Drug abuse worker vs mental health clinician

The differences between drug abuse workers and mental health clinicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a drug abuse worker and a mental health clinician. Additionally, a mental health clinician has an average salary of $54,359, which is higher than the $36,741 average annual salary of a drug abuse worker.

The top three skills for a drug abuse worker include substance abuse treatment, crisis intervention and abuse program. The most important skills for a mental health clinician are social work, patients, and mental health.

Drug abuse worker vs mental health clinician overview

	Drug Abuse Worker	Mental Health Clinician
Yearly salary	$36,741	$54,359
Hourly rate	$17.66	$26.13
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	22,487	91,347
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Master's Degree, 49%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	4

Drug abuse worker vs mental health clinician salary

Drug abuse workers and mental health clinicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Drug Abuse Worker	Mental Health Clinician
Average salary	$36,741	$54,359
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $46,000	Between $36,000 And $80,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	City and County of Denver Government
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between drug abuse worker and mental health clinician education

There are a few differences between a drug abuse worker and a mental health clinician in terms of educational background:

	Drug Abuse Worker	Mental Health Clinician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Master's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Social Work	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	California State University - Long Beach

Drug abuse worker vs mental health clinician demographics

Here are the differences between drug abuse workers' and mental health clinicians' demographics:

	Drug Abuse Worker	Mental Health Clinician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 31.8% Female, 68.2%	Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7%
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, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	15%	15%

Differences between drug abuse worker and mental health clinician duties and responsibilities

Drug abuse worker example responsibilities.

Lead support groups with an emphasis on recovery and strength base techniques, DBT, CBT, self-care and coping skills.
Require to successfully complete yearly training for medication management, behavioral management and periodic CPR and first aid certifications.
Facilitate institutional AA meetings as necessary.

Mental health clinician example responsibilities.

Work with children with autism and developmental impairment, providing weekly therapeutic sessions.
Provide individual and group psychotherapy for adult population with goal of rehabilitation and community reintegration.
Meet productivity standards comply with all DMH documentation standards and participate in on call crisis intervention rotation.
Provide psychotherapy with empathy and concern as indicated by supervisory observation and feedback from patients, family and fellow team members.
Provide clinical therapeutic services to patients, including individual and group therapy and coordination of treatment for participants with co-occurring disorders.
Assess, diagnose, provide psychotherapy and rehabilitation for seriously mentally ill adults, children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbance.

Drug abuse worker vs mental health clinician skills

Common drug abuse worker skills

Substance Abuse Treatment, 39%
Crisis Intervention, 14%
Abuse Program, 13%
Transport Clients, 12%
Clinical Supervision, 6%
Group Therapy, 4%

Common mental health clinician skills

Social Work, 28%
Patients, 15%
Mental Health, 5%
Discharge Planning, 3%
Community Resources, 3%
Rehabilitation, 2%

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Drug Abuse Worker
Drug Abuse Worker vs Mental Health Clinician

Updated January 8, 2025

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