Discussions are going on about whether New Zealand psychologists should have limited prescription rights – be able to prescribe medication for people experiencing the kinds of psychological distress that might be helped by drugs. Some of you reading this may be surprised – “but haven’t they always done this?”, you might think. The answer is no, and this might be a reflection of the common confusion between psychology and psychiatry.

Psychiatry is a medical specialisation, and that means psychiatrists are medical doctors. This also means psychiatrists come from a background that ...

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