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.
Mental health practitioner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real mental health practitioner resumes:
- 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.
Mental health practitioner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 17% of Mental Health Practitioners are proficient in Social Work, Patients, and Mental Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Emotional skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Mental Health Practitioners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Social Work, 17%
Worked collaboratively with social workers, psychiatrists and other involved professionals as well as support persons.
- Patients, 9%
Monitored patients prescribed psychotropic medications assure compliance and accuracy, and assess effectiveness and side effects.
- Mental Health, 8%
Worked with 22 chronically homeless residents with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders in project-based Permanent Supportive Housing.
- Family Therapy, 7%
Practiced cognitive behavioral, motivational enhancement and structural family therapy with children diagnosed with a severe mental illness.
- Rehabilitation, 6%
Case record includes daily records of contact hours and rehabilitation interventions provided.
- In-Home, 5%
Provided both in-home and office-based individual therapy to clients with mental illness.
"social work," "patients," and "mental health" are among the most common skills that mental health practitioners use at work. You can find even more mental health practitioner responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a mental health practitioner to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "clients talk to social workers about challenges in their lives." Mental health practitioners often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "maintain communication between patient, mental health organization, and facility. "
Interpersonal skills. mental health practitioners are also known for interpersonal skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to mental health practitioner responsibilities, because "social workers must be able to work with different groups of people." A mental health practitioner resume example shows how interpersonal skills is used in the workplace: "facilitated groups addressing relapse prevention, addictions, daily functioning, healthy coping skills, crisis management, and interpersonal groups. "
Organizational skills. mental health practitioner responsibilities often require "organizational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "social workers must help and manage multiple clients, often assisting with their paperwork or documenting their treatment." This resume example shows what mental health practitioners do with organizational skills on a typical day: "demonstrate organizational intelligence, cleanliness, and awareness of spatial requirements. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a mental health practitioner to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what mental health practitioners relies on this skill, since "social workers must analyze their clients’ complex situations and develop practical solutions." How this skill relates to mental health practitioner duties can be seen in an example from a mental health practitioner resume snippet: "served as a positive role model for clients regarding problem solving, conflict resolution, and independent living skills. "
The three companies that hire the most mental health practitioners are:
- Peoples Services28 mental health practitioners jobs
- University of Washington14 mental health practitioners jobs
- Powell Valley Care Ctr7 mental health practitioners jobs
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Compare different mental health practitioners
Mental health practitioner vs. Clinician
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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a mental health practitioner are more likely to require skills like "family therapy," "in-home," "substance abuse," and "persistent mental illness." On the other hand, a job as a clinician requires skills like "patient care," "mental illness," "clinical services," and "clinical supervision." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that clinicians earn slightly differ from mental health practitioners. In particular, clinicians are 10.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a mental health practitioner. Additionally, they're 1.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Mental health practitioner vs. Vocational rehabilitation counselor
The primary role of a vocational rehabilitation counselor is to help disabled people to live fully and independently. Vocational rehabilitation counselors assist people with disabilities in securing employment. They provide health care to those who are coping with mental illness, substance abuse issues, psychological disorders, or physical disabilities. Knowledge of patient care, health management, rehabilitation program, and clinical psychology is a must for this job.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real mental health practitioner resumes. While mental health practitioner responsibilities can utilize skills like "patients," "family therapy," "in-home," and "autism," vocational rehabilitation counselors use skills like "transferable," "plan development," "vocational assessments," and "vocational rehabilitation."
Vocational rehabilitation counselors may earn a lower salary than mental health practitioners, but vocational rehabilitation counselors earn the most pay in the non profits industry with an average salary of $51,785. On the other hand, mental health practitioners receive higher pay in the non profits industry, where they earn an average salary of $55,825.In general, vocational rehabilitation counselors achieve higher levels of education than mental health practitioners. They're 5.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for mental health practitioners in the next 3-5 years?
Lesley Casarez Ph.D.
Director, Quality Enhancement Plan Program Coordinator, M.S. Professional School Counseling Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Angelo State University
Mental health practitioner vs. Assessment specialist
An assessment specialist is an administrative professional who is responsible for designing and conducting assessment tests for a variety of academic clients. Assessment specialists are required to coordinate and implement the student testing program, which includes assessing an individual child's needs, potentials, and limitations. They must monitor special education or talent and gifted (TAG) staff to ensure that objectives are met. Assessment specialists must also need to know state laws and federal that pertain to educational assessments.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, mental health practitioners are more likely to have skills like "family therapy," "in-home," "autism," and "substance abuse." But a assessment specialist is more likely to have skills like "worksheets," "edition," "professional development," and "mental health assessments."
Assessment specialists earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $71,059. Mental health practitioners earn the highest pay from the non profits industry, with an average salary of $55,825.assessment specialists typically earn similar educational levels compared to mental health practitioners. Specifically, they're 4.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Mental health practitioner vs. School social worker
A school social worker specializes in counseling students, families, and faculty members. They are responsible for coordinating with the school to develop programs that prioritize the students' emotional and psychological well-being, respond to any issues and concerns, build rapport to identify their needs, and communicate with support services to provide necessary assistance to any students or families. There are also instances when a school social worker must assist teachers in handling students with behavioral issues, investigating the underlying reasons. Moreover, it is crucial to identify any signs of neglect or abuse, conducting interventive measures right away.
Types of mental health practitioner
Updated January 8, 2025
