By Clark Barrineau
The Vogel Group
On August 17, the Virginia Department of Health Professions convened a workgroup regarding SB 752 to discuss whether and under what conditions licensed clinical psychologists should receive the authority to prescribe medication. This workgroup was a continuation of a workgroup from 2025, which reached no consensus. Given the lack of consensus, the Virginia General Assembly asked the workgroup to meet again in 2026.
Thank you to Dr. Anita Clayton, Dr. Jason Burton, and Dr. Adam Kaul for representing PSV and the psychiatrists’ perspective. Once again, very little consensus was reached and the workgroup voted to oppose independently allowing psychologists to prescribe. Further, many caveats were discussed such as collaborative agreements, graduate medical training, and limiting psychologists to specific schedules. Many of these issues failed to reach unanimous agreement.
The future of the issue now moves to the Virginia General Assembly. While we do not know their intentions, the fact that the workgroup rejected independent prescribing is a significant accomplishment in protecting patient safety in the Commonwealth. If a bill surfaces this year, PSV stands ready to advocate on this critical issue.
