Stephen Barrett

About the author: Stephen Barrett is a retired psychiatrist. He is also the vice president of the National Council Against Health Fraud, a scientific adviser to the American Council on Science and Health, and a fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.

Legislation that would allow psychologists to prescribe psychiatric drugs to their patients should not be passed. Even with the additional training such licensing would require, psychologists will not be adequately prepared to safely prescribe drugs. Psychiatrists complete four years of medical training, learning biochemistry, pharmacology, and diagnosis. In addition, they spend at least three years in postgraduate training, prescribing drugs under supervision to hundreds of patients. Clearly, unless psychologists go back to medical school, they will lack such qualifications to...