I am an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Cincinnati and received my initial training in psychopharmacology under George Koob in Floyd Bloom’s lab at the Research Institute at Scripp’s Clinic, San Diego. I’m currently teaching our graduate psychopharmacology course at the University of Cincinnati.

I have heard arguments on granting prescription privileges to psychologists from a number of psychologists, including a former mentor, David Antonuccio, whom I believe coined the phrase that "psychotherapy is the best medicine." After careful thought, I found myself agreeing with Dr. Antonuccio and others who oppose prescription privileges for psychologists, and this issue was one of the principal reasons that I resigned from my membership in the American Psychological Association.

For me, my decision was affected by my strong belief that patients will die if psychologists are given prescription privileges. In our profession we have a large number of individuals practicing Thought Field Therapy and many other techniques with soft empirical foundations. Combined with the desperation induced by current economics, clinical psychologists with less than stellar credentials and limited scientific perspective will seek prescription privileges from training institutions that see a lucrative profit in providing prescribing certification.

Physicians make prescribing mistakes daily; some are fatal. Prescription privileges for psychologists will add to this mortality rate. I do not believe that the death of even one patient justifies the profits that institutions and individuals in psychology will reap if we gain prescription privileges.

John Schafer, Ph.D.

Cincinnati, Ohio