How To Become A Mental Health Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a mental health assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Mental health assistants assist physicians, health practitioners, and psychiatrists in working with patients with mental or emotional disorders. They monitor and observe patients with mental, emotional, or developmental conditions, including their daily activities. They record the physical conditions of the patients by taking vital signs and observing behavior. Similarly, they assist patients with daily tasks like bathing. Besides that, they work with other medical staff to organize social or recreational activities and encourage patient participation. Furthermore, they clean and disinfect patient rooms. Also, they complete administrative tasks, like maintaining medical information.

Mental health assistants find jobs in hospitals, residential care facilities, outpatient centers, and doctor offices. To become a mental health assistant, you need at least a high school diploma and on-the-job training. Key skills include communication, interpersonal, analytical, and problem-solving skills. Having relevant certifications is a plus. Mental health assistants earn an average salary of $32,852 per annum. This varies between $24,000 and $45,000.

What general advice would you give to a mental health assistant?

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Dr., Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Vanguard University

Opportunities come in many different shapes and sizes, but they are still out there. Whether you are seeking to land a job in education or the non-profit sector, you will need to familiarize yourself and get used to all things digital, for the sake of communicating effectively. The younger your student or service partner's mindset, the more digitally savvy you will need to be, especially in the classroom and in the non-profit world.

ScoreMental Health AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,333

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.3

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 3.12%

Black or African American 7.90%

Hispanic or Latino 7.90%

Unknown 6.24%

White 74.22%

Gender

female 66.16%

male 33.84%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

9.3

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a mental health assistant

Explore mental health assistant education requirements

Most common mental health assistant degrees

Bachelor's

52.6 %

Associate

16.6 %

High School Diploma

12.1 %

Start to develop specific mental health assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	30.99%
Substance Abuse	6.01%
Direct Patient Care	5.73%
Vital Signs	5.05%
Patient Safety	4.21%

Complete relevant mental health assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New mental health assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a mental health assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real mental health assistant resumes.

Research mental health assistant duties and responsibilities

Supervise and facilitate counseling interventions to psychiatric patients, and lead community therapeutic meetings.
Encourage participation in attending program meetings that focuse on rehabilitation management and coping skills.
Assist residents to function at their highest potential through formulation and implementation of rehabilitation plans.
Supervise daily activities of patients, assist in crisis management, and facilitate admissions and discharges.

Prepare your mental health assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your mental health assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a mental health assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable mental health assistant resume templates

Build a professional mental health assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your mental health assistant resume.

Apply for mental health assistant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a mental health assistant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do mental health assistants rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Mental health assistant reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2022

Cons

The system is BROKEN! The clients are either entitled or not truly receiving the help they really need.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Cons

The insane amount of paperwork, the insurance/agency politics, the high expectations, the low amount of support. Burnout is very concerning for a profession where people in the frontline are the ones trying to make a difference. Individuals who work in this field need to have an incentive to keep pushing. I’m sorry but a kind heart and good intentions are not enough to sustain this type of career.

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019

Pros

To help most people out of their respective concern.