Genetic and environmental contributions to mental illness with implications for evaluation and treatment

From the outside looking in, it may appear that nurse practitioner practice in mental health care is relatively easy compared to other nurse practitioner population care. The current article presents a brief overview of recent theories on the etiology of mental disorders, specifically major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, with implications for practice. Pharmacological treatments targeting important stress response and immune and inflammato-ry targets lag behind the science. A practical framework for psychiatric evalua-tion, formulation, and treatment planning that combines four distinctive ways of viewing patients’ concerns is presented as a useful method for providing person-centered mental health care.