What is a mental health therapist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Ron Precht

Mental health therapists are individuals who help clients improve their emotional and mental well-being. They use various techniques to address mental health concerns, such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and relationship issues. Mental health therapists conduct assessments and develop treatment plans tailored to each client's needs and goals. Treatment can involve individual or group therapy sessions, as well as the use of specific interventions like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or mindfulness-based practices.

What general advice would you give to a mental health therapist?

Ron Precht

Senior Manager, American Massage Therapy Association

Generally, metropolitan areas have had more openings for massage therapists. This is a report from the end of 2019 that has the most recent data we have available. Report

ScoreMental Health TherapistUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $50,259

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.3

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 3.12%

Black or African American 7.90%

Hispanic or Latino 7.90%

Unknown 6.24%

White 74.22%

Gender

female 76.73%

male 23.27%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

9.3

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a mental health therapist?

Pros:

Seeing clients make progress and improve their quality of life
Opportunities to work in a variety of settings (private practice, hospitals, schools, etc.)
Competitive salaries and benefits packages
Making a positive impact on society
Opportunities to specialize in specific areas of mental health

Cons:

High stress and emotional demands of the job
Limited ability to help some clients due to insurance limitations or lack of resources
Difficulty separating work life from personal life
Potential for ethical dilemmas or legal issues
Requires ongoing education and training to maintain licensure and stay up-to-date with best practices

Key steps to become a mental health therapist

Explore mental health therapist education requirements

Most common mental health therapist degrees

Master's

48.9 %

Bachelor's

43.9 %

Associate

4.0 %

Start to develop specific mental health therapist skills

Skills	Percentages
Social Work	34.67%
Patients	9.55%
Mental Health	6.23%
Group Therapy Sessions	4.95%
Mental Health Issues	2.59%

Complete relevant mental health therapist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New mental health therapists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a mental health therapist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real mental health therapist resumes.

Research mental health therapist duties and responsibilities

Create and lead PTSD group for women, depression and stress management groups for men and women.
Collaborate with patients to develop individualize treatment plans and evaluate plans periodically to monitor progress towards achieving identify goals and objectives.
Provide clinical supervision for MFT intern and participate in peer to peer reviews.
Receive training in diagnoses, physical restraints and CPR.

Prepare your mental health therapist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your mental health therapist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a mental health therapist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable mental health therapist resume templates

Build a professional mental health therapist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your mental health therapist resume.

Apply for mental health therapist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a mental health therapist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do mental health therapists rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Mental health therapist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2022

Cons

The system is BROKEN! The clients are either entitled or not truly receiving the help they really need.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022

Pros

Making a difference in someone's life. Seeing positive changes.

Cons

Late hours after 9 pm or before 9 am

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Pros

The (working) clients will always be the best part of this job. There are certain individuals who you can feel want to learn more about their conditions and to adopt healthier thinking patterns or lifestyles.

Cons

The insane amount of paperwork, the insurance/agency politics, the high expectations, the low amount of support. Burnout is very concerning for a profession where people in the frontline are the ones trying to make a difference. Individuals who work in this field need to have an incentive to keep pushing. I’m sorry but a kind heart and good intentions are not enough to sustain this type of career.

What is a mental health therapist and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a mental health therapist?

What are the pros and cons of being a mental health therapist?

Mental health therapist career paths

Key steps to become a mental health therapist

Explore mental health therapist education requirements

Most common mental health therapist degrees

Start to develop specific mental health therapist skills

Complete relevant mental health therapist training and internships

Research mental health therapist duties and responsibilities

Prepare your mental health therapist resume

Choose from 10+ customizable mental health therapist resume templates

Apply for mental health therapist jobs

How did you land your first mental health therapist job

Average mental health therapist salary

How do mental health therapists rate their job?

Mental health therapist reviews

Mental health therapist jobs by state