Experience Change with Laura Cardwell Psychiatric Services PLLC

Psychiatry is the branch of medicine focused on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. A psychiatric nurse practioner is an advanced practice nurse who specializes in mental health treatment, including substance use disorders. People seek psychiatric help for many reasons. The problems can be sudden, such as a panic attack, frightening hallucinations, thoughts of suicide, or hearing "voices." Or they may be more long-term, such as feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or anxiousness that never seem to lift or problems functioning, causing everyday life to feel distorted or out of control. 

Psychiatric nurse practitioners are trained to use a variety of treatments – including various forms of psychotherapy, medications, psychosocial interventions and other treatments (such as electroconvulsive therapy or ECT and trans-magnetic stimulation or TMS), depending on the needs of each patient.