Opposition to prescriptive authority: is this a case of the tail wagging the dog?

This essay proposes that opposition to prescriptive authority (RxP) is not grounded in or based on any objective data. Opposition arguments fall into the category of ideology, opinion, and inappropriate economic beliefs. Moreover, what scant data does exist with respect to prescribing psychologists, the data disputes the main arguments in opposition to RxP. Major themes expressed by RxP opponents are analyzed, and counter-arguments are presented concluding that RxP opposition is not precedent-setting but part of the historical tension between academic and applied psychologists. The only precedent may be in the way the controversy is resolved. Copyright 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 58: 623-633, 2002.