Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner- Illinois

Backpack Healthcare provides mental health care for children, teens, and young adults — all online, covered by most insurance. We're clinician-led and minority-owned, and our psychiatric care doesn't live in a silo. Our PMHNPs work alongside therapists, psychiatrists, and care coordinators as one integrated team.

If you're a nurse practitioner who wants to prescribe, assess, and treat within a model built around whole-person, coordinated care — this is worth your time.

You'll provide comprehensive psychiatric care to children, teens, and young adults via telehealth, part-time or full-time depending on what works for you. Afternoon, evening, and weekend availability is required — that's when kids and families can actually show up.

Day-to-day you'll:

• Conduct comprehensive psychiatric evaluations and formulate evidence-based diagnoses
• Develop individualized treatment plans in partnership with patients and their families
• Prescribe and manage psychotropic medications, monitor effectiveness, and adjust as needed
• Provide brief interventions and psychoeducation alongside medication management
• Collaborate with therapists, psychiatrists, and care coordinators in regular case reviews
• Maintain accurate, timely documentation in our EHR
• Educate families about diagnoses, treatment options, and what to expect

• Active, unrestricted Illinois PMHNP license (multi-state or compact licensure preferred)
• PMHNP-BC board certification
• Active DEA license
• Master's or doctoral degree from an accredited PMHNP program
• Experience with or strong interest in working with youth and families
• Comfortable working independently in a telehealth environment
• Strong clinical judgment, clear communication, and genuine empathy

We've served 12,000+ kids and families since 2020. 78% of families report their child is doing better after three months. We built Backpack because the old model — long waits, disconnected providers, care that doesn't feel made for anyone — wasn't working for kids or the clinicians trying to help them.

When clinicians thrive, kids thrive. That's not a tagline. It's how we build.

Backpack Healthcare is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity in age, background, identity, and experience — and we mean it.