Please take a moment to complete this petition to help increase access to behavioral health care in Tennessee. Access to behavioral health care in Tennessee is very limited, especially medication treatment. A recent Tennessee government report (Public Behavioral Health Workforce Workgroup: Strategies for Meeting the Need in our Communities, December 2021) noted that only 13.2% of the need for access to psychiatrists in Tennessee is being met – meaning patients are on long wait lists or not getting seen for care. Psychologists, with appropriate training (see below), have been providing this health care service for over 30 years! RxP is the abbreviation for psychologists prescribing medication. The Federal government and six other states (Louisiana, New Mexico, Illinois, Idaho, Iowa, and Colorado) allow psychologists to help care for patients by prescribing medication, in addition to other psychological care. Your voice will help bring this much needed care to Tennessee!

How did psychologists get involved in prescribing medication (RxP)? Beginning in 1991, the Department of Defense (DOD) created a program to train psychologists to prescribe medication for behavioral health problems. Following this initiative, civilian universities created post-doctoral graduate programs to train psychologists to do this. These programs, modeled after the DOD training, entail two years of study and a one year supervised clinical practicum prescribing medication. Graduates also have to pass a national examination in clinical psychopharmacology to practice. The graduates have a Masters degree in Clinical Psychopharmacology (MSCP), in addition to their doctoral degree. There are currently psychologists in Tennessee with this training who can help patients once a law is passed allowing them to provide this much needed service.