Originally published: . Volume 10, No. 4. Source pages: 3.
This is a response to the article written by Dr. Branaman “Court cases, market forces reshaping psychology,” posted in the National Psychologist on November 19, 2018 and reposted on the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists website in February, 2019.
Dr. Branaman notes that the Federal Trade Commission has been focused on “increased competition to facilitate a ‘free market’ in the professions and has closely watched activities of professional associations and state regulatory boards. Market forces and court decisions have also ‘chipped away’ at the practice of psychology.”
The statement suggests that what is happening in Texas is a result of some mysterious process at a level out of reach of mere psychologists.
Dr. Branaman cites relevant court cases which have had major repercussions for the practice of professional psychology. He discusses the Serafine case in which the U. S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Serafine could describe herself as a psychologist for political purposes. He failed to mention that she initially lost in district court and that the Atty. Gen. of the State of Texas declined to appeal the decision of the Fifth Circuit Court. He also failed to mention that the Atty. Gen. was the only person who could make the decision to appeal that case and that person was the notorious Ken Paxton who has been under indictment for many years now.
In a rather passive voice, he argues that it is logical to conflate freedom of speech with the licensing of professionals such as psychologists. In other words, his point seems to be that Serafine made a valid point that restricting the use of the term “psychologist” to properly trained and appropriately licensed practitioners is a violation of non-licensed people’s freedom of speech and also violates people’s access to a free market. He attempts to strengthen his point by noting that licensing boards may be universally vulnerable to lawsuits. He cites some other court cases to bolster his argument.
He also discusses another development in Texas psychology. He points out that licensed psychological associates (LPA’s) have filed lawsuits, which they lost, in an effort to win the right to “the independent practice of ‘psychology’. He recognizes that this privilege has been reserved for doctoral level professionals and even offers the opinion that the doctoral degree should be the standard for the practice of professional psychology.
What is his conclusion? He asserts, “… It now seems that licensing of individuals with masters level training in psychology is inevitable.” He warns, “First, there will be increasingly sharp scrutiny of regulatory boards by the public, state legislatures and federal regulations. There may be individual or class-action suits.”
His final statement is “I expect greater challenges may come. Where we go from here remains to be seen.”
This article appears to be an attempt to terrorize and demoralize psychologists nationwide and to convince them that the deregulation of licensing boards is inevitable. Of course, if you take this to its logical conclusion, all professionals are at the mercy of market forces and the ravages of court proceedings without regard for the welfare of the public.
The article fails to articulate the importance of licensing boards and of the strict regulation of healthcare practice and other professions. Clearly, an erosion of the standards for healthcare practice would result in massive harm to the public. Dr. Branaman fails to note that regulatory boards were developed over the years to protect the public from improperly trained, unscrupulous, ruthless, unethical and destructive professionals, both in healthcare and other professions.
I recently became aware that the state of Texas is attempting to dismantle the Plumbers Licensing Board; however, the Plumbers are resisting this attempt on a massive scale. Such action by the State of Texas could endanger the health and welfare of many and might lead to the deaths of innocent people for a variety of reasons.
The same thing holds for psychologists. If unscrupulous, ruthless, unethical, destructive and improperly trained “psychologists” are turned loose on the public, many deaths may result. Mental illness is life-threatening and many people die each year if their mental illness is not properly treated.
Psychologists in high leadership positions should be more concerned about the potential for harm to the public as opposed to the forces of the market. If these psychologists are concerned about potential lawsuits, then they should consider the possibility of lawsuits as a result of wrongful deaths.
James (Pat) Thompson, PhD Houston, Texas Licensed Texas & Louisiana Member, Louisiana Psychological Association
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.