What does a mental health program manager do?
A mental health program manager is in charge of creating and overseeing mental health programs in their organization. They are tasked with following up with patients, designing programs, monitoring program progress, working with other health professionals to ensure patient concerns are addressed, and meeting with patients' families to offer emotional and logistical support. They need to develop strict guidelines to help with mental health, develop policies with other company leaders to ensure patient needs are met, and manage the databases and patient charts.
Mental health program manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real mental health program manager resumes:
- Conduct daily clinical documentation audits, manage consumer financial accounts, provide oversight and approval for all treatment and discharge planning.
- Conduct billing and coding through agency reimbursement funding through Medicaid.
- Develop and maintain close liaison with local providers and drug rehabilitation facilities.
- Chair and direct interdisciplinary teams in the development and evaluation of individualize habilitation, rehabilitation and treatment plans.
- Coordinate and provide qualitative and quantitative review of all documentation to insure billing accuracy for Medicaid compliance and federal guidelines.
- Implement process improvements and Medicare department reorganization that establish a foundation for improve member outcomes and satisfaction and increase product margins.
- Complete documentation following Medi-Cal standards and execute supervisory responsibilities when program director are not available.
Mental health program manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Mental Health Program Managers are proficient in Social Work, Behavioral Health, and Mental Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Technical skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Mental Health Program Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Social Work, 20%
Provided clinical supervision to 20 Licensed Social Workers and coordinated graduate student internships.
- Behavioral Health, 9%
Direct Manager for the Behavioral Health Provider Relations Advocates servicing the state of Tennessee conducting provider relations and individual/group contracting.
- Mental Health, 9%
Administered Mental Health Program and an inter-agency Re-entry Program for HIV-positive ex-offenders, including ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations.
- Substance Abuse, 5%
Improved MHRRTP program by writing policies and enhancing functioning of the homeless, PTSD, and substance abuse programs.
- Family Therapy, 4%
Provide Family Therapy Sessions (utilizing evidence-based modalities) with parents and client.
- Rehabilitation, 4%
Developed and maintain close liaison with local providers and drug rehabilitation facilities.
Most mental health program managers use their skills in "social work," "behavioral health," and "mental health" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential mental health program manager responsibilities here:
Detail oriented. One of the key soft skills for a mental health program manager to have is detail oriented. You can see how this relates to what mental health program managers do because "medical and health services managers must pay attention to detail." Additionally, a mental health program manager resume shows how mental health program managers use detail oriented: "performed detailed monitoring of new clinical programs to include the clinical integrated workstation, tele-medicine project and the clinical information system. "
Technical skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling mental health program manager duties is technical skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "medical and health services managers must stay up to date with advances in healthcare technology, such as the coding and electronic health record (ehr) systems their facility adopts." According to a mental health program manager resume, here's how mental health program managers can utilize technical skills in their job responsibilities: "provided technical assistance and intervention strategies to teachers to strengthen the students' developments. "
Leadership skills. This is an important skill for mental health program managers to perform their duties. For an example of how mental health program manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "medical and health services managers hire, train, and direct staff." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a mental health program manager: "provided leadership, clinical supervision, and training to qualified mental health professionals working in the program. ".
Analytical skills. A commonly-found skill in mental health program manager job descriptions, "analytical skills" is essential to what mental health program managers do. Mental health program manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "medical and health services managers review and evaluate healthcare metrics for ways to improve efficiency and meet goals." You can also see how mental health program manager duties rely on analytical skills in this resume example: "manage program budget, generate monthly reports, and assess data for program efficiency. "
Communication skills. Lastly, "communication skills" is an important element of what a mental health program manager does. Mental health program manager responsibilities require this skill because "medical and health services managers must convey information to their staff, other healthcare workers, and, sometimes, patients and insurance agents." This resume example highlights how mental health program manager duties rely on this skill: "increased communication between staff, specifically, counselors and nurses to promote better patient care. "
The three companies that hire the most mental health program managers are:
- Discovery Behavioral Health28 mental health program managers jobs
- University of Texas System4 mental health program managers jobs
- Child Abuse Prevention Center
4 mental health program managers jobs
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Mental health program manager vs. Service director
A service director is responsible for managing and implementing customer service policies and ensuring that all staff strictly adhere to reach the highest customer satisfaction. Service directors' duties include identifying business opportunities to improve customers' experience, monitoring the performance of the customer service team, developing strategic procedures on service delivery, creating new promotional offers and services, and coaching the team to increase business productivity. A service director must have excellent leadership and communication skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the customer service industry to lead the team and boost company sales.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a mental health program manager are more likely to require skills like "social work," "behavioral health," "mental health," and "substance abuse." On the other hand, a job as a service director requires skills like "patients," "healthcare," "patient care," and "customer service." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Service directors earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $137,415. On the other hand, mental health program managers are paid more in the non profits industry with an average salary of $74,050.The education levels that service directors earn slightly differ from mental health program managers. In particular, service directors are 20.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a mental health program manager. Additionally, they're 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Mental health program manager vs. Nursing director
A nursing director's role is to oversee and evaluate all nurse staff in a hospital or organization, ensuring their efficiency at providing care towards patients. A nursing director's responsibilities mainly revolve around administrative tasks such as coordinating with physicians and other consultants, producing reports, conducting assessments, managing the budget and expenditures, and resolving issues. Furthermore, a nursing director must keep and maintain accurate records, ensuring all procedures adhere to the highest health standards and aligns with the hospital's policies and regulations.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, mental health program manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "social work," "behavioral health," "mental health," and "substance abuse." Meanwhile, a nursing director has duties that require skills in areas such as "patients," "term care," "home health," and "resident care." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, nursing directors earn a higher salary than mental health program managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, nursing directors earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $83,602. Whereas mental health program managers have higher pay in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $74,050.nursing directors earn lower levels of education than mental health program managers in general. They're 27.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Mental health program manager vs. Social work supervisor
Social work supervisors are licensed professionals who are responsible for providing administrative, clinical, and supportive supervision to inexperienced social workers. These supervisors are required to organize training to help their subordinates to develop their skills and promote career growth. They must respond to the conflicts occurring within the team and promote ethical behaviors among them as well as manage their schedules and expectations. Social work supervisors must also participate in research and studies which required opinion from social work organizations.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from mental health program manager resumes include skills like "behavioral health," "program planning," "school health," and "technical assistance," whereas a social work supervisor is more likely to list skills in "patients," "msw," "child welfare," and "protective services. "
Social work supervisors earn the highest salary when working in the government industry, where they receive an average salary of $62,301. Comparatively, mental health program managers have the highest earning potential in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $74,050.Most social work supervisors achieve a higher degree level compared to mental health program managers. For example, they're 9.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Mental health program manager vs. Pharmacist manager
A pharmacist manager is responsible for monitoring the daily operations of a pharmacy, ensuring that all pharmacy personnel provides the right medication to the customers based on the prescription. Pharmacist managers assist in advising the customers for the instructions of their medications, including its dosage and instructions of intake. They manage the inventory and keep safe and clean storage for the products at all times. A pharmacist manager must have a comprehensive knowledge of the medical industry, as well as excellent communication skills, especially in responding to the customers' concerns and inquiries.
Types of mental health program manager
Updated January 8, 2025











