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The differences between mental health counselors and program counselors 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 counselor and a program counselor. Additionally, a mental health counselor has an average salary of $49,471, which is higher than the $43,820 average annual salary of a program counselor.
The top three skills for a mental health counselor include social work, patients and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a program counselor are developmental disabilities, patients, and community integration.
| Mental Health Counselor | Program Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $49,471 | $43,820 |
| Hourly rate | $23.78 | $21.07 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 110,752 | 133,491 |
| Job satisfaction | 2 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A Program Counselor is an essential part of a school's faculty. It's the counselor's responsibility to ensure that students are benefiting from the school's educational curriculum. This person is also tasked to help students resolve issues and problems that may hinder any educational progress. They are also part of the disciplinary team intended to instill good morals, ethics, and decency in students. The Program Counselor is one of the teacher or professor who has expertise or has a high educational degree in a particular subject or field.
Mental health counselors and program counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Mental Health Counselor | Program Counselor | |
| Average salary | $49,471 | $43,820 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $70,000 | Between $33,000 And $58,000 |
| Highest paying City | Longview, WA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New York |
| Best paying company | Family Life Counseling & Psychiatric Services | Russell Sage College |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a mental health counselor and a program counselor in terms of educational background:
| Mental Health Counselor | Program Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between mental health counselors' and program counselors' demographics:
| Mental Health Counselor | Program Counselor | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.4% Female, 68.6% | Male, 35.9% Female, 64.1% |
| 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, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 15% | 15% |