Doctoring the future: A comparative study of scopes of practice and licensing requirements of professional psychologist, marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, and professional clinical counselor

Having been afforded greater recognition and expanded roles with their own regulatory mechanisms, master's-trained mental health professionals increasingly compete with professional psychologists to provide many similar services, most notably psychotherapy. To provide a tool that can inform professional psychology in developing strategies for advancing the field in light of the growing number of master's-trained mental health practitioners, this study undertakes a systematic comparison of the scopes of practice and licensing requirements in California of the four mental health professions: clinical psychology, marriage and family therapy, professional clinical counseling, and clinical social work. Examination of the key elements of the scopes of practice of the four professions reveals more similarities than differences. Current practices support broad interpretation of the laws, allowing for expansive scopes of practice, which obscure the boundaries that distinguish the four disciplines. As a result, attempting to limit the scopes of practice of master's-trained clinicians may not be practical, especially in light of their broad education and training. With marriage and family therapy's extensive training in marriage and family therapy, professional clinical counseling's eclectic training in psychotherapeutic methods and techniques, and clinical social work's focus on psychosocial diagnosis and treatment, professional psychology can no longer claim its dominance in psychotherapy. Rather, professional psychology should endeavor to expand its roles and functions by (a) identifying, promoting, and exploring nontraditional applications of its distinctive strengths and skills that derive from its education and training; and (b) exploring and pursuing new opportunities created by changes in health care policies and the delivery of mental health services. In so doing, professional psychology can take an active role in the evolution of its professional identity, rather than merely reacting to the increasingly expansive roles and functions of master's-trained clinicians. The study identified three areas of strengths: psychological assessment, research, and supervision. Areas of growth include primary care psychology, health psychology, and prescriptive authority.