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The differences between psychiatric social workers and mental 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 mental 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 $49,471 average annual salary of a mental health counselor.
The top three skills for a psychiatric social worker include social work, patients and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a mental health counselor are social work, patients, and crisis intervention.
| Psychiatric Social Worker | Mental Health Counselor | |
| Yearly salary | $59,144 | $49,471 |
| Hourly rate | $28.43 | $23.78 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 57,284 | 110,752 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 2 |
| Most common degree | Master's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| 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 mental health counselor is responsible for helping patients deal with their emotional and mental disorders by developing treatment plans and conducting regular counseling to track the patient's progress and condition. Mental health counselors encourage active communication from their patients, provide coping strategies for triggering situations, seek advice from other health care professionals, and guide patients on doing other activities that would help them relax. A mental health counselor must have excellent knowledge of the mental health disciplines to assist patients in their healthy lifestyle development.
Psychiatric social workers and mental health counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Psychiatric Social Worker | Mental Health Counselor | |
| Average salary | $59,144 | $49,471 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $79,000 | Between $34,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | Longview, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Highmark | Family Life Counseling & Psychiatric Services |
| Best paying industry | Government | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a psychiatric social worker and a mental health counselor in terms of educational background:
| Psychiatric Social Worker | Mental Health Counselor | |
| Most common degree | Master's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| 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 mental health counselors' demographics:
| Psychiatric Social Worker | Mental 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% |