What does a mental health specialist do?
A mental health specialist is responsible for evaluating a patient's mental health condition and develop appropriate treatment plans to help the patients cope up with their mental difficulties. Mental health specialists provide counseling to the patients, listening to their situation, and responding with the utmost consideration. They also create regular progress reports and medical charts to monitor ongoing medication, updating treatment plans as needed. A mental health specialist must have excellent communication and organization skills, helping the patients deal with their mental stress and return to a healthy lifestyle.
Mental health specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real mental health specialist resumes:
- Provide individualize intervention for problematic behaviors using TCI techniques such as de-escalation, to prevent and/or manage crisis.
- Assist and encourage patients with ADL's including feeding, ambulating, and hygiene to promote patient care.
- Utilize rehabilitation principles to support individuals, families and communities in developing effective strategies to improve client mental health functioning.
- Provide psychological care to patients in an in-patient psych unit, including facilitating group activities, crisis intervention, implementing therapeutic approaches
- Meet physical requirements to complete SAMA and CPR training.
- Provide kindness and compassion to the deceased and their families.
- Certify in CPR, patient restraint, and individual mini mental status exams.
- Collaborate with interdisciplinary team to support the children s education plans, behavioral and ADL goals, and relationship-building skills.
- Render direct patient care and services to high-acuity mentally and cognitively impair patients in the hospital setting.
- Provide specialized care and direct supervision for mentally ill adult, child and adolescent direct towards optimal care and rehabilitation.PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Provide administrative oversight to several projects, including a provider incentive program and the drafting of the Medicaid request for qualifications.
- Document and bill for services in accordance with Medi-Cal regulations.
Mental health specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 19% of Mental Health Specialists are proficient in Patients, Social Work, and Rehabilitation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Emotional skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Mental Health Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 19%
Provided psychological care to patients in an in-patient psych unit, including facilitating group activities, crisis intervention, implementing therapeutic approaches
- Social Work, 11%
Provided clinical social work/counseling services to adults/children with severe mental illness and co morbid conditions through mental health intensive case management.
- Rehabilitation, 6%
Provided specialized care and direct supervision for mentally ill adult, child and adolescent directed towards optimal care and rehabilitation.PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Mental Health, 5%
Welcomed and treated individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders as having two primary conditions each requiring attention.
- CPR, 5%
Keep current CPR certification and Certification in Therapeutic Intervention Procedures.
- Vital Signs, 4%
Assisted in prompting patients to complete ADL/ILS skills, crisis/restraints and taking routine vital signs of patients under high supervision.
Most mental health specialists use their skills in "patients," "social work," and "rehabilitation" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential mental health specialist responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling mental health specialist duties is interpersonal skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "social workers must be able to work with different groups of people." According to a mental health specialist resume, here's how mental health specialists can utilize interpersonal skills in their job responsibilities: "provide interpersonal and technical skills in the observation and recognition of symptoms and reactions of patients with mental illness. "
Problem-solving skills. mental health specialists are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to mental health specialist responsibilities, because "social workers must analyze their clients’ complex situations and develop practical solutions." A mental health specialist resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "led groups based on independent living, life skills, teen issues, conflict resolution, and addictions. "
Communication skills. mental health specialist responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "clients talk to social workers about challenges in their lives." This resume example shows what mental health specialists do with communication skills on a typical day: "developed and maintained lines of communication with community by educating them on mental illness to agencies, residence and other professionals. "
Organizational skills. A commonly-found skill in mental health specialist job descriptions, "organizational skills" is essential to what mental health specialists do. Mental health specialist responsibilities rely on this skill because "social workers must help and manage multiple clients, often assisting with their paperwork or documenting their treatment." You can also see how mental health specialist duties rely on organizational skills in this resume example: "demonstrate organizational intelligence, cleanliness, and awareness of spatial requirements. "
The three companies that hire the most mental health specialists are:
- Dungarvin80 mental health specialists jobs
- Telecare40 mental health specialists jobs
- Partners Healthcare Solutions Inc
23 mental health specialists jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable mental health specialist resume templates
Build a professional mental health specialist resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your mental health specialist resume.
Compare different mental health specialists
Mental health specialist vs. Community health counselor
A community health counselor typically provides health and welfare support to the disadvantaged members of a community. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies to reach out to community members, coordinating with schools and other institutions, and building positive relationships with the communities that they serve. They may also provide counseling sessions to individuals of all ages, conduct observations and assessments, perform interventions, and identify any signs of abuse or neglect, reporting to the authorities right away. Furthermore, they may refer families or individuals to other social services unit if necessary.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a mental health specialist are more likely to require skills like "substance abuse," "therapeutic relationships," "autism," and "mental health care." On the other hand, a job as a community health counselor requires skills like "behavioral health," "eating disorders," "mental health disorders," and "medication education." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Community health counselors tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $41,674. In contrast, mental health specialists make the biggest average salary, $47,531, in the government industry.The education levels that community health counselors earn slightly differ from mental health specialists. In particular, community health counselors are 2.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a mental health specialist. Additionally, they're 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Mental health specialist vs. Youth care specialist
Youth care specialists are social experts who coordinate programs for children and young people who need care while being away from their own families for some reason. These specialists are required to maintain a safe environment in the community so that children will feel safe, cared for, and nurture. They must lead various seminars for youths about topics such as job readiness, financial literacy, and higher education. They must also communicate the concerns and other important information to a child's assigned social worker and provide back-up support to case managers if needed.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real mental health specialist resumes. While mental health specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "rehabilitation," "mental illness," "therapeutic relationships," and "direct patient care," youth care specialists use skills like "customer service," "excellent time management," "minor maintenance," and "direct care."
Youth care specialists earn a lower average salary than mental health specialists. But youth care specialists earn the highest pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $39,391. Additionally, mental health specialists earn the highest salaries in the government with average pay of $47,531 annually.youth care specialists earn lower levels of education than mental health specialists in general. They're 13.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for mental health specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Virginia Schwindt
MSW Field Director/Associate Professor, Union University
Mental health specialist vs. Living specialist
A living specialist is a person who is responsible for assisting and guiding individuals that have difficulties caring for themselves. They are the person who helps them in doing household chores and guiding them throughout the cleaning process. This career is an important position in society because it provides care for those who are in need.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, mental health specialists are more likely to have skills like "patients," "social work," "rehabilitation," and "vital signs." But a living specialist is more likely to have skills like "foster care," "developmental disabilities," "emergency situations," and "emergency first aid."
Living specialists earn the highest salary when working in the non profits industry, where they receive an average salary of $37,646. Comparatively, mental health specialists have the highest earning potential in the government industry, with an average salary of $47,531.When it comes to education, living specialists tend to earn lower degree levels compared to mental health specialists. In fact, they're 9.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Mental health specialist vs. Intervention specialist
An intervention specialist is responsible for assisting children with special education and social adjustment needs in schools and other educational settings. You will be responsible for designing, executing, and assessing programs based on different factors, including gender, cultural background, and age. Other tasks that you will likely perform include working closely with teachers to discuss the subject matter with students, ensuring children and occupied and safe, and maintaining records of children's performance and lesson plans. An intervention specialist is also responsible for adhering to individualized education programs.
Types of mental health specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
