Date of Award

Spring 2026

Abstract

Background: Mental illnesses remain among the most prevalent health conditions in the United States, affecting approximately 23% or nearly one in five adults in 2025 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2025); National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2024a). Despite this high prevalence, only 50.6% of adults living with mental health disorders receive treatment (NIMH, 2024a); although the expansion of telepsychiatry has improved access to mental healthcare, medication-management visits are frequently brief and primarily focused on pharmacotherapy thereby limiting opportunities for delivery of psychotherapeutic interventions. This limitation highlights the need for structured, evidence-based psychotherapeutic approaches that can be efficiently integrated into telepsychiatry visits. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a well-established, evidence-based modality that can be adapted into brief, focused interventions suitable for medication visits performed within virtual settings (Wright et al., 2010).

Purpose: This quality improvement project aimed to implement Brief Evidence-Based Cognitive Behavioral Clinical Skills for Telepsychiatry or (BECCS-T), a structured professional development model adapted from Beck’s Cognitive Model for telepsychiatry, to support Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNPs) familiarity, confidence, and ability to apply core CBT skills from graduate education through professional practice.

Methods: Board-certified PMHNPs and PMHNP students in supervised clinical practicums participated in three asynchronous educational modules. Pre- and post- intervention Likert scale assessments measured familiarity, confidence and anticipated utilization of brief CBT strategies in clinical practice. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, nonparametric testing, and qualitative thematic analysis.

Results: Thirty-three participants were invited to participate in the educational intervention, including 22 board-certified PMHNPs and 11 PMHNP students. Six participants completed the pre-intervention survey and four completed the post-intervention survey. No statistically significant differences were identified. However descriptive trends and qualitative responses suggested increased confidence and improved clinical reasoning related to the application of brief CBT strategies.

Conclusion/Implications: A structured brief CBT-focused educational modules may support PMHNPs familiarity and confidence with the application of core CBT strategies into telepsychiatry medication management visits performed by PMHNPs. Thus, targeted educational approaches may enhance the incorporation of evidence-based psychotherapeutic skills within routine psychiatric visits.

Document Type

Clinical Doctorate

First Advisor

Linda Davidson, DNP, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC

Second Advisor

Robert Bauer, D.O.

College or School

School of Nursing

Department or Program

Department of Nursing University of New Hampshire

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

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