Psychology Professor Tanya Tompkins disagrees with House Bill 3355, which would allow Oregon psychologists to prescribe medications, and outlines why in an editorial in the Oregonian as well as on Think Out Loud on Oregon Public Broadcasting.
“This legislation calls for less rigorous and comprehensive training than is required for all other prescribers. This short-cut training is ill-advised given the serious effects that these medications have, not only on the brain, but also the body,” Tompkins writes. “For example, more than half of the 30 most commonly prescribed medications for mental health conditions carry the FDA’s strong ‘black box’ warning, which cautions prescribers of the risk of serious and even deadly side effects.”
“These medications can also mask underlying medical conditions,” Tompkins continues, “that left undiagnosed and untreated can cause disability or death.”
Tompkins was interviewed about this topic on Think Out Loud, a daily talk show on Oregon Public Broadcasting radio, on Friday, July 14. Listen to that broadcast here.
Tompkins, at Linfield since 2002, has a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from UCLA.
