Psychologists in defense of the Federal Trade Commission.

Abstract

Unbeknownst to many, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently survived the most intense and best financed assault on antitrust authority in the nation's history. Led by the American Medical Association (AMA) and its considerable financial resources, this congressional assault was intended to exempt all state-credentialed professions from the purview of the FTC. While at first glance the AMA position might appear to be a boon for psychologists annoyed with governmental intrusion into their professional and financial practices, a broader and more intense examination of the issues involved reveals a dangerous threat to the future of psychological practice. We will outline that threat, why it is being made, and why psychologists should support the Federal Trade Commission's continued jurisdiction over the professions.

Potential clients' beliefs about the relative competency and caring of psychologists: Implications for the profession

“…Historically, licensed professional counselors have tried to align themselves with clinical psychologists, but psychologists have rebuffed them (Snow, 1981), much the same way psychiatrists have rebuffed psychologists via strong lobbying by professional associations (Pertschuk & Correia, 1983;Wiggins, Bennett, Batchelor, & West, 1983;Zaro, Batchelor, Ginsberg, & Pallak, 1982).…”

Policy research: Lessons from the implementation of deinstitutionalization.

“…Medical care is particularly valued; innovations to be implemented in medical settings must reflect this. Clinical psychologists working in psychiatrically dominated settings know this well (Fox, 1982;Pertschuk&Correia, 1983;Wiggins, Bennett, Batchelor, & West, 1983). A similar example is evident in the drift of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) toward serving medical interests that were not present in the original Kaiser-Permanente model (Cummings & VandenBos, 1981).…”

“…Public policy is forged in a marketplace of power and influence, and if you are not in that marketplace your future and self-interests are determined by others. (Sarason, 1981, p. 9) Psychologists learned this in battles with psychiatry, where policy reflects medical power (Pertschuk & Correia, 1983;Wiggins et al, 1983). Conversely, mental patients are politically, socially, and economically impotent, with little power to use in the policy marketplace (Heller & Monahan, 1977).…”

Psychotherapy in the market-place

“…In this hornets' nest, and cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness calculations and options notwithstanding, the clinical psychologists, who have everything to gain in this context, seem set to turn the screw on the American medical profession. One indication of the scope of their goal and the antagonism involved is communicated by a passage which arose in a different, but relevant and related context (Wiggins et al 1983; see also Pertschuk & Correia, 1983):…”