PMHNP and Psychologist?

[jwolansk]

I was wondering what schooling needed to be done to have both of these things. I have been told psychologists have 13 years of schooling and PMHNPs have 8. Do you earn two separate degrees or can you do it at the same time? I read where someone on here said they were both. I want to go to grad school to be a PMHNP, but I would also like to have the ability to give therapy like a psychologist.

Thanks.

[nutella, MSN, RN]

Are you in high school?

The foundation for both is different.

Psychologists study psychology and it seems that successful psychologists who have a good job / career have a doctor's degree. They are also trained in research. Not all of them work in hospitals or offices - some of them work in the industry. There are areas where psychologist have a market but reimbursement through insurance for "therapy" is not that good and when economy goes downhill or is not great, people do not want to pay privately for "therapy". A psychologist cannot prescribe medication.

PMHNP are nurses by education - so the foundation is nursing. The initial degree might be the BSN (four years) - after that most likely you have to get some work experience, back to school for a MSN (another 2 years or so) and perhaps even longer for a doctor in nursing. A nurse practitioner is a advanced practice nurse which means that the nurse should really practice some regular nursing first and if psych NP is the goal preferably in that area. The big plus is that NPs can prescribe and diagnose - they can also offer therapy if they would like to and are trained. But to be honest - I do not think that most nurses want to spend a lot of time with "therapy" plus it is not getting re-imbursed that great, plus you might wreck your nerves all the way - because NP are nurses who have some knowledge about psychology and human behavior but not to the extent a psychologist has. So conducting therapy may not result in something that works for the NP or the client.

I know of people who studied psychology first to the bachelors degree - figured that there is no money or future for them with a bachelors in psychology (because you usually need at least a master's degree to get licensed for the jobs) and proceeded to go back to school into an accelerated program for a BSN.

What you need to find out is if you are interested in therapy/helping and such or more interested in prescribing and diagnosing.

If you are more interested in the therapy part - there are also "social worker" who offer therapy with a master's degree ( they do not make much money). If you are interested in the prescribing and diagnosis part perhaps you are more drawn towards medical school?

Find out what is it that interests you the most generally speaking and go from there.

[jwolansk]

I understand the difference between the two of the degrees. I read on here where someone was a PMHNP and a Psychologist.... I was wondering how they did that. Also i guess I should have specified a clinical psychologist. I know they cannot prescribe. I was just curious how you can be both.

[verene, MSN]

I understand the difference between the two of the degrees. I read on here where someone was a PMHNP and a Psychologist.... I was wondering how they did that. Also i guess I should have specified a clinical psychologist. I know they cannot prescribe. I was just curious how you can be both.

I would guess that the individual likely pursued one career, realized after a while they wanted something different and then set on the other path. There are certainly a number of posts scattered through out the forums of individuals in psychology, counseling, and social work realizing that psychiatric nursing sounds interesting and wanting to jump on the fast-track to becoming psych NPs for the prescribing privileges, and potentially higher pay. There is no real benefit that I could see to pursuing both psychology and psychiatric nursing with the intention of trying to actively practice in both psychologist and PMHNP roles.

[nutella, MSN, RN]

I understand the difference between the two of the degrees. I read on here where someone was a PMHNP and a Psychologist.... I was wondering how they did that. Also i guess I should have specified a clinical psychologist. I know they cannot prescribe. I was just curious how you can be both.

Well - you can not study both at the same time - it is not possible due to the differences in educational tracks. So naturally, they study one thing and decide to pursue the other degree after. It is not uncommon to have a bachelors degree in psychology first and after that decide to become a nurse via accelerated programs or even direct entry masters. Perhaps those people also call themselves "psychologist" though in my opinion it usually implicates at least a masters degree and some clinical practice.

And how would you know if what a person writes on the internet is "true"?

Anyhow - hope that helps.

[elkpark]

Perhaps those people also call themselves "psychologist" though in my opinion it usually implicates at least a masters degree and some clinical practice.

Similar to nursing, you can't call yourself "a psychologist" without having a graduate degree in psychology and state licensure as a psychologist. The standard educational preparation is a doctorate, whether PhD or PsyD (same general idea as PhD vs. DNP in nursing). Some states don't license Master's prepared psychologists; some license them but with a different title, like "psychological associate."