Which mental health professionals can provide the care that you’re looking for? Can a psychiatrist prescribe medication? What about a psychologist or psychiatric nurse practitioner? Each of these professionals can provide different care. At ReKlame Health, psychiatric nurse practitioners offer virtual mental health treatment. You can read our frequently asked questions to get a quick guide through our practitioners’ services.

Find out what sets psychiatrists and psychologists apart

Learning about a few things can help you understand the differences between psychiatrists and psychologists. Then, you can make more informed choices while seeking mental health care. You might also know more about what to expect when you arrange an appointment with a professional.

We will begin with which types of care professionals provide, then explain their differing educational backgrounds.

• Medication

Only certain types of mental health care providers have the ability to prescribe medication. These include psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners. These professionals have specialized education and training; psychiatrists are physicians and psychiatric nurse practitioners are registered nurses.

Psychologists, therapists and counselors cannot prescribe medication. They may have been educated about medication, and they may be able to give you information or answer questions about therapy and medication.

These types of mental health care professionals can work in collaboration. A psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner can work with a psychologist, therapist or counselor to support your well-being. You can guide their collaboration and allow them to share information with each other or other medical professionals (e.g., a primary care provider).

• Therapy

Psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners primarily work with medication, but they often also have some training in therapy. If not, they may be able to provide self-care advice, lifestyle change suggestions or recommendations for therapy. At ReKlame, we may have additional resources to connect you with.

Psychologists and therapists can provide therapy, drawing from an extensive knowledge base and practice. Licensed professional counselors can also provide therapy. These professionals can draw from a variety of therapeutic modalities, like cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, or acceptance and commitment therapy. They may specialize in one form of therapy. They might work with a specialized client demographic, like people with a specific condition or people in a certain age group.

• Education

Psychiatrists are specialized physicians. This means that they have prepared for their studies with an undergraduate degree, followed by medical school and finally a residency in psychiatry. This totals roughly 12 years.

Psychiatric nurse practitioners have a bachelor’s degree, followed by a master’s or doctoral degree. Their graduate degree may be a Master of Science in nursing or a doctor of nursing practice. Some earn both.

Psychologists have specialized educational backgrounds tailored to their field. Psychologists begin with an undergraduate degree, then take on a doctorate that may take five to seven years to earn. They may be prepared for clinical work (providing therapy) or a field like research, industrial-organizational psychology or forensic work.

Therapists and counselors have bachelor’s and master’s degrees. They may have additional training or participate in continuing education. Without psychologists’ doctoral degrees, they are still fully qualified to provide therapy.

You can connect with a psychiatric nurse practitioner at ReKlame 

If you’re thinking about working with a psychiatric professional, you may not want to waste time waiting for an appointment. You can reach out to ReKlame for an initial appointment now. You can rely on us to:

• Provide insurance information here
• Offer an appointment within 48 hours of contact
• Match you with a care team: a psychiatric nurse practitioner and a care navigator
• Listen to your experiences, needs and goals for treatment
• Create a plan to move toward your goals
• Provide confidential virtual care

One of our professionals can assist you soon. You shouldn’t have to wait long for an appointment while you are dealing with mental health symptoms. You deserve to move forward from the symptoms of conditions like anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and/or substance use disorders.

We help many people work through conditions ranging from generalized anxiety disorder to schizophrenia. We also offer medication-assisted treatment to support people working to reduce or stop opioid or alcohol use, and we treat a variety of substance use disorders.

Give our care team a call today for more information, check your eligibility for free online or book an initial appointment online.