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Psychologists have always been leaders in the provision of quality mental and behavioral healthcare to their clients. As part of their commitment to continuity of care, psychologists are increasingly working collaboratively with physicians surrounding the psychopharmacological treatment of the individuals they serve. In the next step in this process, psychologists have achieved prescriptive authority in several states and other settings. Preliminary evidence finds them to be safe and effective prescribers. It has even been suggested that psychologists have an ethical obligation to continue their training in psychopharmacology and the impact of biological factors on emotional disorders (Barnett & Neel, 2000).

The M.S. Program in Clinical Psychopharmacology was developed as a postdoctoral program for licensed psychologists in psychopharmacology to prepare for prescriptive authority. In fact, graduates of the program are currently prescribing in all settings where psychologists have achieved this authority, including Louisiana, New Mexico, the Indian Health Service, the Public Health Service, and the military. Whether psychologists choose to become better collaborators with other prescribing professionals or independent prescribers, the M.S. Program in Clinical Psychopharmacology offers the additional education and training necessary to achieve that goal. The program is dedicated to training psychologists in clinical psychopharmacology in a way that respects and builds on psychologists' traditional competencies in assessment and diagnosis, psychosocial intervention, and empirically based methods.

Program Outcomes

There is a national examination available in psychopharmacology that represents the doorway to licensure to prescribe, called the Psychopharmacology Examination for Psychologists (PEP). That examination evaluates success in relation to 10 learning objectives:

• Integrating clinical psychopharmacology in practice.
• Understanding the implications of neuroscience for the action of pharmacological agents.
• Developing Nervous System Pathology.
• Learning elements of physiology and pathophysiology relevant to prescribing.
• Developing an understanding of a biopsychosocial perspective on assessment.
• Enhancing skills in differential diagnosis as they relate to psychopharmacological practice.
• Developing a knowledge of pharmacology.
• Developing an extensive understanding of clinical psychopharmacology.
• Understanding research issues in psychopharmacological practice.
• Understanding professional issues specific to involvement in psychopharmacology.

The M.S. Program in Clinical Psychopharmacology is housed in the School of Psychology of Fairleigh Dickinson University. The School of Psychology has a long tradition of graduate-level training in psychology that emphasizes the applied, conceptual, and scientific components of professional psychology. Among other programs, the School also offers an APA-accredited Ph.D. scientist-practitioner program in Clinical Psychology as well as a Psy.D. program in School Psychology.

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Demonstrate core knowledge in the areas of anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of human body systems.
• Apply the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system and the principles of neuroscience to understanding the etiology and treatment of mental disorders.
• Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of clinical psychopharmacology with an emphasis on pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, neurotoxicity, drug delivery, and drug interactions.
• Assess and manage patients using an integration of psychopharmacological and psychosocial techniques and perspectives.