Effective Partnership Care Models with Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses

Collegial partnerships among mental health professionals are a more effective way for CAPs and PMHNPs to address the public health crisis among vulnerable youth who need but cannot access treatment. Lack of understanding of backgrounds and roles between groups of professional colleagues and some of the poorly defined regulations that create an administrative burden for both professions contribute to conflict that does not foster true cooperation. There is a growing trend toward greater independence of practice for PMHNPs, and this is likely to progress because of the barriers to care that are currently created by more strict regulatory requirements. Embracing effective coordinated care models enables mental health professionals to work together to reach the same goal of better mental health care for youth and families.