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The differences between mental health consultants and 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 mental health consultant and a clinician. Additionally, a clinician has an average salary of $60,150, which is higher than the $51,006 average annual salary of a mental health consultant.
The top three skills for a mental health consultant include healthcare, substance abuse and patients. The most important skills for a clinician are social work, patients, and patient care.
| Mental Health Consultant | Clinician | |
| Yearly salary | $51,006 | $60,150 |
| Hourly rate | $24.52 | $28.92 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 127,233 | 105,023 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A clinician specializes in providing diagnosis, treatment, and direct care to patients with different illnesses. A clinician's duties mainly revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis, providing medical care through various therapies, and improving one's overall health condition. Furthermore, a clinician must obtain and analyze a patient's complete medical history, provide diagnostic tests, always monitor the effects of treatment on a patient, provide prognosis and consider the overall impact on a patient's health and well-being.
Mental health consultants and clinicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Mental Health Consultant | Clinician | |
| Average salary | $51,006 | $60,150 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $75,000 | Between $34,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Nevada |
| Best paying company | Guidehouse | Pace University |
| Best paying industry | Government | - |
There are a few differences between a mental health consultant and a clinician in terms of educational background:
| Mental Health Consultant | Clinician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between mental health consultants' and clinicians' demographics:
| Mental Health Consultant | Clinician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.3% Female, 70.7% | 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% |