A mental health worker is a professional 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.

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Mental Health Worker Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real mental health worker resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • 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 Job Description

Perhaps the hardest question to answer when deciding on a career as a mental health worker is "should I become a mental health worker?" You might find this info to be helpful. When compared to other jobs, mental health worker careers are projected to have a growth rate described as "much faster than average" at 11% from 2018 through 2028. This is in accordance with the Bureau of Labor Statistics. What's more, is that the projected number of opportunities that are predicted to become available for a mental health worker by 2028 is 81,200.

Mental health workers average about $19.75 an hour, which makes the mental health worker annual salary $41,081. Additionally, mental health workers are known to earn anywhere from $28,000 to $59,000 a year. This means that the top-earning mental health workers make $31,000 more than the lowest earning ones.

As is the case with most jobs, it takes work to become a mental health worker. Sometimes people change their minds about their career after working in the profession. That's why we looked into some other professions that might help you find your next opportunity. These professions include a program counselor, residence counselor, treatment specialist, and residential counselor.

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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.

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Mental Health Worker Resume

"patients," "crisis intervention," and "social work" aren't the only skills we found mental health workers list on their resumes. In fact, there's a whole list of mental health worker responsibilities that we found, including:

  • The most important skills for a mental health worker to have in this position are communication skills. In this excerpt that we gathered from a mental health worker resume, you'll understand why: "clients talk to social workers about challenges in their lives" According to resumes we found, communication skills can be used by a mental health worker in order to "utilize empathy and communication skills to establish therapeutic relationships with patients. "
  • While it may not be the most important skill, we found that many mental health worker duties rely on emotional skills. This example from a mental health worker explains why: "social workers often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." This resume example is just one of many ways mental health workers are able to utilize emotional skills: "intervened in crisis situations and provided emotional support to patients experiencing varying degrees of crisis. "
  • Organizational skills is also an important skill for mental health workers to have. This example of how mental health workers use this skill comes from a mental health worker resume, "social workers must help and manage multiple clients, often assisting with their paperwork or documenting their treatment." Read this excerpt from a resume to understand how vital it is to their everyday roles and responsibilities, "resume building, organizational skills, and role playing interview scenario's) face-to-face crisis intervention"
  • A mental health worker responsibilities sometimes require "problem-solving skills." The responsibilities that rely on this skills are shown by this resume excerpt: "social workers need to develop practical and innovative solutions to their clients’ problems." This resume example shows how this skill is used by mental health workers: "resolved crisis situations on a regular basis in order to maintain the safety of those clients served and the surrounding community. "
  • As part of the mental health worker description, you might find that one of the skills that might be helpful to the job is "interpersonal skills." A mental health worker resume included this snippet: "social workers need to be able to work with different groups of people" This skill could be useful in this scenario: "teach, demonstrate, and role model appropriate social and interpersonal skills. "
  • See the full list of mental health worker skills.

    Before becoming a mental health worker, 59.1% earned their bachelor's degree. When it comes down to graduating with a master's degree, 11.9% mental health workers went for the extra education. If you're wanting to pursue this career, it may be possible to be successful with a high school degree. In fact, most mental health workers have a college degree. But about one out of every seven mental health workers didn't attend college at all.

    The mental health workers who went onto college to earn a more in-depth education generally studied psychology and social work, while a small population of mental health workers studied criminal justice and sociology.

    Once you've obtained the level of education you're comfortable with, you might start applying to companies to become a mental health worker. We've found that most mental health worker resumes include experience from RWJBarnabas Health, Trinity Health, and Danbury Hospital. Of recent, RWJBarnabas Health had 53 positions open for mental health workers. Meanwhile, there are 28 job openings at Trinity Health and 27 at Danbury Hospital.

    Since salary is important to some mental health workers, it's good to note that they are figured to earn the highest salaries at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Southern California Hospitals, and Brigham and Women's Hospital. If you were to take a closer look at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, you'd find that the average mental health worker salary is $67,751. Then at Southern California Hospitals, mental health workers receive an average salary of $61,426, while the salary at Brigham and Women's Hospital is $55,736.

    View more details on mental health worker salaries across the United States.

    Some other companies you might be interested in as a mental health worker include Apalachee Center, Sheppard Pratt, and The Meadows Psychiatric Center. These three companies were found to hire the most mental health workers from the top 100 U.S. educational institutions.

    The three companies that hire the most prestigious mental health workers are:

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    What Program Counselors Do

    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.

    In this section, we compare the average mental health worker annual salary with that of a program counselor. Typically, program counselors earn a $2,739 higher salary than mental health workers earn annually.

    While their salaries may differ, one common ground between mental health workers and program counselors are a few of the skills required in each craft. In both careers, employees bring forth skills like patients, crisis intervention, and social work.

    There are some key differences in responsibilities as well. For example, a 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 how truly different these two careers really are.

    Program counselors really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $41,845. Whereas 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.

    What Are The Duties Of a 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.

    The next role we're going to look at is the residence counselor profession. Typically, this position earns a lower pay. In fact, they earn a $6,150 lower salary than mental health workers per year.

    A similarity between the two careers of mental health workers and residence counselors are a few of the skills associated with both roles. We used resumes from both professions to find that both use skills like "patients," "crisis intervention," and "social work. "

    While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, several resumes showed us that mental health worker responsibilities requires skills like "patient safety," "mental health," "excellent interpersonal," and "therapeutic relationships." But a residence counselor might use skills, such as, "english language," "cerebral palsy," "community integration," and "direct support."

    It's been discovered that residence counselors earn lower salaries compared to mental health workers, but we wanted to find out where residence counselors earned the most pay. The answer? The education industry. The average salary in the industry is $35,988. Additionally, mental health workers earn the highest paychecks in the professional with an average salary of $39,268.

    On the topic of education, 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.

    How a Treatment Specialist Compares

    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.

    The third profession we take a look at is treatment specialist. On an average scale, these workers bring in higher salaries than mental health workers. In fact, they make a $12,592 higher salary per year.

    Using mental health workers and treatment specialists resumes, we found that both professions have similar skills such as "crisis intervention," "social work," and "cpr," but the other skills required are very different.

    Some important key differences between the two careers are a few of the skills necessary to fulfill responsibilities. Some examples from mental health worker resumes include skills like "patients," "patient safety," "direct patient care," and "mental health issues," whereas a treatment specialist might be skilled 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. Whereas mental health workers are paid the highest salary in the professional industry with the average being $39,268.

    Treatment specialists typically study at similar levels compared with 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.

    Description Of a 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.

    Now, we'll look at residential counselors, who generally average a lower pay when compared to mental health workers annual salary. In fact, the difference is about $6,964 per year.

    While both mental health workers and residential counselors complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like patients, crisis intervention, and social work, the two careers also vary in other skills.

    Even though a few skill sets overlap, 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 residential counselors might include skills like "direct care," "autism," "home health," and "adaptive" on their resume.

    In general, residential counselors make a higher salary in the education industry with an average of $35,120. The highest mental health worker annual salary stems from the professional industry.

    The average resume of residential counselors showed that they earn similar levels of education to mental health workers. So much so that the likelihood of them earning a Master's Degree is 3.0% less. Additionally, they're less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.0%.

    What a Mental Health Worker Does FAQs

    Do You Need A Degree To Be A Mental Health Worker?

    Yes, you need a degree to be a mental health worker. Typically people who work as mental health workers have a bachelor's degree in social work or psychology, as well as any licensure that is required by the state that they live and work in.

    What Is Considered A Mental Health Worker?

    There are a number of roles that are considered a mental health worker, and these include psychologist, counselor, or psychiatrist. Many types of mental health care professionals can help a person achieve their mental health goals.

    What Qualifications Do You Need To Be A Mental Health Worker?

    The primary qualification needed to become a mental health worker is relevant education. Levels of acceptable education vary for mental health workers, but minimum standards are required to be considered for a position in this field.

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