Peterson named International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses board president

Clinical Professor Barbara Peterson, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, APRN, FNAP, was named the International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses (ISPN) board president.

Peterson is the specialty coordinator of the psychiatric-mental health Doctor of Nursing Practice program. She has been the principal investigator of Health Resources and Services Administration and Minnesota Department of Health projects to increase the number of psychiatric advanced practice registered nurses ready to serve in underserved rural and urban areas of Minnesota.

As a champion of global mental health and education, Peterson has traveled with students to Brazil, Iceland and Cuba. Her global service includes working with a woman-run health clinic in a squatter settlement near Guatemala City, Guatemala, teaching with One Health Workforce in Nairobi, Kenya, and teaching mental health first aid to first responders in Arusha, Tanzania.

In her 25-year career as a child and adolescent psychiatric mental health clinical nurse specialist, she has practiced in multiple psychiatric care settings, mostly serving children and families in safety-net clinics.

Previously, she has served in a variety of ISPN roles, including the conference planning committee, DEI committee, policy committee and Board of Directors. She began serving as president of the Board of Directors in April.