Mental health counselor vs psychiatrist

The differences between mental health counselors and psychiatrists 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 psychiatrist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a psychiatrist has an average salary of $229,034, 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 psychiatrist are patients, diagnosis, and patient care.

Mental health counselor vs psychiatrist overview

	Mental Health Counselor	Psychiatrist
Yearly salary	$49,471	$229,034
Hourly rate	$23.78	$110.11
Growth rate	9%	7%
Number of jobs	110,752	29,979
Job satisfaction	2	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Doctoral Degree, 32%
Average age	41	48
Years of experience	4	6

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 psychiatrist do?

A Psychiatrist is a medical practitioner specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. They treat patients utilizing psychotherapeutic methods and medications.

Mental health counselor vs psychiatrist salary

Mental health counselors and psychiatrists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mental Health Counselor	Psychiatrist
Average salary	$49,471	$229,034
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $70,000	Between $133,000 And $393,000
Highest paying City	Longview, WA	Fargo, ND
Highest paying state	Washington	Alaska
Best paying company	Family Life Counseling & Psychiatric Services	Yuma Regional Medical Center
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between mental health counselor and psychiatrist education

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

	Mental Health Counselor	Psychiatrist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Doctoral Degree, 32%
Most common major	Psychology	Medicine
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Duke University

Mental health counselor vs psychiatrist demographics

Here are the differences between mental health counselors' and psychiatrists' demographics:

	Mental Health Counselor	Psychiatrist
Average age	41	48
Gender ratio	Male, 31.4% Female, 68.6%	Male, 44.6% Female, 55.4%
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, 5.3% Unknown, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.0% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	15%	10%

Differences between mental health counselor and psychiatrist 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.

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Psychiatrist example responsibilities.

Provide psychiatric evaluations, diagnosis and treatment, including prescribing and administering psychotropic medications, conduct individual and group psychotherapy.
Case load includes children, adolescents and adults.
Provide accurate, timely and complete documentation in the EMR.
Conduct full neurological evaluation, including lab, MRI & /or EEG.
Work closely with Medicaid in areas of compliance needs and information of the clients.
Create multidisciplinary team (psychiatrist, psychologist, nurse, marriage family therapist) to spear head new veterans parenting class.

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Mental health counselor vs psychiatrist skills

Common mental health counselor skills

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

Common psychiatrist skills

Patients, 32%
Diagnosis, 11%
Patient Care, 5%
Mental Illness, 5%
Psychiatric Services, 5%
EMR, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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