps. Not in-depth education I would guess.

How about years of training about drugs BEFORE prescribing - not just many months of consultations by committees.

 

[Arnie Pye]

I think this sounds like a dreadful idea. Psychiatric drugs are already extremely scary things. The side effects are often awful, and I think every drug I've ever read about for mental health treatment has had addictive problems associated with it, particularly when it comes to going through withdrawal.

There is a psychiatrist called David Healy who has a blog I occasionally read - it's too depressing to read it very often.

https://davidhealy.org/blog/

More than anything it is the comments that his blogs get that I often find distressing. There are so many people who have had their lives ruined by psychiatric drugs. So many doctors assume that side effects and/or withdrawal effects are a sign that the patient has worsening mental health and so they bump the dose up again. I can't see psychologists being better or safer or more understanding about prescribing than ordinary doctors. Mostly I think that mental health drugs are dreadful things that people should avoid like the plague. I've found my own mental health has been improved by changing my diet (specifically, by increasing my protein and fat intake and decreasing the carbs) and improving my nutrient levels. And neither of those things wreck my life or need anyone to prescribe anything.

I think there are too many groups of people being granted prescribing rights, or seeking to be granted prescribing rights, or who have the right to interfere in my life and my health. I doubt I have any rights to privacy left. Nurses can prescribe some things but I doubt they have much leeway (if any) to make sensible adjustments to what the patient takes. I have to justify myself when I want to buy some products over the counter in pharmacies, and I get quizzed about my problems in public (which I hate). I have read that pharmacists want the right to be able to override what doctors prescribe whenever they want.

 

[Ravn]

‘experts by experience ’ - ???

Throughout this document we use the term ‘service user’ to refer to those people who are in direct contact with the psychologist, sometimes referred to as ‘client’ or ‘patient’. We also use the term ‘expert by experience’ to refer separately to those people who have lived experience and have contributed to this work.

https://www.bps.org.uk/sites/bps.or...er - Prescribing Rights for Psychologists.pdf

Still none the wiser.

 

[Patient4Life]

The side effects are often awful

I gained 50 lbs, Quetiapine took over my mind and just bent up my brain, my legs vibrate, and I may have developed hypoglycemia because of it.

 

[Dolphin]

For a little balance, I thought I would point out I have found sedating tricyclics useful. I would struggle to get enough deep rest without them.

 

[Dolphin]

The fact that psychologists can’t prescribe drugs makes me suspicious of their contributions to discussions. Currently they effectively have a major conflict of interest in discussions of talk therapy versus drug therapy as they can only prescribe one of them.

 

[Diluted-biscuit]

For a little balance, I thought I would point out I have found sedating tricyclics useful. I would struggle to get enough deep rest without them.

To add to that I should also say that SSRIs probably saved my life, they had a big effect on my OCD in combination with CBT and ERT.

 

[Trish]

For a little balance, I thought I would point out I have found sedating tricyclics useful. I would struggle to get enough deep rest without them.

But those are prescribed by a GP who knows the patient's medical history and what other drugs they are on that may interact. Even specialist nurses who focus on patients with a particular condition often have to recommend a drug and the GP prescribes it.

I would be horrified at psychologists getting anywhere near prescribing drugs. They don't have any of the relevant training.

 

[Dolphin]

For a little balance, I thought I would point out I have found sedating tricyclics useful. I would struggle to get enough deep rest without them.

But those are prescribed by a GP who knows the patient's medical history and what other drugs they are on that may interact. Even specialist nurses who focus on patients with a particular condition often have to recommend a drug and the GP prescribes it.

I would be horrified at psychologists getting anywhere near prescribing drugs. They don't have any of the relevant training.

The balance I was referring to was previous comments had been quite negative about "psychiatric" medication.

 

[Diluted-biscuit]

The balance I was referring to was previous comments had been quite negative about "psychiatric" medication.

Same for me. I’d still rather psychologists didn’t prescribe anything

 

[Trish]

The balance I was referring to was previous comments had been quite negative about "psychiatric" medication.

Ah, OK sorry, I probably shouldn't dash in and out of threads and respond without reading context!

 

[Sean]

Seeing as they are incapable of using non-drug therapies effectively and safely, I see no good reason why they should be allowed prescribing rights for drug therapies.

Prefer drug therapies to remain in the hands of the fully medically trained.

Plus, it is generally a bad idea to have multiple practitioners cross-prescribing.

 

[rvallee]

Seeing as they are incapable of using non-drug therapies effectively and safely, I see no good reason why they should be allowed prescribing rights for drug therapies.

Prefer drug therapies to remain in the hands of the fully medically trained.

Plus, it is generally a bad idea to have multiple practitioners cross-prescribing.

Especially as the most likely to be prescribed drugs will be antidepressants and even most psychiatrists are either oblivious or in denial about the severe side-effects and withdrawal. ADs have their use but they are already prescribed irresponsibly as it is. This will only grow a problem that already needs serious reform.