Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Programs in Colorado - CO

Statistics provided by the National Alliance on Mental Illness state that of Colorado’s 4.9 million residents (as of 2010), 158,000 adults and 52,000 children live with severe mental illness. Yet Colorado’s existing mental health system only serves 15.9% of adults in the state with mental illness. It is from statistics like these that students interested in helping their fellow citizens find the motivation to pursue psychiatric nurse practitioner programs in Colorado.

Before enrollment into any psychiatric nurse practitioner program in the state, whether in brick-and-mortar format or online, one must have a Colorado registered nurse license and, preferably, an undergraduate degree. Mental health nurse practitioner education consists of graduate studies that ultimately result in a master’s degree or higher. Classroom coursework is combined with out of classroom on-site clinical experiences in which students get to work in facilities where mental health services are provided. This may occur in psychiatric or emergency wards or regular hospitals, such as Denver Health Medical Center in Denver, Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs, or Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs; or in behavioral health facilities like Centennial Peaks Hospital in Louisville, Colorado Mental Health Institutes at Fort Logan and Pueblo, and Devereux Cleo Wallace Center in Denver.

Graduates must then take a national certification examination before becoming licensed to work in Colorado as psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNP).