Do I Need a Psychiatrist or a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner for Mental Health in Phoenix, Arizona?

⚕️Why See a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner?

If you are asking yourself, “Should I see a psychiatrist?”, know that many patients enjoy seeing a nurse practitioner.

Nurses are typically compassionate, empathetic, and caring by nature, and patients may also find that it’s faster to get an appointment with an NP than with an MD.

⚕️As MDs typically have quite busy schedules, seeing an NP may mean that your mental health provider has more flexibility to spend extra time with you.

There are many different types of professionals offering mental health services, and options for how to receive mental health care have grown in recent years (consider options like telehealth or online counseling).

Depending on each individual’s needs, they may choose to see a psychiatrist, licensed nurse practitioner, a licensed therapist or counselor, or a licensed clinical social worker.

Individuals with mental health conditions like depression or anxiety, which often require medication, should see a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner, as these are the only two types of providers able to prescribe medication.

A psychiatric nurse practitioner is a registered nurse who has completed additional continuing education and training in psychiatric (mental health) nursing.

⚕️Psychiatric NPs have a graduate-level (a master’s degree) or doctorate-level degree.

⚕️Psychiatric nurse practitioners like Erin work autonomously and can do the same things as psychiatrists, including prescribe medication.

🤍We welcome your questions and look forward to assisting you with your mental health and medication management needs.

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