Advanced Practice Nursing in mental health and addiction services.

Clinical Guidelines strongly suggest to incorporate Advanced Practice Nurses into Mental Health and Addiction Services. This recommendation is based not only on their in-depth knowledge when it comes to the multifactorial approach to addictions and/or dual diagnoses but also on their leadership and research capabilities. The goal is to generate nursing-specific knowledge that contributes to the continuous improvement of specialized care in these areas.

Advanced Practice Nurses have the skill set to make more complex decisions than their generalist counterparts, leading to better care in addressing addictions, even in cases where other co-ocurring health issues may be exacerbated by these disorders. Additionally, they are trained to take part in coordinating multidisciplinary teams, providing holistic care for each case. They also possess the skills to handle situations where harm reduction is the most appropriate approach and have a deep understanding of community-level interventions that can benefit users of these services.