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
The phrase primum non nocere (‘‘first, do no harm’’) is a well-accepted ideology of the medical and mental health professions. Although developing research data indicate that several psychological treatments may produce harm in significant numbers of individuals, psychologists have until recently paid little attention to the ethical issues of hazardous treatments. The Ethics Code of the America...
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.
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...
Scott, C. G. (2000). Ethical issues in addictions counseling. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 43(4), 209. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/213919931?accountid=12085
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 science has evolved, so have treatments for mental illnesses have over time. The medical model is described as the view that psychological disorders are medical diseases with a biological origin (King, 2010, pg. 413). Abnormal behavior that categorizes some disorders can be impacted by biological factors such as genes, psychological factors such as childhood experiences, and even sociocultural factors such as gender and race (King, 2010). Treatments such as psychosurgery (lobotomy) , drug therapy (pharmaceuticals), electroconclusive therapy, and psychoanalysis are used to treat a wide range of psychological disorders. Back then, the public’s negative views on mental illnesses also went as far to associate with the people who treated it; psychiatrists. “Nunnally (1961) found that the public evaluated professionals who treated mental disorders significantly more negatively than those who treat physical disorders,” (Phelan, Link, Stueve, & Pescosolido, 2000, pg. 189). People back then didn’t see the point in “paying to be told that they were crazy”. However, in today’s society, it is now acceptable to seek help from psychiatric professionals; we are seeing more and more people seek mental health treatment. “In terms of facility-based records of utilization (Manderscheid and Henderson 1998), the data suggest that the rate of utilization of professional mental health services has at least doubled and maybe tripled, between the 1950’s and today,” (Phelan, Link, Stueve, & Pescosolido, 2000, pg. 189). In the 1950’s, neuroleptic drugs like Thorazine were introduced to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia. These drugs block a neurotransmitter called dopamine from getting to the brain, which in turn reduce schizophrenic symptoms, however there are some side effects such as substantial twitching of the neck, arms, and legs, and even dysphoria or lack of pleasure. (King, 2010, pg.
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
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).
Cropper, Carol Marie. “A Cloud Over Antidepressants” Businessweek 3880 (2004): 112-113 Business Source Premeir. Web. 28 Jan. 2014
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)
“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.
In certain circumstances, the consumption of drugs might have had originated because of a psychological disorder that needed drugs in order for t...
“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.