Mental health professional vs mental health clinician

The differences between mental health professionals and mental health 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 professional and a mental health clinician. Additionally, a mental health clinician has an average salary of $54,359, which is higher than the $49,119 average annual salary of a mental health professional.

The top three skills for a mental health professional include social work, patients and CPR. The most important skills for a mental health clinician are social work, patients, and mental health.

Mental health professional vs mental health clinician overview

	Mental Health Professional	Mental Health Clinician
Yearly salary	$49,119	$54,359
Hourly rate	$23.61	$26.13
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	109,499	91,347
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Master's Degree, 49%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	4

What does a mental health professional do?

The duties of a mental health professional will revolve around observing the behavior of patients. They are responsible for knowing their medical history, conducting consultations and assessments, diagnosing conditions, devising particular treatments and prescribing medication, and providing emotional support to patients. Furthermore, a mental health professional must coordinate with families and other mental health experts to monitor patients' behavior and develop care plans to help them in their road to recovery.

What does a mental health clinician do?

A Mental Health Clinician provides psychotherapeutic and rehabilitation services for patients with mental health problems. They manage the treatment of clients and help them to obtain stable physical health.

Mental health professional vs mental health clinician salary

Mental health professionals and mental health clinicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mental Health Professional	Mental Health Clinician
Average salary	$49,119	$54,359
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $70,000	Between $36,000 And $80,000
Highest paying City	Cupertino, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Wellpath	City and County of Denver Government
Best paying industry	Finance	Education

Differences between mental health professional and mental health clinician education

There are a few differences between a mental health professional and a mental health clinician in terms of educational background:

	Mental Health Professional	Mental Health Clinician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Master's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	California State University - Long Beach

Mental health professional vs mental health clinician demographics

Here are the differences between mental health professionals' and mental health clinicians' demographics:

	Mental Health Professional	Mental Health Clinician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 26.2% Female, 73.8%	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%

Differences between mental health professional and mental health clinician duties and responsibilities

Mental health professional example responsibilities.

Lead training for staff on specific counseling interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders.
Monitor and manage preventative behavior with 2-3 MHA'S team and carry out a constructive routine with patients.
Provide individual treatment using CBT, DBT and motivational interviewing techniques to detainees with mental health and/or behavioral concerns.
Develop curriculum for and facilitate mental health groups including DBT education.
Provide comprehensive, recovery orient mental health skill building and support to patients with psychiatric disorder, including co-occurring diagnosis
Work with children and families as a psycho-social rehabilitation provider and qualify medical health assistant.

Mental health clinician example responsibilities.

Work with children with autism and developmental impairment, providing weekly therapeutic sessions.
Provide individual and group psychotherapy for adult population with goal of rehabilitation and community reintegration.
Meet productivity standards comply with all DMH documentation standards and participate in on call crisis intervention rotation.
Provide psychotherapy with empathy and concern as indicated by supervisory observation and feedback from patients, family and fellow team members.
Provide clinical therapeutic services to patients, including individual and group therapy and coordination of treatment for participants with co-occurring disorders.
Assess, diagnose, provide psychotherapy and rehabilitation for seriously mentally ill adults, children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbance.

Mental health professional vs mental health clinician skills

Common mental health professional skills

Social Work, 20%
Patients, 19%
CPR, 7%
Excellent Interpersonal, 6%
Clinical Supervision, 5%
Clinical Documentation, 5%

Common mental health clinician skills

Social Work, 28%
Patients, 15%
Mental Health, 5%
Discharge Planning, 3%
Community Resources, 3%
Rehabilitation, 2%

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Mental Health Professional
Mental Health Professional vs Mental Health Clinician

Updated January 8, 2025

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