What is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner?
A Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner is a master's level trained medication provider who focuses on the promotion of mental health for individuals, families, and groups across the lifespan. Psychiatric mental health nursing involves education, research, and practice directed at the treatment of mental illness and optimizing mental health. PMHNPs work in partnership with their clients to provide care for the whole individual using nursing science, psychopharmacology principles and psychological theory to understand how mental health affects overall health. In Arizona, PMHNP's practice independently to provide psychiatric services- medication management, psychological assessment and psychotherapy to persons in need of mental health services.
Mental health is defined by Healthy People 2010 as the ability of individuals to negotiate the daily challenges and social interactions of life without experiencing cognitive, emotional, or behavioral dysfunction. Study in this specialty field includes treatment and prevention of mental and emotional problems and mental disorders arising from interaction among biological and neuro-physiological vulnerabilities, psychological and developmental factors, and psychosocial and physical environmental stressors. Interventions within the scope of the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner are emphasized, including evidence-based psychotherapeutic approaches that facilitate the development of clients' intrapersonal, interpersonal and system competencies, as well as the prescription and management of psychotropic medications.
Upon graduation, PMHNPs work in a variety of settings including community health centers, public health departments, hospitals, prisons, clinics, businesses, physician offices, health maintenance organizations, government facilities, independent nurse practitioner offices, and schools of nursing. In the state of Arizona, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners are licensed and certified to provide independent psychiatric medication management for customers just as a psychiatrist.
What Do Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner do?
PMHNPs provide care to individuals, families or populations who are at risk for developing or who have common, acute or chronic mental health problems, illnesses or crises. Using advanced clinical judgment and practice, PMHNPs assess, diagnose, plan, implement, intervene, manage and evaluate holistic plans of care – including treatment with psychotropic medications; individual, group and family psychotherapy; crisis intervention; case management and consultation. PMHNPs also are able to evaluate and monitor co-morbid occurrences and conditions secondary to mental health. To help meet the growing demand for mental health services, PNHNPs are prepared to work both independently and collaboratively with psychiatrists and other mental health care professionals to deliver much needed mental health care to underserved populations in both rural and urban settings.
Who do PMHNPs Serve?
PMHNPs coordinate multidisciplinary service and facilitate mental health care and education for individuals, families and institutions. They address the psychosocial needs of:
- Youth at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders
- Adults coping with stressful and emotional circumstances
- Elderly at risk for emotional and cognitive decline
- Serious and persistent mentally ill
- Individuals with Forensic Psychiatric problems
- Individuals coping with chronic medical conditions
- Individuals suffering from substance-related problems
- Vulnerable populations: incarcerated, homeless, victims of violence and abuse, etc.
Where do PMHNPs Practice?
The Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner has many practice settings from which to choose:
- Community Mental Health Centers (urban and rural)
- Correctional Facilities
- Domestic Violence Shelters
- Home Health Agencies
- In-patient Psychiatric Facilities
- Industry
- Private Psychiatric Practices
- Psychopharmacology Clinic
- Psychiatric Consult Services
- Residential Substance Abuse Facilities
- Schools
- State Psychiatric Facilities
- Urban Nurse-Managed Clinic
- Veterans Administration Psychiatric Facilities
