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The differences between mental health counselors and psychologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a psychologist has an average salary of $97,803, 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 psychologist are patients, crisis intervention, and rehabilitation.
| Mental Health Counselor | Psychologist | |
| Yearly salary | $49,471 | $97,803 |
| Hourly rate | $23.78 | $47.02 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 110,752 | 12,516 |
| Job satisfaction | 2 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 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.
Sales managers are responsible for leading the organization's sales team. They oversee the progress and performance of the whole team, set area assignments to team members, and set weekly or monthly quotas. Sales managers oversee training team members during onboarding and providing further coaching to help them achieve their goals. They manage the challenges that team members may meet and help mitigate any problems that come along the way. Sales managers also set the strategic direction of the sales team and follow through by ensuring that the team's activities are in line with the goals.
Mental health counselors and psychologists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Mental Health Counselor | Psychologist | |
| Average salary | $49,471 | $97,803 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $70,000 | Between $68,000 And $139,000 |
| Highest paying City | Longview, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Family Life Counseling & Psychiatric Services | Sierra Corporation |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a mental health counselor and a psychologist in terms of educational background:
| Mental Health Counselor | Psychologist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between mental health counselors' and psychologists' demographics:
| Mental Health Counselor | Psychologist | |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.4% Female, 68.6% | Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8% |
| 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, 5.1% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 4.2% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 15% | 20% |