Attitudes of psychologists toward prescribing privileges: Exploration of the current situation in Croatia
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Attitudes of psychologists toward prescribing privileges: Exploration of the current situation in Croatia Ivan Zečević 1
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract This research aimed to collect, for the first time, information about attitudes of Croatian psychologists toward prescribing. This study also addressed ethical dilemmas related to the possibility of obtaining prescriptive privileges and the current professional standards of practice in Croatia. The total sample was 139 psychologists (88% female). Sampling was via a closed Facebook group and with the help of the Croatian Psychological Association. A majority of respondents supported prescribing privileges for psychologists, and most would like to be educated to prescribe psychotropic medications. There were statistically significant differences between those who favored prescribing and those who opposed it on the topics of type of education, necessary knowledge, and arguments for prescribing. Socio-demographic factors did not influence attitudes toward prescribing. The strongest argument for prescribing was a possibility for the integration of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. However, the prevailing argument against was the fear of conflicts with physicians. There are ethical dilemmas regarding current education of psychologists in Croatia and their competence with regard to prescribing privileges. Keywords Psychotropic medication . Prescribing psychologist . Prescribing privileges, psychopharmacology . Psychology
There is a strong movement in the USA to grant independent or collaborative prescribing privileges to psychologists with the Doctor of Clinical Psychology title (Rae et al. 2007). The American Psychological Association firmly supports prescribing privileges (PP) for doctors of clinical psychology who have additional education in clinical psychopharmacology, because they believe that clinical psychologists are uniquely situated to provide diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and mental health disturbances (American Psychological Association 2018). In 1981 the American Psychological Association for the first time supported the idea that physical interventions (including pharmacological ones) are inside the professional capacity and knowledge of psychologists, if they are used to treat mental health conditions and practitioners are well educated in those interventions (McGrath 2010). The USA is the only country that allows Doctors of Clinical Psychology with postdoctoral residency training in Clinical Psychopharmacology (CPf) to prescribe psychotropic * Ivan Zečević [email protected] 1
Department of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, Center for Rehabilitation Stančić, Stančić, Croatia
medications to patients. Currently, the USA states of Illinois, Idaho, New Mexico, Louisiana, Iowa, Guam, Public and Indian Health Services, and all branches of the US Military allow psychologists with residency in CPf to prescribe medications to patients (Bethune and Lewane 2017). Some states allow unlimi
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