Title: What Types of Mental Health Practitioners Prescribe Medication? - Online Psychology Degrees
Headings: 
Psychiatrists
Licensed Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
Primary Care Physician
Physician’s Assistant
Cooperative Treatment

Content: In a good many instances a person with a mental health condition first approaches his or her primary care physician for interim assistance. For example, a person may go to his or her primary care doctor for a referral to a mental health practitioner. While waiting for a mental health practitioner to take on a particular case, a primary care physician may prescribe medication to address immediate issues being experienced by a patient. Physician’s Assistant
In addition, a physician’s assistant typically can prescribe medication as well to a person with a mental health condition. A physician’s assistant works under the supervision of a medical doctor. A physician assistant is likely to be involved in the case of a person with a mental health issue early on and before such a patient has been connected with a mental health practitioner. Cooperative Treatment
Oftentimes a person with a mental health condition seeks treatment from a practitioner like a psychotherapist or counselor of some type. A professional of this nature doesn’t have the ability to prescribe medications. While something like cognitive therapy may be a centerpiece of mental health treatment, that course of assistance may not be enough to treat a person with a mental health condition. For this reason, a cooperative, comprehensive approach to treatment becomes necessary.