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The differences between mental health practitioners and clinicians 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 practitioner and a clinician. Additionally, a clinician has an average salary of $60,150, which is higher than the $50,628 average annual salary of a mental health practitioner.
The top three skills for a mental health practitioner include social work, patients and mental health. The most important skills for a clinician are social work, patients, and patient care.
| Mental Health Practitioner | Clinician | |
| Yearly salary | $50,628 | $60,150 |
| Hourly rate | $24.34 | $28.92 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 140,365 | 105,023 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Mental health practitioners are medical professionals who work with patients who have mental health issues such as schizophrenia, split personality disorder, and depression. These practitioners are required to develop and implement patient care plans for adults with severe mental disabilities while providing mental health services to attain improved mental health. They must make sure that patients did not spit out their medicines by observing post medication administration with the nurse. Mental health practitioners must also manage therapeutic activities that will teach patients about functional living skills.
A clinician specializes in providing diagnosis, treatment, and direct care to patients with different illnesses. A clinician's duties mainly revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis, providing medical care through various therapies, and improving one's overall health condition. Furthermore, a clinician must obtain and analyze a patient's complete medical history, provide diagnostic tests, always monitor the effects of treatment on a patient, provide prognosis and consider the overall impact on a patient's health and well-being.
Mental health practitioners and clinicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Mental Health Practitioner | Clinician | |
| Average salary | $50,628 | $60,150 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $71,000 | Between $34,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Nevada |
| Best paying company | Dignity Health | Pace University |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | - |
There are a few differences between a mental health practitioner and a clinician in terms of educational background:
| Mental Health Practitioner | Clinician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| 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 practitioners' and clinicians' demographics:
| Mental Health Practitioner | Clinician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.1% Female, 75.9% | Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 15% | 15% |