If you’ve been following my recent posts, you know I’ve been sounding the alarm about something that’s hard to ignore: clinical psychology is at a critical juncture. The market is saturated. Therapy is in demand, and everyone wants to do it. That should be a good thing, right? But here’s the problem: when it comes to what we actually do as psychologists, there’s very little that differentiates us in the public eye from social workers, psychotherapists, or counsellors, despite our years of training, research expertise, and clinical skill.
And that’s not just a branding issue. It’s a professional identity crisis.
Most clinical psychologists in Ontario work in private practice, doing one-on-one therapy. But when our day-to-day looks identical to the work done by those with far less training, how can we justify the length, cost, and intensity of our education? And more importantly, how can we ensure that the field of psychology survives and thrives in a crowded, competitive landscape?
It’s time we stop underplaying what we’re capable of.
What Makes Psychologists Different From Other Therapists?
Here’s the thing we forget: we’re not just therapists. We’re diagnosticians. We’re researchers. We’re scientists. We’re case conceptualization machines.
We are trained to understand not just what a client presents with, but why and how that should inform the course of treatment. We’re taught to read research critically (not just quote it from a slide deck) and to integrate complex evidence bases into our clinical work. That is not a universal skill across the mental health professions.
And yet, as a field, we’ve let that go quiet. We’re not stepping into positions of influence, consultation, or thought leadership in the way we could be. And we’re losing ground to professions that are simply better at marketing, regardless of whether their approach is scientifically sound.
Need an example? Let’s talk about EMDR…
EMDR is treatment that’s exploded in popularity, largely because it’s easy to market and sounds revolutionary. But when you actually dig into the research (which, again, most psychologists are trained to do), the evidence tells a different story. Multiple meta-analyses have shown that EMDR is no more effective than other established treatments for PTSD, like Cognitive Processing Therapy or Prolonged Exposure. The “bilateral stimulation” component, often touted as the secret sauce, doesn’t appear to add any benefit beyond what you’d get from exposure-based therapy alone. And yet, EMDR is everywhere. Precisely because many clinicians and clients don’t have the research literacy to question its claims. This is where psychologists should shine: translating science into practice, and helping the public—and our colleagues—separate evidence from hype.
Why Prescription Rights Matter
Here’s where I see a path forward: clinical psychologists should be able to prescribe.
Psychiatrists are overburdened and hard to access. Family doctors are often uncomfortable with psychopharmacology and are flying blind when it comes to complex mental health cases (and that doesn’t even touch on the complete lack of time that GPs have to deal with it properly in their practice). Meanwhile, psychologists—the very professionals most skilled in diagnosis, assessment, and and case formulation—are sidelined when it comes to medication.
We could be the bridge. We should be the bridge.
Imagine a model where psychologists are trained in psychopharmacology through a postdoctoral master’s program (as is already the case in some U.S. states). We’d be uniquely positioned to prescribe with a level of diagnostic clarity and caution that many prescribing professionals simply don’t have time for. Our deep understanding of evidence-based psychological treatment would allow for a nuanced, integrated approach; one that prioritizes both medication and therapy, not one over the other.
And for those who think psychologists would never go for more schooling… have you met a psychologist? We’re exceptional students. We love learning. Many of us would leap at the opportunity to return to school for something that actually excites us and helps us better serve our clients. In fact, I’d argue a lot of us are bored in private practice, precisely because we’re underutilizing the full scope of our training.
How To Get Prescription Rights as a Psychologist?
So what would it actually take for psychologists to gain prescriptive authority in Ontario? In short: legislative change, regulatory oversight, and the development of standardized training pathways; likely in the form of a postdoctoral master’s degree in psychopharmacology, as has been done in several U.S. states. And this kind of professional expansion isn’t unprecedented! We would not the the first!
Optometrists, for example, fought for and won the right to prescribe medications related to eye care, dramatically expanding their role in patient treatment. More recently, pharmacists have gained prescribing privileges in many provinces, especially for minor ailments and chronic conditions, recognizing that their expertise in medication can meaningfully improve access to care.
Psychology is arguably even better positioned for this kind of evolution, given our diagnostic scope, depth of training, and understanding of both the biological and psychological underpinnings of mental illness. The infrastructure isn’t impossible. it just requires the will to build it.
The Field Is Shrinking (and We’re Letting It Happen)
Psychologists are being outpaced in every direction. Social workers are doing therapy. Psychotherapists are doing therapy. Even occupational therapists are doing therapy. And many of them are excellent at it! Our silence around what we could offer on top of one-on-one therapy is costing us our place in the mental health ecosystem.
This isn’t just about professional identity or job protection. It’s about stepping up during a mental health crisis that’s overwhelming our systems and leaving too many people behind. Psychologists are uniquely trained to assess, diagnose, conceptualize, and treat complex mental health conditions, and yet we’re not using those skills to their full potential. Why? Because we’ve been boxed into doing the same therapy as everyone else—just with more debt and more years of school behind us.
Meanwhile, the public is desperate for better care. Waitlists for psychiatrists stretch months (sometimes years). Family doctors are expected to manage mental health with 10-minute check-ins and minimal training. And evidence-based treatments often get lost in the noise of trendy modalities and slick marketing.
This is where we come in. We have a responsibility—not just to ourselves, but to the public—to do more. To speak up. To lead. To integrate what we know into systems that desperately need it. Expanding our scope isn’t about professional ego. It’s about public health.
If we want to protect the future of our profession, we need to act now.
We need to differentiate ourselves, not just in rhetoric, but in scope.
We need to fight for prescriptive authority; not to become mini-psychiatrists, but to offer something better: a hybrid, science-informed, psychologically grounded model of care.
Where Do We Start?
I know there are barriers. Regulatory hurdles. Funding questions. Training logistics. But the first step is raising our voices.
Let this be a rallying cry: to the Ontario Psychological Association, to our peers, to the students we’re training—our profession has more to offer than we’re currently allowed to give. Let’s fix that.
Let’s stop disappearing into the crowd. Let’s lead.
If you’re a fellow psychologist who feels this too—reach out. Let’s collaborate, consult, or just brainstorm how we can move this profession forward together.
Dr. Jenn Bossio is a Clinical and Health Psychologist, the founder and director of the Tri Health Clinic—Ontario’s largest sex and couples therapy practice—and a passionate advocate for system-level change in mental health care. Based in Kingston, she was named Business Person of the Year (2025) and recognized as one of the Top 40 Under 40 (2024). Jenn is committed to redefining the role of psychologists in a rapidly evolving health care landscape.
Read my recent blog posts:
- The Economics of Group vs Solo Private Practice
- Why Over 1,200 Psychology Registrants in Ontario Have Signed a Letter of Non-Confidence
- The CPBAO Wants to Rewrite Psychologist Training in Ontario. The Data Says That’s a Terrible Idea.
- Why Solo Practice Can Be Risky in Sex Therapy (And What We’re Doing Differently at the Tri Health Clinic)
- What This Moment Has Shown Me About Psychology