What does a mental health therapist do?
The job of mental health therapists is to guide individuals, groups, couples, and families with problems that are impacting their well-being and mental health. Their duties and responsibilities include encouraging clients to talk about their experiences, examining issues that may affect mental health such as substance abuse and bullying, and assisting clients in defining their goals and action plans. Mental health therapists are also responsible for developing therapeutic processes, referring clients to other services or resources like psychologists, and helping them adjust to life changes.
Mental health therapist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real mental health therapist resumes:
- 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.
- Care for children with autism and document daily data collection.
- Utilize therapy techniques from various modalities including EMDR, TF-CBT, and DBT
- Develop and implement treatment plans for each client addressing the diagnosis and presenting problem.
- Facilitate case management and after care planning to PHP, IOP or further residential treatment.
- Conduct individual sessions with clients, including EMDR therapy; create and monitor treatment plans.
- Plan for discharge, make referrals for follow-up after IOP completion and assist with obtaining services.
- Diagnose clients according to the DSM coding after thorough observation of client's verbal and non-verbal behavior.
- Supervise adults with retardation, autism, and or substance abuse problems in a daily living facility.
- Train new employees on orientation job responsibilities and crisis training techniques to include CPR & handle with care procedures.
- Provide counseling for individuals, groups and bereavement to all individuals and their families affect by a cancer diagnosis.
- Maintain HIPPA compliance and confidentiality standards as well as the AAMFT and NV code of ethics for MFT's.
Mental health therapist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 35% of Mental Health Therapists are proficient in Social Work, Patients, and Mental Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Emotional skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Mental Health Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Social Work, 35%
Communicated and interacted closely with mental health care professionals, including clinical social workers, psychiatrists, and psychologists.
- Patients, 10%
Collaborated with patients to develop individualized treatment plans and evaluated plans periodically to monitor progress towards achieving identified goals and objectives.
- Mental Health, 6%
Provided mental health assessments, chemical dependency treatment services, intakes and screenings, worked collaboratively with other community based organizations.
- Group Therapy Sessions, 5%
Completed evaluations and assessments wrote and implemented treatment plans conducted all individualized and group therapy sessions for the unit.
- Mental Health Issues, 3%
Diagnosed children with mental health issues by using Diagnostic Statistical Manual and provided individualized treatment plans for all individual cases.
- Community Resources, 3%
Provided crisis intervention when needed and referred/coordinated with appropriate community resources, third-party payers and other medical providers.
"social work," "patients," and "mental health" are among the most common skills that mental health therapists use at work. You can find even more mental health therapist responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a mental health therapist to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "clients talk to social workers about challenges in their lives." Mental health therapists often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "lead and co-lead groups, such as: appropriate and effective communication and discussion, discharge planning, and assertiveness. "
Problem-solving skills. mental health therapists are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to mental health therapist responsibilities, because "social workers must analyze their clients’ complex situations and develop practical solutions." A mental health therapist resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "provide crisis management and short-term, solution focused therapy to employees of over 120 companies through their eap benefit. "
The three companies that hire the most mental health therapists are:
- Talkspace2,108 mental health therapists jobs
- Sea Mar Community Health Centers203 mental health therapists jobs
- Discovery Behavioral Health201 mental health therapists jobs
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Compare different mental health therapists
Mental health therapist 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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, mental health therapist responsibilities require skills like "community services," "excellent interpersonal," "dsm," and "treatment modalities." Meanwhile a typical clinician has skills in areas such as "patient care," "individual therapy," "treatment services," and "risk assessments." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, clinicians reach lower levels of education than mental health therapists. Clinicians are 8.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Mental health therapist vs. Licensed professional counselor
A licensed professional counselor is a healthcare professional who specializes in providing therapy and counseling to patients with emotional and mental health issues. They listen to their patients and utilize various techniques to address concerns and help through the healing procedures. Their duties entail conducting interviews and evaluations, performing research and assessments, studying the patients' medical histories, providing consultations, and developing treatment plans that suit every patients' needs. Additionally, a licensed professional counselor monitors and records their patients' progress, adjusting treatments and medications as necessary.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that mental health therapist responsibilities requires skills like "foster care," "community services," "excellent interpersonal," and "dsm." But a licensed professional counselor might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "lpc," "real estate," "individual therapy," and "hipaa."
On average, licensed professional counselors earn a higher salary than mental health therapists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, licensed professional counselors earn the most pay in the real estate industry with an average salary of $99,425. Whereas mental health therapists have higher pay in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $53,528.licensed professional counselors earn similar levels of education than mental health therapists in general. They're 1.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for mental health therapists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Cheryl Stenmark Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director, Industrial/Organizational Psychology Masters Program, Angelo State University
Mental health therapist vs. Counselor/art therapist
A counselor/art therapist is responsible for conducting art sessions as part of patients' therapy treatments, letting them express their human nature and emotions through artistic discovery. Counselors/art therapists guide the patients throughout their recovery process, identifying their needs and conditions by analyzing their crafts. A counselor/art therapist coordinates with other medical professionals to deliver quality care services for the patients, monitor their progress, record observations, and instructing patients in art activities to discover their maximum potential.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a mental health therapist is likely to be skilled in "foster care," "rehabilitation," "community services," and "excellent interpersonal," while a typical counselor/art therapist is skilled in "diagnosis," "family therapy," "behavioral health," and "individual therapy."
Counselor/art therapists typically earn similar educational levels compared to mental health therapists. Specifically, they're 4.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Mental health therapist vs. Primary therapist
Primary therapists are the main point of contact for patients concerning wellness and overall mental health. Those who choose this career path will be expected to supervise and manage efficient treatment according to plan, and to manage between six and eight patients at a time, keeping in constant communication with these patients and various specialists.
Types of mental health therapist
Updated January 8, 2025
