RxP's Shining Light
On behalf of the psychopharmacology committee, please note recent attention for the RxP movement by Dr. Beth Rom-Rymer (our Illinois neighbor), as highlighted in a recent newsletter from former APA President Pat DeLeon.
Beth Rom-Rymer, who came in second in this year’s APA Presidential race: “South Africa – Throughout my early training and professional career, I have sought to form international partnerships. The richness of these cultural, linguistic relationships continually advance my work. In October of this year, I had the remarkable opportunity to travel to South Africa to speak on a panel, focused on Prescriptive Authority (RxP), with the leaders of the RxP movement in South Africa, Joachim Mureriwa and Thabiso Rapapali. It was thrilling to speak to an overflow crowd of South African psychologists, all eager to train to become prescribing psychologists. The need for more accessible and comprehensive mental health treatment is at crisis proportions in South Africa as it is in the US. A global perspective will serve as a foundation for the future of psychology and APA. It is critical that we approach our numerous international partnerships with an attitude of collaborative science, flexibility, and honesty, via a commitment to reciprocity and respect and a desire to learn from our global partners, as well as contribute. My experience in South Africa personified this philosophy. I was embraced by my colleagues and gained a richness in experience that could only be realized by international collaboration. I have been transformed by my experience.