Strong stand for mental health care

We want to sincerely thank our state senators for strongly supporting an effort to put mentalhealth patients first in Illinois by allowing specially trained psychologists to prescribe medications and better meet their needs. The state Senate voted 37-10 for Senate Bill 2187, which would grant the prescribing authority and now heads over to the House. These senators stood up to intense criticism from some psychiatrists and physicians.

We wouldn’t be here without the leadership of Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park.) He was initially a skeptic of this bill, but after studying it he made clear that he views it as a sensible way to address an acute and growing mental health-care access crisis in Illinois. Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) also is a key supporter. We hope the Senate’s bipartisan support sends a strong message: Prescribing authority for psychologists can and will work well in Illinois. The detailed requirements in this bill will ensure psychologists have the training and expertise they need to provide, and take patients off of, psychotropic medica- tions, based on individual patient needs. And the latest version provides a new level of cooperation whereby physicians and psychologists will work closely together to ensure patients receive the best of mental health care.

We greatly appreciate the attention Senate Bill 2187 has received and hope it will serve to move forward a very important conversation in Illinois about how we provide mental health care.

Beth N. Rom-Rymer, Ph.D. President-elect, Illinois Psychological

Association Patricia Farrell, Ph.D. President, Illinois Psychological

Association Terrence Koller, Ph.D. Executive Director, Illinois Psychological

Association