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Mental health practitioner vs psychologist

The differences between mental health practitioners 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 $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 psychologist are patients, crisis intervention, and rehabilitation.

Mental health practitioner vs psychologist overview

Mental Health PractitionerPsychologist
Yearly salary$50,628$97,803
Hourly rate$24.34$47.02
Growth rate9%6%
Number of jobs140,36512,516
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age4547
Years of experience4-

What does a mental health practitioner do?

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.

What does a psychologist do?

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 practitioner vs psychologist salary

Mental health practitioners and psychologists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Mental Health PractitionerPsychologist
Average salary$50,628$97,803
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $71,000Between $68,000 And $139,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyDignity HealthSierra Corporation
Best paying industryNon ProfitsHealth Care

Differences between mental health practitioner and psychologist education

There are a few differences between a mental health practitioner and a psychologist in terms of educational background:

Mental Health PractitionerPsychologist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorPsychologyPsychology
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachNorthwestern University

Mental health practitioner vs psychologist demographics

Here are the differences between mental health practitioners' and psychologists' demographics:

Mental Health PractitionerPsychologist
Average age4547
Gender ratioMale, 24.1% Female, 75.9%Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%
Race ratioBlack 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, 5.1% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 4.2% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage15%20%

Differences between mental health practitioner and psychologist duties and responsibilities

Mental health practitioner example responsibilities.

  • Manage other MHA's in their duties and help them problem solving in tense and stressful situations.
  • Provide case management, crisis intervention and counseling for patients diagnose with co-occurring disorders in a residential treatment setting.
  • Case management, CBT/DBT, vocational rehabilitation, benefit supports and application processing.
  • Monitor patients prescribe psychotropic medications assure compliance and accuracy, and assess effectiveness and side effects.
  • Provide in-home services to diverse individuals with severe and persistent mental illnesses, developmental disability and chemical dependency concerns.
  • Develop and facilitate a psycho-educational program for recovery from depression and PTSD.

Psychologist example responsibilities.

  • Supervise mental health staff, including the overseeing of the provision of mental health services in a correctional facility.
  • Provide EMDR therapy for clients with trauma and anxiety.
  • Perform tests to diagnose autism in children or tests for the detection of autism at an early age.
  • Provide supervision and mentoring for APA Pre-Doctoral interns.
  • Supervise clinical activities of doctoral level psychology interns in APA accredit internship program.
  • Evaluate veterans for psychological disorders that may have resulted secondary to their military service for compensation purposes.
  • Show more

Mental health practitioner vs psychologist skills

Common mental health practitioner skills
  • Social Work, 17%
  • Patients, 9%
  • Mental Health, 8%
  • Family Therapy, 7%
  • Rehabilitation, 6%
  • In-Home, 5%
Common psychologist skills
  • Patients, 18%
  • Crisis Intervention, 7%
  • Rehabilitation, 6%
  • Mental Illness, 5%
  • Clinical Supervision, 5%
  • APA, 4%

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