Committee advances bill allowing specially trained psychologists to prescribe certain psychiatric medications

Vice Chair Stark presented House Bill 11‑73 to the Public Health Committee; the bill would permit licensed psychologists who complete two to three years of additional pharmacology education and supervised clinical practice to prescribe medications limited to conditions they treat, including depression, after meeting national certification and supervised practice requirements.

Dr. Daniel Gehring, a licensed clinical psychologist who addressed the committee, described typical program structure and supervision requirements. He said the add‑on program can be “depending on the program you go to, it is a 2 or 3 year traditional, master's program” and that supervised practice requirements vary by program; he described a multi‑year training pathway including bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate, residency/fellowship and then the psychopharmacology program and supervised practice before national certification.

Committee members pressed for clarity on the duration and supervision. Dr. Gehring said supervised practice totals can reach several hundred to more than a thousand hours depending on the state and program and that supervision continues “1 to 2 years” before certification with ongoing communication expected with a primary care or supervising physician. Representative Newton drew an analogy to the supervision arrangements nurse practitioners have after their programs; Dr. Gehring said the post‑training supervision is intended to be similar and that an ongoing collaborative line of communication with a physician would be required.

The committee moved and approved the bill on a recorded vote.