Mental health associate vs mental health nurse

The differences between mental health associates and mental health nurses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a mental health associate, becoming a mental health nurse takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a mental health nurse has an average salary of $106,812, which is higher than the $36,510 average annual salary of a mental health associate.

The top three skills for a mental health associate include patients, customer service and vital signs. The most important skills for a mental health nurse are patients, psychiatric mental, and PMHNP.

Mental health associate vs mental health nurse overview

	Mental Health Associate	Mental Health Nurse
Yearly salary	$36,510	$106,812
Hourly rate	$17.55	$51.35
Growth rate	9%	6%
Number of jobs	122,947	86,884
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	45	44
Years of experience	4	2

What does a mental health associate do?

As a mental health associate, you will assist the medical team members in diagnosing and treating individuals with mental, developmental, and behavioral conditions. You may be tasked to facilitate individual and group therapy sessions, help patients with their day-to-day activities such as self-care and hygiene, and assist in administering medications prescribed by physicians. Other duties include planning and leading program activities, attending treatment rounds, and assisting with the physical care of patients. The qualifications and skills required for this role include a bachelor's degree in social science or psychology, previous work experience, and certification on basic life support.

What does a mental health nurse do?

A mental health nurse is responsible for assisting with the diagnosis and treatment plans of patients with mental health complications. Mental health nurses handle high-quality nursing care under mental health professionals' supervision within a hospital or mental health institution. They support in performing therapeutic activities, administering medical examinations, and counseling patients to know more about their conditions. A mental health nurse also does administrative tasks as needed, such as organizing and updating patients' information on the database, processing treatment payments, and responding to the family's inquiries and concerns.

Mental health associate vs mental health nurse salary

Mental health associates and mental health nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mental Health Associate	Mental Health Nurse
Average salary	$36,510	$106,812
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $51,000	Between $62,000 And $182,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	Columbia University in the City of New York	Community Health Systems
Best paying industry	Professional	Government

Differences between mental health associate and mental health nurse education

There are a few differences between a mental health associate and a mental health nurse in terms of educational background:

	Mental Health Associate	Mental Health Nurse
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Psychology	Nursing
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Duke University

Mental health associate vs mental health nurse demographics

Here are the differences between mental health associates' and mental health nurses' demographics:

	Mental Health Associate	Mental Health Nurse
Average age	45	44
Gender ratio	Male, 33.0% Female, 67.0%	Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1%
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, 12.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 9.1% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	15%	9%

Differences between mental health associate and mental health nurse duties and responsibilities

Mental health associate example responsibilities.

Lead a number of psychotherapy groups including DBT.
Manage other MHA's in their duties and help them problem solving in tense and stressful situations.
Respond to and assist in behavioral codes working as a team member to successfully manage patient using methods obtain in CPI training
Require to participate as an interdisciplinary treatment team member and assist patients in managing activities of daily living.
Treat the patients with compassion, care and respect.
Communicate with doctors, nurses, MHA's, PCA's, and patients both verbally and in writing.

Mental health nurse example responsibilities.

Interact with patients, coordinate and successfully manage therapeutic group activities with unit staffs under supervision of clinical instructor.
Provide psychiatric evaluation, medication management and education for patients with serious and persistent mental illness and debilitating personality disorders.
Provide transportation, medication management, daily ADL's, housekeeping, and feeding.
Provide hourly room checks and ADL's according to care plan implement by the attending physician.
Initiate emergency resuscitative measures according to adult resuscitation protocols.
Perform case management for outpatient veterans that include psychiatric treatment.

Mental health associate vs mental health nurse skills

Common mental health associate skills

Patients, 24%
Customer Service, 9%
Vital Signs, 7%
CPR, 6%
Safety Checks, 4%
Social Work, 4%

Common mental health nurse skills

Patients, 22%
Psychiatric Mental, 10%
PMHNP, 6%
Medication Management, 6%
CPR, 5%
Crisis Intervention, 4%

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Mental Health Associate
Mental Health Associate vs Mental Health Nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

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