Teaching a Psychopharmacology Course to Counselors: Justification, Structure, and Methods

Abstract

The use of medication to treat various psychological disorders has expanded greatly over the last decade. Therefore, counselors need more sophisticated knowledge about psychopharmacology to work effectively in school and community settings. This article describes the curriculum, structure, resources, and teaching methods for effective instruction in psychopharmacology for counselors.

Herbaceuticals: An Overview for Counselors

“…The legal and ethical issues become more complex for nonmedical mental health clinicians (e.g., counselors and psychologists). As others have noted (Berardinelli & Mostade, 2003;Ingersoll, 2000Ingersoll, , 2001, clinicians are likely to be practicing ethically when (with appropriate training and supervision) they discuss basic information about psychotropic medication, help clients work through issues related to medication, or act as an information broker to help clients get quality information about a medication. When clients ask questions about herbaceuticals, counselors should restrict themselves to the conclusions in peer-reviewed literature and recommend to clients that they check with their doctor before taking any herbaceuticals compound.…”

Therapeutic Implications of Pharmacotherapy: Current Trends and Ethical Issues

“…Bentley and Walsh (2000) provided a thorough discussion of counselor roles in pharmacotherapy and techniques used to maximize medication adherence. Suggestions on possible texts, class structure, student resources, teaching methods, and instructor qualifications pertaining to master's-level training in psychopharmacology are discussed in Ingersoll (2000) and Patterson and Magulac (1994).…”

Children and Psychotropic Medication: What Role Should Advocacy Counseling Play?

“…There are studies that can help to approximate trends, most of them done by private companies that monitor market share for medications. Psychotropic medications account for approximately 10% of the prescription market, and their proportion is growing substantially each year with more drugs being approved and more people being prescribed these drugs (Ingersoll, 2000). According to the pharmaceutical consulting firm Scott-Levin, psychotropic medications also accounted for slightly more than 10% of the top 200 prescription drugs used in the year 2003 (RxList, 2003).…”