Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between psychiatric social workers and community health counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a psychiatric social worker, becoming a community health counselor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a psychiatric social worker has an average salary of $59,144, which is higher than the $43,304 average annual salary of a community health counselor.
The top three skills for a psychiatric social worker include social work, patients and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a community health counselor are social work, behavioral health, and patients.
| Psychiatric Social Worker | Community Health Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $59,144 | $43,304 |
| Hourly rate | $28.43 | $20.82 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 57,284 | 131,804 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Master's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 45 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A psychiatric social worker specializes in providing mental health treatments and other services to patients and their families, referring them to other agencies and programs as needed. They conduct assessments and interviews to determine the condition of patients, devise specific treatment and care plans, update and maintain patient records, conduct regular counseling sessions, and monitor the progress of every patient to ensure their health and welfare. They may also provide interventions, train junior psychiatric social workers, and conduct reviews and evaluations on existing care plans.
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.
Psychiatric social workers and community health counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Psychiatric Social Worker | Community Health Counselor | |
| Average salary | $59,144 | $43,304 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $79,000 | Between $29,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Highmark | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Government | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a psychiatric social worker and a community health counselor in terms of educational background:
| Psychiatric Social Worker | Community Health Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Master's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Social Work | Psychology |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between psychiatric social workers' and community health counselors' demographics:
| Psychiatric Social Worker | Community Health Counselor | |
| Average age | 45 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.8% Female, 75.2% | Male, 31.4% Female, 68.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 19.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 15% |