Mental health counselor vs clinical social worker

The differences between mental health counselors and clinical social workers 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 counselor, becoming a clinical social worker takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a clinical social worker has an average salary of $63,056, which is higher than the $49,471 average annual salary of a mental health counselor.

The top three skills for a mental health counselor include social work, patients and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a clinical social worker are social work, patients, and behavioral health.

Mental health counselor vs clinical social worker overview

	Mental Health Counselor	Clinical Social Worker
Yearly salary	$49,471	$63,056
Hourly rate	$23.78	$30.32
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	110,752	124,816
Job satisfaction	2	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Master's Degree, 54%
Average age	41	45
Years of experience	4	2

What does a mental health counselor do?

A mental health counselor is responsible for helping patients deal with their emotional and mental disorders by developing treatment plans and conducting regular counseling to track the patient's progress and condition. Mental health counselors encourage active communication from their patients, provide coping strategies for triggering situations, seek advice from other health care professionals, and guide patients on doing other activities that would help them relax. A mental health counselor must have excellent knowledge of the mental health disciplines to assist patients in their healthy lifestyle development.

What does a clinical social worker do?

A clinical social worker is an individual in social work, which provides help to individuals in need of improving their lives and their well-being. Clinical social workers must work with different individuals to help them address difficulties that they are trying to overcome. To perform counseling services, clinical social workers must take and pass the professional licensure examination. They also help disadvantaged individuals connect to resources and services that they may benefit from.

Mental health counselor vs clinical social worker salary

Mental health counselors and clinical social workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mental Health Counselor	Clinical Social Worker
Average salary	$49,471	$63,056
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $70,000	Between $42,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	Longview, WA	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Family Life Counseling & Psychiatric Services	Tucson Electric Power
Best paying industry	Health Care	Education

Differences between mental health counselor and clinical social worker education

There are a few differences between a mental health counselor and a clinical social worker in terms of educational background:

	Mental Health Counselor	Clinical Social Worker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Master's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Psychology	Social Work
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	University of Pennsylvania

Mental health counselor vs clinical social worker demographics

Here are the differences between mental health counselors' and clinical social workers' demographics:

	Mental Health Counselor	Clinical Social Worker
Average age	41	45
Gender ratio	Male, 31.4% Female, 68.6%	Male, 21.7% Female, 78.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 19.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	15%	13%

Differences between mental health counselor and clinical social worker duties and responsibilities

Mental health counselor example responsibilities.

Provide clinical consultation to consumers and clients regarding manage care services and other benefits available to them through their EAP programs.
Conduct group check-in and co-lead group psychotherapy sessions to help clients identify and manage problems associate with psychiatric conditions.
Certify in CPI (crisis intervention technique).
Assist with crisis intervention, (CPI) maintains treatment activities.
Provide mental health assessment and evaluation of detainees refer by facility staff or identify by pre-screening (booking or nursing).
Assess for special needs during booking process.

Clinical social worker example responsibilities.

Understand manage care, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Screen, identify, diagnose using DSM nomenclature, treat and manage mental health and/or substance abuse problems.
Provide clinical services to patients in rehabilitation and oncology including assessment, crisis intervention, grief therapy, and discharge planning.
Provide individual, group, family therapy, team coordination, discharge planning, utilization review and MSW student supervision.
Participate in weekly interdisciplinary team meetings to determine Medicare length of skil nursing stay.
Facilitate therapy, symptom management, and rehabilitation groups for mental health clients in partial hospitalization setting.

Mental health counselor vs clinical social worker skills

Common mental health counselor skills

Social Work, 17%
Patients, 16%
Crisis Intervention, 9%
Patient Care, 6%
Mental Health Issues, 5%
Rehabilitation, 4%

Common clinical social worker skills

Social Work, 28%
Patients, 17%
Behavioral Health, 6%
Patient Care, 5%
Community Resources, 4%
MSW, 3%

Mental Health Counselor vs. similar jobs

Mental Health Counselor related careers

Mental Health Counselor related jobs

Mental Health Counselor jobs by location

Zippia Careers
Community and Social Services Industry
Mental Health Counselor
Mental Health Counselor vs Clinical Social Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse community and social services jobs