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The differences between crisis workers and psychiatric social workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a crisis worker, becoming a psychiatric social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a psychiatric social worker has an average salary of $59,144, which is higher than the $33,805 average annual salary of a crisis worker.
The top three skills for a crisis worker include patients, social work and mental health crisis. The most important skills for a psychiatric social worker are social work, patients, and crisis intervention.
| Crisis Worker | Psychiatric Social Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $33,805 | $59,144 |
| Hourly rate | $16.25 | $28.43 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 99,201 | 57,284 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Master's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
A crisis worker is a mental health professional specializing in providing counseling and support services to individuals under emotional distress often caused by mental and behavioral issues, conducting interventions as needed. They are usually assigned in institutions or medical facilities, sometimes working for crisis hotlines where they must answer phone calls from clients, remain calm and rational during conversations, offer advice, and refer them to other support agencies to prevent them from taking drastic measures. A crisis worker engages with clients of all ages, requiring them to be proactive at all times.
A psychiatric social worker specializes in providing mental health treatments and other services to patients and their families, referring them to other agencies and programs as needed. They conduct assessments and interviews to determine the condition of patients, devise specific treatment and care plans, update and maintain patient records, conduct regular counseling sessions, and monitor the progress of every patient to ensure their health and welfare. They may also provide interventions, train junior psychiatric social workers, and conduct reviews and evaluations on existing care plans.
Crisis workers and psychiatric social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Crisis Worker | Psychiatric Social Worker | |
| Average salary | $33,805 | $59,144 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $49,000 | Between $43,000 And $79,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, ME | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Northwestern Medicine | Highmark |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Government |
There are a few differences between a crisis worker and a psychiatric social worker in terms of educational background:
| Crisis Worker | Psychiatric Social Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Master's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Social Work |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between crisis workers' and psychiatric social workers' demographics:
| Crisis Worker | Psychiatric Social Worker | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 25.4% Female, 74.6% | Male, 24.8% Female, 75.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 19.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 15% | 13% |