This Article is Sponsored by The Online Nurse Practitioner Program at Baylor University

Accessing quality mental health care in rural Texas is not an easy thing compared to urban dwellers. With more than 60% of rural counties declared mental health provider shortage areas, picking a suitable provider requires an informed decision which can significantly contribute towards your well-being. 

Knowing what you should ask is an effective way of dealing with such a confusing environment in order for you to access appropriate care for what you need. Here are some important questions to ask before selecting a healthcare provider.

What are your professional credentials and background?

It is vital to know about the educational level and training background of your potential healthcare provider since you might not have a lot of choices in rural counties. Mental health providers come with varying levels of education and training, from doctoral-level psychologists to master’s degree counselors. Each comes with unique specialties to help you in your situation.

When evaluating credentials, ask specifically about their educational track and any specialty certifications attained. As an example, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners who have completed a DNP psychiatric nurse practitioner program confer a blend of doctoral-level education with advanced clinical training in a distinct set of rural communities.

Nurse practitioners graduate from such programs with intense academic course study combined with lengthy clinical rotations at times exceeding 1,000 clinical hours under direct supervision. This helps them learn how to diagnose mental health disorders, prescribe medications, and offer psychotherapy throughout a person’s life.

The value of extensive training is made evident in rural environments where your practitioner is perhaps the only mental health specialist for miles. A thoroughly trained practitioner is able to handle intricate cases that would otherwise need the assistance of specialists who are hours away. This training puts them in a position to treat issues as mild as depression and anxiety or as severe as bipolar disorder and PTSD. 

How Do You Deliver Services Using Various Technologies?

The method of service delivery deserves your attention especially when looking for help in rural areas. In these cases, telehealth plays a crucial role in widening reach. Knowing how your provider delivers service can allow you to gauge if they can consistently address needs you’ll have in the future while overcoming obstacles such as transit issues, work schedules, or physical restrictions. You must always ask about their telehealth capacity and their technology platforms. 

Both audio-visual and audio-only mental health service provisions are permitted in Texas based on certain conditions, which are specifically useful when internet access is not so consistent or when issues of privacy make video conferencing quite challenging. A provider who sticks to various flexible service delivery options shows commitment to maintaining high quality services irrespective of circumstances.

What Is Your Approach to Medication Management and Crisis Support?

Psychiatric treatment frequently requires medication management, so it’s vital to know your provider’s prescriptive authority and treatment style with these medications. This is especially true in rural settings where access to psychiatrists is rather low.

Be sure to ask your provider if they can prescribe psychiatric medications and their philosophy about using drug treatment. Advanced practice nurses, including psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and primary care providers all have prescribing authority in Texas, but their training level in psychiatric medications can vary considerably. Knowing their level of experience in different classes of mediation is vital to receive appropriate pharmacological care.

Endnote

Selecting a mental health professional in rural Texas is a decision that involves some serious thinking about issues that city dwellers usually don’t ever consider. By posing these crucial questions, you can learn about a professional who not only possesses the clinical knowledge you need for mental health issues but is also familiar with issues specific to rural society