(The Center Square) – Pennsylvanians and professionals in the field agree: the mental health crisis throughout the state has reached a critical point.
Data shows roughly 2,000 residents die by suicide each year and the number of children, adolescents and adults reporting symptoms of mental illness continues to rise in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pennsylvania Psychological Association recently held a press conference ahead of National Mental Illness Awareness Week to discuss ways the legislature could help to alleviate some of the strain on the mental health care system.
Rep. Dave Frankel, D-Pittsburgh, said his bill, House Bill 1000, which would increase access to care, addresses a major barrier for many who have been blunted by insurance networks, wait times and skittish primary care providers who are unwilling to prescribe psychotropic drugs without more comprehensive evaluations from psychiatric professionals.
The proposal would allow psychologists with additional study in psychopharmacology to prescribe medication, mirroring practices already in place in the military and several other states. Pennsylvania would be the eighth state to create this opportunity.