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Mental health consultant vs health therapist

The differences between mental health consultants and health therapists 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 health therapist. Additionally, a health therapist has an average salary of $55,274, 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 health therapist are social work, patients, and patient care.

Mental health consultant vs health therapist overview

Mental Health ConsultantHealth Therapist
Yearly salary$51,006$55,274
Hourly rate$24.52$26.57
Growth rate9%9%
Number of jobs127,233104,056
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age4545
Years of experience44

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.

What does a health therapist do?

Health Therapists are healthcare workers who help patients overcome their physical, mental, or emotional challenges. They create treatment plans for patients depending on their specialization. They consider the patient's medical history as well as the risk factors. Health Therapists are actively involved in the patient's recovery. They monitor the progress of the treatment plan, schedule therapy sessions, provide activities during each session, and encourage them along the way. Health Therapists help improve the lives of their patients and ease them into their new realities.

Mental health consultant vs health therapist salary

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

Mental Health ConsultantHealth Therapist
Average salary$51,006$55,274
Salary rangeBetween $34,000 And $75,000Between $40,000 And $75,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CALos Angeles, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyGuidehouseBaptist Health Care
Best paying industryGovernmentHealth Care

Differences between mental health consultant and health therapist education

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

Mental Health ConsultantHealth Therapist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common majorPsychologySocial Work
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaCalifornia State University - Long Beach

Mental health consultant vs health therapist demographics

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

Mental Health ConsultantHealth Therapist
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 29.3% Female, 70.7%Male, 28.8% Female, 71.2%
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 consultant and health therapist duties and responsibilities

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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Health therapist example responsibilities.

  • Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
  • Work with children who have autism by providing direct services.
  • Provide acute therapeutic intervention to adult and geriatric patients presenting with varying mental health diagnoses, seeking support and stabilization.
  • Record and maintain daily activities and rehabilitation progress for medical evaluation.
  • Facilitate therapy groups with adults and adolescents on acute psychiatric units and chemical dependency rehabilitation programs.
  • Facilitate transfer of patients to appropriate levels of care as determined by interdisciplinary team during or after completing treatment.
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Mental health consultant vs health therapist skills

Common mental health consultant skills
  • Healthcare, 14%
  • Substance Abuse, 12%
  • Patients, 11%
  • Crisis Intervention, 9%
  • Social Work, 9%
  • Patient Care, 5%
Common health therapist skills
  • Social Work, 33%
  • Patients, 20%
  • Patient Care, 7%
  • Substance Abuse, 4%
  • Discharge Planning, 4%
  • Clinical Documentation, 3%

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