School guidance counselor vs mental health counselor

The differences between school guidance counselors and mental health counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a school guidance counselor has an average salary of $49,562, which is higher than the $49,471 average annual salary of a mental health counselor.

The top three skills for a school guidance counselor include crisis intervention, community agencies and professional development. The most important skills for a mental health counselor are social work, patients, and crisis intervention.

School guidance counselor vs mental health counselor overview

	School Guidance Counselor	Mental Health Counselor
Yearly salary	$49,562	$49,471
Hourly rate	$23.83	$23.78
Growth rate	10%	9%
Number of jobs	82,545	110,752
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	42	41
Years of experience	-	4

What does a school guidance counselor do?

School Guidance Counselors assess students' ability and potential, provide private counseling, and coordinate with fellow professionals on student matters. To help students in realizing their objectives, school guidance counselors evaluate their attributes. Also, they identify behavioral problems and appropriately to remedy the situation. Part of their duties is to cooperate with parents, external partners, and academic staff. To succeed, these guidance counselors must be authentic and accessible with good communication skills and a profound interest in helping students to achieve career and academic goals.

What does a mental health counselor do?

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.

School guidance counselor vs mental health counselor salary

School guidance counselors and mental health counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	School Guidance Counselor	Mental Health Counselor
Average salary	$49,562	$49,471
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $67,000	Between $34,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Longview, WA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	Tolleson Union High School District	Family Life Counseling & Psychiatric Services
Best paying industry	Education	Health Care

Differences between school guidance counselor and mental health counselor education

There are a few differences between a school guidance counselor and a mental health counselor in terms of educational background:

	School Guidance Counselor	Mental Health Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	School Counseling	Psychology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	California State University - Long Beach

School guidance counselor vs mental health counselor demographics

Here are the differences between school guidance counselors' and mental health counselors' demographics:

	School Guidance Counselor	Mental Health Counselor
Average age	42	41
Gender ratio	Male, 24.7% Female, 75.3%	Male, 31.4% Female, 68.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% 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	11%	15%

Differences between school guidance counselor and mental health counselor duties and responsibilities

School guidance counselor example responsibilities.

Participate in IEP's staff meetings, parent meetings and individual student counseling.
Attend and participate in IEP meetings, truancy elimination meetings, children s clinic meetings, and parent meetings.
Remain non-denominational, open, flexible and ecumenical in service to patients while also providing additional resources from local spiritual communities.
Collaborate with peers in leadership capacity at recreational summer camp leading, coordinating and organizing daily activities and weekly field trips.

Mental health counselor example responsibilities.

Provide clinical consultation to consumers and clients regarding manage care services and other benefits available to them through their EAP programs.
Conduct group check-in and co-lead group psychotherapy sessions to help clients identify and manage problems associate with psychiatric conditions.
Certify in CPI (crisis intervention technique).
Assist with crisis intervention, (CPI) maintains treatment activities.
Provide mental health assessment and evaluation of detainees refer by facility staff or identify by pre-screening (booking or nursing).
Assess for special needs during booking process.

School guidance counselor vs mental health counselor skills

Common school guidance counselor skills

Crisis Intervention, 7%
Community Agencies, 7%
Professional Development, 6%
Financial Aid, 5%
Career Planning, 4%
K-12, 4%

Common mental health counselor skills

Social Work, 17%
Patients, 16%
Crisis Intervention, 9%
Patient Care, 6%
Mental Health Issues, 5%
Rehabilitation, 4%

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School Guidance Counselor vs Mental Health Counselor

Updated January 8, 2025

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