A mental health nurse is responsible for assisting with the diagnosis and treatment plans of patients with mental health complications. Mental health nurses handle high-quality nursing care under mental health professionals' supervision within a hospital or mental health institution. They support in performing therapeutic activities, administering medical examinations, and counseling patients to know more about their conditions. A mental health nurse also does administrative tasks as needed, such as organizing and updating patients' information on the database, processing treatment payments, and responding to the family's inquiries and concerns.

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Mental Health Nurse Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real mental health nurse resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • Interact with patients, coordinate and successfully manage therapeutic group activities with unit staffs under supervision of clinical instructor.
  • Provide psychiatric evaluation, medication management and education for patients with serious and persistent mental illness and debilitating personality disorders.
  • Provide transportation, medication management, daily ADL's, housekeeping, and feeding.
  • Provide hourly room checks and ADL's according to care plan implement by the attending physician.
  • Initiate emergency resuscitative measures according to adult resuscitation protocols.
  • Perform case management for outpatient veterans that include psychiatric treatment.
  • Create a network of businesses offering placement for vocational rehabilitation clients.
  • Help make environment safe for veterans and others by providing constant supervision and monitoring
  • Develop and implement multiple group therapy groups in a fast pace outpatient rehabilitation setting.
  • Interact with patients, coordinate and successfully manage therapeutic group activities with unit staffs under supervision of clinical instructor.
  • Audit charts to prepare for successful JCAHO surveys as well as implement/assess corrective actions.
  • Provide intensive therapeutic counseling (CBT, DBT) to dual-diagnoses caseload of inmates, a mental illness and/or mental retardation.
  • Volunteer to be train and then train other staff in documentation process to meet JCAHO standards.
  • Co-Facilitate and facilitate DBT groups.
  • Provide in-services to all clinical staff on differing topics including: regulatory compliance, psychopharmacology, physical restraint, and psychopathology.

Mental Health Nurse Job Description

When it comes to understanding what a mental health nurse does, you may be wondering, "should I become a mental health nurse?" The data included in this section may help you decide. Compared to other jobs, mental health nurses have a growth rate described as "much faster than average" at 12% between the years 2018 - 2028, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, the number of mental health nurse opportunities that are predicted to open up by 2028 is 371,500.

On average, the mental health nurse annual salary is $106,812 per year, which translates to $51.35 an hour. Generally speaking, mental health nurses earn anywhere from $62,000 to $182,000 a year, which means that the top-earning mental health nurses make $66,000 more than the ones at the lower end of the spectrum.

It's hard work to become a mental health nurse, but even the most dedicated employees consider switching careers from time to time. Whether you're interested in a more challenging position or just looking for a fresh start, we've compiled extensive information on becoming a therapist, counselor/art therapist, psychiatric technician, and behavior technician.

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Mental Health Nurse Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 22% of Mental Health Nurses are proficient in Patients, Psychiatric Mental, and PMHNP. They’re also known for soft skills such as Emotional stability, Physical stamina, and Compassion.

We break down the percentage of Mental Health Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 22%

    Provided psychiatric evaluation, medication management and education for patients with serious and persistent mental illness and debilitating personality disorders.

  • Psychiatric Mental, 10%

    Functioned as the only psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and psychiatric provider within an outpatient community health center.

  • PMHNP, 6%

    Teach, precept, supervise and evaluate PMHNP students.

  • Medication Management, 6%

    Provide psychiatric evaluation, consultation, brief supportive therapy, and medication management for residents of assisted living and skilled nursing facilities

  • CPR, 5%

    Obtained necessary certifications, including child abuse clearance, CPR, and nonviolent crisis intervention training.

  • Crisis Intervention, 4%

    Provide acute crisis intervention, determine safety risk, and refer for inpatient hospitalization as indicated.

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"patients," "psychiatric mental," and "pmhnp" aren't the only skills we found mental health nurses list on their resumes. In fact, there's a whole list of mental health nurse responsibilities that we found, including:

  • The most important skills for a mental health nurse to have in this position are emotional stability. In this excerpt that we gathered from a mental health nurse resume, you'll understand why: "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to manage their emotions to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stresses." According to resumes we found, emotional stability can be used by a mental health nurse in order to "maintained medical stability of patients by proper assessment, documentation, intervention, and evaluation. "
  • While it may not be the most important skill, we found that many mental health nurse duties rely on physical stamina. This example from a mental health nurse explains why: "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as moving patients." This resume example is just one of many ways mental health nurses are able to utilize physical stamina: "administered total patient care including physical assessment, oral medication administration, patient monitoring, and patient and family education. "
  • Mental health nurses are also known for compassion, which can be critical when it comes to performing their duties. An example of why this skill is important is shown by this snippet that we found in a mental health nurse resume: "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when looking after patients." We also found this resume example that details how this skill is put to the test: "delivered high-quality and compassionate treatment to mental health patients in residential environment. "
  • In order for certain mental health nurse responsibilities to be completed, the job requires the skill "detail oriented." According to a mental health nurse resume, "registered nurses must be responsible and detail oriented because they must make sure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." As an example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies: "shift-oriented documentation; i.e., census and reconciliation of medication administration records. "
  • Another skill commonly found on mental health nurse resumes is "communication skills." This description of the skill was found on several mental health nurse resumes: "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and assess their health conditions" Here's an example from a resume of how this skill could fit into the day-to-day mental health nurse responsibilities: "practiced therapeutic communication and psychiatric care for mental health patients. "
  • See the full list of mental health nurse skills.

    We've found that 43.5% of mental health nurses have earned a bachelor's degree. Furthermore, 17.6% earned their master's degrees before becoming a mental health nurse. While it's true that most mental health nurses have a college degree, it's generally possible to become one with only a high school degree. In fact, one out of every six mental health nurses did not spend the extra money to attend college.

    The mental health nurses who went onto college to earn a more in-depth education generally studied nursing and psychology, while a small population of mental health nurses studied nursing science and business.

    Once you're ready to become a mental health nurse, you should explore the companies that typically hire mental health nurses. According to mental health nurse resumes that we searched through, mental health nurses are hired the most by Cerebral, Discovery Behavioral Health, and Wellpath. Currently, Cerebral has 940 mental health nurse job openings, while there are 89 at Discovery Behavioral Health and 63 at Wellpath.

    But if you're interested in companies where you might earn a high salary, mental health nurses tend to earn the biggest salaries at Community Health Systems, Mercy Corps, and Mercy Health. Take Community Health Systems for example. The median mental health nurse salary is $183,119. At Mercy Corps, mental health nurses earn an average of $156,371, while the average at Mercy Health is $153,189. You should take into consideration how difficult it might be to secure a job with one of these companies.

    View more details on mental health nurse salaries across the United States.

    If you earned a degree from the top 100 educational institutions in the United States, you might want to take a look at Private Practice, Apalachee Center, and Centers For Disease Control And Prevention. These three companies have hired a significant number of mental health nurses from these institutions.

    The industries that mental health nurses fulfill the most roles in are the health care and government industries. But the highest mental health nurse annual salary is in the government industry, averaging $113,936. In the professional industry they make $103,120 and average about $96,114 in the health care industry. In conclusion, mental health nurses who work in the government industry earn a 36.4% higher salary than mental health nurses in the finance industry.

    The three companies that hire the most prestigious mental health nurses are:

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    What Therapists Do

    A therapist is responsible for improving the patients' health conditions by evaluating their needs and providing physical and mental support. Therapists are licensed, medical professionals who specialize in different areas to perform treatments and bring relief to patients. Some of their duties include diagnosing patient's problems, performing counseling services, monitoring medication progress, customizing therapy activities for pain management, and consulting other health professionals as needed. Therapists must have extensive knowledge with the medical industry to detect patients' conditions easily and provide effective medications.

    In this section, we take a look at the annual salaries of other professions. Take therapist for example. On average, the therapists annual salary is $50,869 lower than what mental health nurses make on average every year.

    While the salaries between these two careers can be different, they do share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both mental health nurses and therapists positions are skilled in patients, crisis intervention, and rehabilitation.

    These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. A mental health nurse responsibility is more likely to require skills like "psychiatric mental," "pmhnp," "medication management," and "cpr." Whereas a therapist requires skills like "patient care," "therapeutic services," "therapy services," and "substance abuse issues." Just by understanding these different skills you can see how different these careers are.

    Therapists really shine in the government industry with an average salary of $55,972. Whereas mental health nurses tend to make the most money in the government industry with an average salary of $113,936.

    The education levels that therapists earn is a bit different than that of mental health nurses. In particular, therapists are 24.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a mental health nurse. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    What Are The Duties Of a Counselor/Art Therapist?

    A counselor/art therapist is responsible for conducting art sessions as part of patients' therapy treatments, letting them express their human nature and emotions through artistic discovery. Counselors/art therapists guide the patients throughout their recovery process, identifying their needs and conditions by analyzing their crafts. A counselor/art therapist coordinates with other medical professionals to deliver quality care services for the patients, monitor their progress, record observations, and instructing patients in art activities to discover their maximum potential.

    The next role we're going to look at is the counselor/art therapist profession. Typically, this position earns a lower pay. In fact, they earn a $27,395 lower salary than mental health nurses per year.

    A similarity between the two careers of mental health nurses and counselor/art therapists are a few of the skills associated with both roles. We used resumes from both professions to find that both use skills like "patients," "crisis intervention," and "veterans. "

    In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are worth noting. For example, mental health nurse responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "psychiatric mental," "pmhnp," "medication management," and "cpr." Meanwhile, a counselor/art therapist might be skilled in areas such as "diagnosis," "family therapy," "behavioral health," and "individual therapy." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

    When it comes to the differences in education between the two professions, counselor/art therapists tend to reach higher levels of education than mental health nurses. In fact, they're 26.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    How a Psychiatric Technician Compares

    A psychiatric technician is responsible for supporting patients with mental issues and disabilities by administering treatment plans and quality therapeutic care. Psychiatric technicians assist the patients through counseling, observing their mental and social behaviors, and suggesting recreational activities to help them interact with others. They also work with other medical professionals to seek advice, especially when performing medical procedures and suggesting medications. A psychiatric technician must have excellent communication and time-management skills, especially when responding to the patients' concerns and looking after them during daily activities.

    The psychiatric technician profession generally makes a lower amount of money when compared to the average salary of mental health nurses. The difference in salaries is psychiatric technicians making $67,150 lower than mental health nurses.

    While looking through the resumes of several mental health nurses and psychiatric technicians we discovered that both professions have similar skills. These similarities include skills such as "patients," "cpr," and "crisis intervention," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

    As mentioned, these two careers differ between other skills that are required for performing the work exceedingly well. For example, gathering from mental health nurses resumes, they are more likely to have skills like "psychiatric mental," "pmhnp," "medication management," and "psychiatric services." But a psychiatric technician might have skills like "patient behavior," "restraints," "cpi," and "mental illness."

    Psychiatric technicians make a very good living in the government industry with an average annual salary of $33,642. Whereas mental health nurses are paid the highest salary in the government industry with the average being $113,936.

    When it comes to education, psychiatric technicians tend to earn lower education levels than mental health nurses. In fact, they're 9.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

    Description Of a Behavior Technician

    The job of a behavioral technician is to offer mental health services to patients who struggle with behavior-related problems. Behavior technicians uphold the highest standard of quality of care. They are the ones who enforce learning programs like self-help, communication, and play skills. It is their duty to incorporate medical care training for parents, so caregivers or family members can support and teach skills during family activities. One must be good in written and verbal communication, can work with team members, and develop good interpersonal relationship skills to be a good technician.

    The fourth career we look at typically earns lower pay than mental health nurses. On average, behavior technicians earn a difference of $68,786 lower per year.

    While both mental health nurses and behavior technicians complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like patients, cpr, and crisis intervention, the two careers also vary in other skills.

    Each job requires different skills like "psychiatric mental," "pmhnp," "medication management," and "substance abuse," which might show up on a mental health nurse resume. Whereas behavior technician might include skills like "applied behavior analysis," "behavior analysis," "bcba," and "developmental disabilities."

    Behavior technicians earn a higher salary in the education industry with an average of $40,316. Whereas, mental health nurses earn the highest salary in the government industry.

    Behavior technicians reach lower levels of education when compared to mental health nurses. The difference is that they're 6.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree less, and 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.