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Mental health clinician vs mental health consultant

The differences between mental health clinicians and mental health consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a mental health clinician and a mental health consultant. Additionally, a mental health clinician has an average salary of $54,359, which is higher than the $51,006 average annual salary of a mental health consultant.

The top three skills for a mental health clinician include social work, patients and mental health. The most important skills for a mental health consultant are healthcare, substance abuse, and patients.

Mental health clinician vs mental health consultant overview

Mental Health ClinicianMental Health Consultant
Yearly salary$54,359$51,006
Hourly rate$26.13$24.52
Growth rate9%9%
Number of jobs91,347127,233
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeMaster's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age4545
Years of experience44

What does a mental health clinician do?

A Mental Health Clinician provides psychotherapeutic and rehabilitation services for patients with mental health problems. They manage the treatment of clients and help them to obtain stable physical health.

What does a mental health consultant do?

A mental health consultant is responsible for providing counseling and emotional support to manage a client's issue and control behaviors. Mental health consultants must have excellent communication and listening skills to understand and assess the client's situation and evaluate the level of their emotional and psychological distress. They also need to monitor progress on the client's state and use different psychotherapy methods and treatment plans. A mental health consultant should also reach out to other health professionals to ask assistance for any recovery options as needed.

Mental health clinician vs mental health consultant salary

Mental health clinicians and mental health consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Mental Health ClinicianMental Health Consultant
Average salary$54,359$51,006
Salary rangeBetween $36,000 And $80,000Between $34,000 And $75,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyCity and County of Denver GovernmentGuidehouse
Best paying industryEducationGovernment

Differences between mental health clinician and mental health consultant education

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

Mental Health ClinicianMental Health Consultant
Most common degreeMaster's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common majorPsychologyPsychology
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachUniversity of Pennsylvania

Mental health clinician vs mental health consultant demographics

Here are the differences between mental health clinicians' and mental health consultants' demographics:

Mental Health ClinicianMental Health Consultant
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 24.3% Female, 75.7%Male, 29.3% Female, 70.7%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage15%15%

Differences between mental health clinician and mental health consultant duties and responsibilities

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.
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Mental health consultant example responsibilities.

  • Serve as resource person for family health physicians at clinic on managing psychotropic medications for medical patients with psychiatric problems.
  • Evaluate patients for psychiatric and behavioral health issues; make recommendations regarding treatment measures, including medications and non-pharmacological treatments.
  • Supervise residential staff and provide individual and group counseling services in rehabilitation centers.
  • Provide occupational therapy consultation services to center's authorities to enhance intern's rehabilitation.
  • Program communication and development working with service providers, healthcare association and organizations to establish a state-wide tobacco treatment safety network.
  • Analyze and compare relate cases of past and present communicable diseases and STDs incidence to identify disease trends or patterns.
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Mental health clinician vs mental health consultant skills

Common mental health clinician skills
  • Social Work, 28%
  • Patients, 15%
  • Mental Health, 5%
  • Discharge Planning, 3%
  • Community Resources, 3%
  • Rehabilitation, 2%
Common mental health consultant skills
  • Healthcare, 14%
  • Substance Abuse, 12%
  • Patients, 11%
  • Crisis Intervention, 9%
  • Social Work, 9%
  • Patient Care, 5%

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