Nurse practitioners (NPs) are instrumental in helping health care facilities provide high-quality care to patients that can lead to optimum patient outcomes. However, their work isn’t confined to only caring for patients’ physical health. They also provide mental healthcare. Nurses who decide to focus their advanced nursing degree on mental health nursing can become psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners.

Mental health is an often-discussed topic that affects how people feel, think and behave. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as the ability to handle stressful aspects of life, contribute to the community and realize one’s potential. 

Mental health issues touch all of us. In 2023, more than 50 million Americans, over 1 in 5, were living with a mental illness, according to a Mental Health America report. Despite the demand for care, many Americans aren’t getting the help they need.