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The differences between adoption specialists and mental health counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an adoption specialist and a mental health counselor. Additionally, a mental health counselor has an average salary of $49,471, which is higher than the $41,070 average annual salary of an adoption specialist.
The top three skills for an adoption specialist include foster care, social work and adoption process. The most important skills for a mental health counselor are social work, patients, and crisis intervention.
| Adoption Specialist | Mental Health Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $41,070 | $49,471 |
| Hourly rate | $19.75 | $23.78 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 84,209 | 110,752 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 2 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Adoption Specialists are responsible for evaluating and arranging both adoptive parents' and child's needs to ensure a good family fit. Their duties include undertaking adoption research on families, completing paperwork requirements, carrying out adoption education for families before and following children's placements at their house, and assisting in post-placement services. They are also responsible for developing adoption plans, act as main family advisors, and organize community resources needed by both adoptive parents and children, such as education, health care, and counseling.
A mental health counselor is responsible for helping patients deal with their emotional and mental disorders by developing treatment plans and conducting regular counseling to track the patient's progress and condition. Mental health counselors encourage active communication from their patients, provide coping strategies for triggering situations, seek advice from other health care professionals, and guide patients on doing other activities that would help them relax. A mental health counselor must have excellent knowledge of the mental health disciplines to assist patients in their healthy lifestyle development.
Adoption specialists and mental health counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Adoption Specialist | Mental Health Counselor | |
| Average salary | $41,070 | $49,471 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $57,000 | Between $34,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Longview, WA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | Family Life Counseling & Psychiatric Services |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an adoption specialist and a mental health counselor in terms of educational background:
| Adoption Specialist | Mental Health Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Psychology |
| Most common college | SUNY at Albany | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between adoption specialists' and mental health counselors' demographics:
| Adoption Specialist | Mental Health Counselor | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.6% Female, 89.4% | Male, 31.4% Female, 68.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 15% |