May 27, 2005
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Psychologists Versus Psychiatrists
I’ve been spending a lot of time at a local hospital with a 17-year-old boy who has been very, very sick with pneumonia. Much of the time I’ve been there, his dad, who is a clinical psychologist and a good friend, has been there, too. The dad has been doing a lot of professional reading and studying in psychology and counseling and that sort of thing.
The other day he had been reading material on psychopharmacology. He looked at me in all seriousness and said, “I just figured out the real reason psychiatrists can prescribe medication and we [psychologists] can’t. We’d take it all ourselves.” I thought that was pretty funny.
I’m watching a documentary about Atascadero, the California prison for the mentally ill, and mental illness is on my mind. I’ve been an advocate for people with mental illness for a long time, and I once served as president of the board of directors of a regional community mental health center. I couldn’t work directly in that field, but I’m glad people like my friend can and do.
ED
