WSPA Receives a Third Grant from APA to Support Prescribing Psychology Efforts

Written by David Shearer, Ph.D., MSCP

In August 2019, the Committee of State Leaders (CSL) awarded the Washington State Psychological Association (WSPA) an APA Services Inc. grant in the amount of $5,000 to help pay for expenses related to prescribing psychology in our state . A second grant was awarded in November 2020 in the amount of $10,000. We are pleased to announce that a third grant in the amount of $7,500 as been awarded in 2021 to continue to pursue our efforts to bring prescribing psychology to Washington state.

Since receiving our first grant from APA we have made great progress. Our grassroots efforts and diligent work by our lobbyist, Ms. Melanie Smith, has paid off. Rep Nicole Macri (43rd legislative district) is sponsoring HB 1887, a bill to authorize the prescriptive authority of psychologists, which will be introduced for the 2022 legislative session.

The WSPA Prescribing Psychology Taskforce continues to build support and momentum. We never lose site of the goal of this legislation; to provide consumers in our state with greater access to safe and comprehensive behavioral health care. Any legislative change, but especially scope of practice changes, are time consuming and expensive. We are greatly indebted to APA for their generous grants, without which we would not have been able to make the progress we see today.