How does the role of a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner compare to other mental-healthcare roles?

Education and training

• PHMNP: PMHNPs are registered nurses who graduate from an accredited PMHNP graduate program and successfully obtain national board certification and state licensure.^1,2
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker: Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW) are master’s prepared social workers (MSW) who complete additional post-MSW supervised clinical practice hours and obtain state licensure.^3-6
• Mental Health Counselor: Mental Health Counselors graduate from a masters program in mental health counseling, pass national board certification, and complete clinical practice hours before applying for state licensure.^7-9
• Psychologist: Psychologists have a doctorate in psychology (Psy.D). These are non-medicine doctorates. After obtaining the doctoral degree, a psychologist completes an internship prior to sitting for the national exam and applying for licensure.¹⁰
• Psychiatrist: Psychiatrists are physicians who complete a 4 year residency in psychiatry prior to obtaining state licensure.¹¹

Cost of school

• PHMNP: BSN to MSN $18,000-185,000; BSN to DNP $25,000-250,000¹²
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker: $30,000-$90,000^13,14
• Mental Health Counselor: $30,000-$120,000¹⁵
• Psychologist: 4-year Psy.D program: $42,000-135,000^16,17
• Psychiatrist: $250,000 - $340,000²⁸

Ability to practice independently

• All the professions listed here will have the ability to practice independently.

Ability to prescribe medications

• PHMNP: Yes
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker: No
• Mental Health Counselor: No
• Psychologist: No (some states do allow if additional training is completed)
• Psychiatrist: Yes

Average annual salary

• PHMNP: $134,540¹⁹
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker: $65,000²⁰
• Mental Health Counselor: $48,520²¹
• Psychologist: $106,420²²
• Psychiatrist: $247,350²³

References

1. ^Nurse.org
2. ^{Nursing License Map}
3. ^{Social Work License Map}
4. ^{National Association of Social Workers}
5. ^{Social Work License Map}
6. ^{National Association of Social Workers}
7. ^{Social Work License Map}
8. ^{Northwestern University}
9. ^{American Counseling Association}
10. ^Forbes.com
11. ^{American Psychiatric Association}
12. ^{NursingProcess.org}
13. ^Research.com
14. ^Fortune.com
15. ^{U.S. News & World Report}
16. ^APA.org
17. ^{CPI Inflation Calculator}
18. ^Forbes.com
19. ^{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.gov)}
20. ^{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.gov)}
21. ^{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.gov)}
22. ^{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.gov)}
23. ^{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.gov)}