Psychologists prescribing in US.
Psychologists are prescribing in this US. This might be part of the answer.
Quinn Signs Psychologist Prescription Bill
Chicago Tribune | Monique Garcia | June 25th 2014 i 
Here are some excerpts:

[begin excerpts]

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday signed into law a bill that will make Illinois the third state to allow psychologists to prescribe medications commonly used to treat mental illness.

Quinn's signature comes after a contentious 12-year battle on the issue.

Typically, a patient sees a psychologist, who is a Ph.D., for therapy, and a psychiatrist, who is an M.D., for medication, such as anti-depressants.

Advocates argued a change in law would improve access to mental health care, while opponents argued psychologists are not as qualified as psychiatrists to prescribe medications.

A compromise was reached this spring, and the resulting measure requires psychologists to undergo extensive training and work under the supervision of a physician.

They'll only be permitted to prescribe a limited class of drugs and will be prohibited from writing prescriptions for minors, seniors or any patient with a serious mental condition.

<snip>

Illinois joins New Mexico and Louisiana in granting the right to prescribe to psychologists.

Under the new law, psychologists could earn prescription rights after they have completed 2-1/2 years of additional, postdoctoral training, with course work requirements including graduate-level instruction in numerous areas such as neuroscience and psychopharmacology.

In addition, training would require that psychologists treat a minimum of 100 patients under the supervision of a qualified medical practitioner, according to the legislation.

Psychologists would be able to prescribe antidepressants, such as Prozac, but not stimulants, such as Ritalin, commonly used for attention deficit disorder.

[end excerpts]
 
via @JessPsyArenella.
CONTEXT(Help)
-
ISPS-US Moving Forward Map »ISPS-US Moving Forward Map
Moving Forward »Moving Forward
Should drugs be used at all? »Should drugs be used at all?
Should prescription drugs be given at all? »Should prescription drugs be given at all?
Possible prescription drug use. »Possible prescription drug use.
Option 2: Mental care professionals should recommend what drugs when. »Option 2: Mental care professionals should recommend what drugs when.
Psychologists prescribing in US.
+Comments (0)
+Citations (0)
+About