What does a Mental Health Worker do?
A mental health worker is an individual who provides basic care and therapy to patients who are inflicted with mental disabilities or developmental disabilities. Mental health workers assist patients with their daily activities, monitor their conditions, and administer therapeutic care. They may be directly supervised by a registered nurse and can work in facilities such as psychiatric hospitals and residential mental health facilities. They may also help develop treatment plans and strategies with other staff members to best meet patient needs.
Mental health worker responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real mental health worker resumes:
- Respond to and assist in behavioral codes working as a team member to successfully manage patient using methods obtain in CPI training
- Train in provision of CPI, CPR, food handling, infection control and basic nursing care.
- Provide direct care to patients under direction and guidance of professional nursing personnel within a mental illness psychiatric outpatient hospital.
- Assist patients in becoming accustom to hospital routine and encourage them to participate in social and recreational activities to promote rehabilitation.
- Provide referrals to appropriate multidisciplinary services, including mental health, drug/alcohol rehabilitation services, and medical and physical/occupational therapy services.
- Conduct crisis stabilization via sanction CPI techniques with staff assistance.
- Train and perform multiple safety tactics of crisis prevention and intervention to restrain highly aggressive agitate patients.
- Require to successfully complete yearly training for medication management, behavioral management and periodic CPR and first aid certifications.
- Provide clear lines of responsibility and accountability within the BHT department; delegates appropriate authority for completion of assign responsibilities.
- Work with many software programs to include AHLTA and CHCS.
- Assist students with behavioral challenges by utilizing ABA techniques to reinforce positive classroom behaviors
Mental health worker skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Mental Health Workers are proficient in Patients, Crisis Intervention, and Social Work. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Emotional skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Mental Health Workers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 20%
Provided direct care to patients under direction and guidance of professional nursing personnel within a mental illness psychiatric outpatient hospital.
- Crisis Intervention, 6%
Provide therapeutic intervention- Emotional support- crisis intervention
- Social Work, 6%
Collaborated with clinical team including social workers, psychiatrists and nurses to create effective and individualized treatment and behavior modification plans.
- CPR, 5%
Trained in Safety Crisis Management, First Aid, Sanctuary, CPR, Fire Safety, and Medical Administration.
- Vital Signs, 5%
Supervised patient interactions and monitored vital signs; maintained safety and followed the performance of comprehensive treatment plan.
- Rehabilitation, 4%
Assist patients in becoming accustomed to hospital routine and encourage them to participate in social and recreational activities to promote rehabilitation.
"patients," "crisis intervention," and "social work" are among the most common skills that mental health workers use at work. You can find even more mental health worker responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a mental health worker to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "clients talk to social workers about challenges in their lives." Additionally, a mental health worker resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "utilize empathy and communication skills to establish therapeutic relationships with patients. "
Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of mental health workers is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday mental health worker duties, as "social workers must help and manage multiple clients, often assisting with their paperwork or documenting their treatment." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "resume building, organizational skills, and role playing interview scenario's) face-to-face crisis intervention"
Problem-solving skills. For certain mental health worker responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a mental health worker rely on this skill, as "social workers must analyze their clients’ complex situations and develop practical solutions." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what mental health workers do: "resolved crisis situations on a regular basis in order to maintain the safety of those clients served and the surrounding community. "
Interpersonal skills. A commonly-found skill in mental health worker job descriptions, "interpersonal skills" is essential to what mental health workers do. Mental health worker responsibilities rely on this skill because "social workers must be able to work with different groups of people." You can also see how mental health worker duties rely on interpersonal skills in this resume example: "teach, demonstrate, and role model appropriate social and interpersonal skills. "
Compassion. Another skill commonly found on mental health worker job descriptions is "compassion." It can come up quite often in mental health worker duties, since "social workers often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day mental health worker responsibilities: "demonstrate empathy, compassion, validation and active listening in order to sense and respond to each residents individual needs. "
The three companies that hire the most mental health workers are:
- RWJBarnabas Health53 mental health workers jobs
- Trinity Health28 mental health workers jobs
- Danbury Hospital27 mental health workers jobs
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Compare different mental health workers
Mental health worker vs. Program counselor
A Program Counselor is an essential part of a school's faculty. It's the counselor's responsibility to ensure that students are benefiting from the school's educational curriculum. This person is also tasked to help students resolve issues and problems that may hinder any educational progress. They are also part of the disciplinary team intended to instill good morals, ethics, and decency in students. The Program Counselor is one of the teacher or professor who has expertise or has a high educational degree in a particular subject or field.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, mental health worker responsibilities require skills like "rehabilitation," "direct supervision," "patient safety," and "mental health." Meanwhile a typical program counselor has skills in areas such as "community integration," "behavioral interventions," "direct care," and "physical disabilities." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Program counselors really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $41,845. Comparatively, mental health workers tend to make the most money in the professional industry with an average salary of $39,268.On average, program counselors reach similar levels of education than mental health workers. Program counselors are 3.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Mental health worker vs. Residence counselor
Residence counselors are professionals who are responsible for providing services such as one-to-one therapy and crisis support to clients who are living in group homes or assisted-living facilities. These counselors must assist adults with moderate intellectual disabilities to find employment while monitoring their work performance. They must facilitate and supervise daily personal care and activities for developmentally disabled adults. Residence counselors must also encourage clients to participate in community activities that can contribute to the development of skills necessary for independent living.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that mental health worker responsibilities requires skills like "patient safety," "mental health," "excellent interpersonal," and "therapeutic relationships." But a residence counselor might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "english language," "cerebral palsy," "community integration," and "direct support."
Residence counselors earn a lower average salary than mental health workers. But residence counselors earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $35,988. Additionally, mental health workers earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $39,268 annually.residence counselors earn similar levels of education than mental health workers in general. They're 1.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Mental Health Workers in the next 3-5 years?
Virginia Schwindt
MSW Field Director/Associate Professor, Union University
Mental health worker vs. Treatment specialist
The duties of a treatment specialist depend on their line of work or industry of employment. In the medical industry, a treatment specialist is primarily responsible for developing treatments according to the needs and conditions of a patient. They gather and analyze a patient's medical history and records, conduct extensive tests and examinations, coordinate with other medical experts, and discuss the extent of treatments to patients. Furthermore, a treatment specialist must maintain an active communication line with staff for a smooth and efficient workflow.
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 worker resumes include skills like "patients," "patient safety," "direct patient care," and "mental health issues," whereas a treatment specialist is more likely to list skills in "criminal justice," "social histories," "drug abuse," and "individual therapy. "
Treatment specialists make a very good living in the non profits industry with an average annual salary of $44,419. On the other hand, mental health workers are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $39,268.Most treatment specialists achieve a similar degree level compared to mental health workers. For example, they're 3.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Mental health worker vs. Residential counselor
A residential counselor is responsible for guiding and providing the residents with their basic needs and other resources to support them in their daily living. Residential counselors' duties include maintaining the safety of the community by enforcing safety guidelines and procedures for the residents' compliance, organizing productive and engaging community activities, updating the residents of any changes and policies in the community, and resolving conflicts by counseling and understanding each resident's differences. A residential counselor must have excellent communication and decision-making skills to ensure the development of residents in a living facility.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between mental health workers and residential counselors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a mental health worker might have more use for skills like "patient safety," "direct patient care," "mental health issues," and "therapeutic relationships." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of residential counselors require skills like "direct care," "autism," "home health," and "adaptive. "
In general, residential counselors earn the most working in the education industry, with an average salary of $35,120. The highest-paying industry for a mental health worker is the professional industry.The average resume of residential counselors showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to mental health workers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 3.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.0%.Types of mental health worker
Updated January 8, 2025
