Only psychologists with specialized postdoctoral training in psychopharmacology can prescribe medication, and only in a handful of U.S. states, certain federal settings, and one U.S. territory. The vast majority of psychologists cannot write prescriptions. If you’re looking for a mental health professional who can both provide therapy and manage medication, understanding where and how this works will help you find the right provider.
Where Psychologists Can Prescribe
Six U.S. states currently allow psychologists with additional training to prescribe psychiatric medications: New Mexico (2002), Louisiana (2004), Illinois (2014), Iowa (2016), Idaho (2017), and Colorado (2023). The U.S. territory of Guam has allowed it since 1999. Outside these jurisdictions, no state-licensed psychologist has prescribing authority.
Psychologists can also prescribe within certain federal systems. The Department of Defense has allowed trained psychologists to prescribe since the late 1990s, when a military demonstration project successfully trained 10 psychologists in psychopharmacology. Today, each military branch (Army, Navy, and Air Force) has its own set of credentialing requirements. Psychologists working in the Indian Health Service have obtained prescribing licenses through states like New Mexico or Louisiana, since the IHS doesn’t yet have its own standalone regulations.
Training Required to Prescribe
A psychologist who wants to prescribe doesn’t simply add a weekend certification. The path requires completing a Master of Science in Clinical Psychopharmacology (MSCP) on top of an already-completed doctoral degree in psychology. Colorado’s law, one of the most detailed, requires at least 450 classroom hours covering neuroscience, pharmacology, psychopharmacology, physiology, pathophysiology, physical and laboratory assessment, and clinical pharmacotherapeutics. Prerequisite coursework in biology, anatomy, biochemistry, and genetics is also required before or during the program.
Beyond the classroom, prescribing psychologists must complete supervised clinical experience. In Iowa, for example, a psychologist first receives a “conditional prescription certificate” and then must see a minimum of 300 patients over at least two years under the supervision of a physician or already-credentialed prescribing psychologist. That conditional period can last up to four years. New Mexico State University’s program includes an 80-hour physical assessment practicum followed by a 400-hour prescribing fellowship involving at least 100 patients. After completing all requirements, candidates must pass the Psychopharmacology Examination for Psychologists (PEP), a national standardized exam.
Military prescribing psychologists follow a similar pattern: a master’s degree in psychopharmacology, passage of the PEP, and (in the Army and Air Force) at least one year of supervision by a psychiatrist or psychologist who already holds prescribing privileges.
What They Can and Cannot Prescribe
Prescribing psychologists are limited to psychotropic medications, meaning drugs used to treat mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, ADHD, and psychotic disorders. They cannot prescribe medications for unrelated medical conditions.
Within that scope, there are further restrictions that vary by state. In Illinois, Iowa, and Louisiana, prescribing psychologists cannot prescribe narcotics (opioid pain medications) or Schedule II controlled substances, the category that includes certain stimulants and other high-risk drugs. Iowa also prohibits psychologists from prescribing any controlled substance delivered by injection. Louisiana limits prescribing to controlled substances “related to the diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders,” explicitly excluding opioids.
These restrictions are notably tighter than what psychiatrists can prescribe. A psychiatrist, as a fully licensed medical doctor, faces no medication category restrictions within their scope of practice.
How Prescribing Psychologists Differ From Psychiatrists
The core difference is the training pathway. A psychiatrist completes four years of medical school, earning an MD or DO, followed by a four-year residency in psychiatry. That’s eight to ten years of postgraduate medical training covering the entire human body before specializing in mental health.
A psychologist’s route is different. A doctoral degree in psychology (PhD or PsyD) typically takes five to seven years, plus one to two years of clinical training. One UCLA-affiliated psychologist described their path as four years of undergraduate work, five years for a PhD, two years of clinical internship, and two years of postdoctoral work before licensure. A prescribing psychologist then adds the MSCP program and supervised prescribing experience on top of all that.
Psychiatrists receive broad medical training that includes surgery rotations, internal medicine, and other specialties before focusing on psychiatry. Prescribing psychologists receive targeted pharmacology training focused specifically on psychiatric medications and the physiology relevant to mental health treatment. Both can provide therapy, though in practice many psychiatrists focus primarily on medication management while psychologists tend to emphasize therapy alongside prescribing.
Keeping the License Current
Prescribing authority isn’t permanent without ongoing education. In Idaho, a prescribing psychologist must complete 60 hours of continuing education every two years: 30 hours specifically in psychopharmacology, 4 hours in law and ethics, and 26 hours in general psychology topics. That psychopharmacology requirement is entirely separate from the continuing education already required to maintain a standard psychology license. Licenses must be renewed annually.
States that grant prescribing authority through endorsement (allowing a psychologist licensed to prescribe in one state to gain privileges in another) still require that the original state’s training standards match their own. Colorado, for instance, will grant a prescription certificate to an out-of-state psychologist only if that psychologist holds unrestricted prescriptive authority in a state with equivalent education and supervision requirements.
Finding a Prescribing Psychologist
If you live in one of the six states with prescribing authority, your state psychology board can confirm whether a specific psychologist holds a prescription certificate. You can also search for psychologists with an MSCP credential or ask directly whether a provider has completed psychopharmacology training and holds prescribing privileges.
If you live outside these states, a psychologist cannot prescribe your medication regardless of their training. Your options for combined therapy and medication management include seeing a psychiatrist, or working with a psychologist for therapy alongside a primary care doctor or psychiatric nurse practitioner for prescriptions. Many mental health practices coordinate care this way as a routine part of treatment.