Managed care has taken its toll on the behavioral healthcare field. It seems that most Americans prefer to receive medication for a mental health problem first, with psychotherapy offered almost as an afterthought. HMOs pay for medications ad infinitum, while psychotherapy benefits are still limited in scope for most people. Pharmaceutical companies are chomping at the bit to be able to tap into the market of prescribing psychologists. But for now, they have to keep a low profile in this debate so as to not upset their current customer base, the psychiatrists.
Some psychologists even see pharmaceutical companies as psychology's saviors.
Psychologists are experts in human behavior, not the body's physiology. There is nothing stopping you. There is no need to spend psychology's precious efforts and time in so useless a battle, so obvious a grab at another profession's livelihood. Let's concentrate on what we do best and informing the public about psychology's unique contributions to the world. Their unique training based in empirical study and research ensures that their therapeutic techniques are grounded and helpful to their clients.