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 consultant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real mental health consultant resumes:
- 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.
- Gather, coordinate, and assimilate morbidity data in order to identify and report unreport cases of STDs and communicable diseases.
- implement, and evaluate chronic conditions programs that target diabetes, stroke, and hypertension.
- Create customize PowerPoint presentations for meetings.
- Complete documentation following Medi-Cal standards and execute supervisory responsibilities when program director are not available.
Mental health consultant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Mental Health Consultants are proficient in Healthcare, Substance Abuse, and Patients. They’re also known for soft skills such as Emotional skills, Organizational skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Mental Health Consultants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Healthcare, 14%
Established relationships with national and regional healthcare leaders and integrated health systems to ensure access to clinical and scientific information.
- Substance Abuse, 12%
Provided consultation, education, and support to primary care clinicians regarding behavioral health and substance abuse treatment and management.
- Patients, 11%
Served as resource person for family health physicians at clinic on managing psychotropic medications for medical patients with psychiatric problems.
- Crisis Intervention, 9%
Provided crisis intervention services to students/families/educators.
- Social Work, 9%
Facilitated positive child development in the classroom by developing and delivering program consultation to site managers, teachers & social workers.
- Patient Care, 5%
Facilitated group therapy and recreational therapy Consulted with team psychiatrists concerning patient care and development.
"healthcare," "substance abuse," and "patients" are among the most common skills that mental health consultants use at work. You can find even more mental health consultant responsibilities below, including:
Organizational skills. Many mental health consultant duties rely on organizational skills. "social workers must help and manage multiple clients, often assisting with their paperwork or documenting their treatment.," so a mental health consultant will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways mental health consultant responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "possess superior organizational skills in regards to keeping client records and pertinent clinical documentation. "
Interpersonal skills. This is an important skill for mental health consultants to perform their duties. For an example of how mental health consultant responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "social workers must be able to work with different groups of people." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a mental health consultant: "encourage patients to develop life skills through engaging in social, recreational and other therapeutic activities that enhance interpersonal skills. ".
Communication skills. For certain mental health consultant responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a mental health consultant rely on this skill, as "clients talk to social workers about challenges in their lives." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what mental health consultants do: "maintained communication with patient helped plan activities for patient administered oral medication obtained vital signs. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a mental health consultant to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what mental health consultants relies on this skill, since "social workers must analyze their clients’ complex situations and develop practical solutions." How this skill relates to mental health consultant duties can be seen in an example from a mental health consultant resume snippet: "organized and carried out a group therapy session that centered on the incorporation of effective coping and resolution strategies. "
The three companies that hire the most mental health consultants are:
- Allina Health7 mental health consultants jobs
- Pico de Gallo
7 mental health consultants jobs
- Cerner
6 mental health consultants jobs
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Compare different mental health consultants
Mental health consultant vs. Therapeutic support staff
A therapeutic support staff member specializes in providing guidance and counseling to individuals with emotional support needs, mainly children. They are primarily responsible for building rapport with clients while assessing their different conditions and needs. Through this assessment, therapeutic support staff can develop specific treatments in collaboration with mental health practitioners. One may directly work with schools, clinics, and other medical health facilities. Furthermore, it is essential to maintain all clients' records and monitor their progress, regularly updating the assigned physician or caseworker.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a mental health consultant are more likely to require skills like "healthcare," "substance abuse," "patients," and "crisis intervention." On the other hand, a job as a therapeutic support staff requires skills like "criminal justice," "emotional support," "compassion," and "mental health interventions." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, therapeutic support staff reach lower levels of education than mental health consultants. Therapeutic support staff are 18.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 4.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Mental health consultant vs. Marriage and family therapist
Marriage and family therapists are health professionals who are licensed to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders of married couples and families. These therapists are required to treat patients with issues such as child and adolescent behavioral problems, depression and anxiety, and marital conflicts. They must observe the interaction of people within units while evaluating and resolving their issues with relationships. Marriage and family therapists must also guide their clients to go through transitional crises such as divorce or death.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real mental health consultant resumes. While mental health consultant responsibilities can utilize skills like "healthcare," "patient care," "autism," and "data analysis," marriage and family therapists use skills like "mft," "group therapy sessions," "child abuse," and "anxiety disorders."
Marriage and family therapists earn a higher average salary than mental health consultants. But marriage and family therapists earn the highest pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $60,978. Additionally, mental health consultants earn the highest salaries in the government with average pay of $66,424 annually.In general, marriage and family therapists achieve higher levels of education than mental health consultants. They're 8.4% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 4.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for mental health consultants in the next 3-5 years?
Lesley Casarez Ph.D.
Director, Quality Enhancement Plan Program Coordinator, M.S. Professional School Counseling Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Angelo State University
Mental health consultant vs. Clinician
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.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a mental health consultant is likely to be skilled in "healthcare," "substance abuse," "data analysis," and "public health," while a typical clinician is skilled in "clinical services," "therapeutic services," "treatment services," and "clinical documentation."
When it comes to education, clinicians tend to earn higher degree levels compared to mental health consultants. In fact, they're 12.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Mental health consultant vs. School social worker
A school social worker specializes in counseling students, families, and faculty members. They are responsible for coordinating with the school to develop programs that prioritize the students' emotional and psychological well-being, respond to any issues and concerns, build rapport to identify their needs, and communicate with support services to provide necessary assistance to any students or families. There are also instances when a school social worker must assist teachers in handling students with behavioral issues, investigating the underlying reasons. Moreover, it is crucial to identify any signs of neglect or abuse, conducting interventive measures right away.
Types of mental health consultant
Updated January 8, 2025
