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The differences between therapeutic support staff and mental health practitioners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a therapeutic support staff, becoming a mental health practitioner takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a mental health practitioner has an average salary of $50,628, which is higher than the $34,086 average annual salary of a therapeutic support staff.
The top three skills for a therapeutic support staff include autism, social work and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a mental health practitioner are social work, patients, and mental health.
| Therapeutic Support Staff | Mental Health Practitioner | |
| Yearly salary | $34,086 | $50,628 |
| Hourly rate | $16.39 | $24.34 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 192,172 | 140,365 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 43 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
A therapeutic support staff member specializes in providing guidance and counseling to individuals with emotional support needs, mainly children. They are primarily responsible for building rapport with clients while assessing their different conditions and needs. Through this assessment, therapeutic support staff can develop specific treatments in collaboration with mental health practitioners. One may directly work with schools, clinics, and other medical health facilities. Furthermore, it is essential to maintain all clients' records and monitor their progress, regularly updating the assigned physician or caseworker.
Mental health practitioners are medical professionals who work with patients who have mental health issues such as schizophrenia, split personality disorder, and depression. These practitioners are required to develop and implement patient care plans for adults with severe mental disabilities while providing mental health services to attain improved mental health. They must make sure that patients did not spit out their medicines by observing post medication administration with the nurse. Mental health practitioners must also manage therapeutic activities that will teach patients about functional living skills.
Therapeutic support staff and mental health practitioners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Therapeutic Support Staff | Mental Health Practitioner | |
| Average salary | $34,086 | $50,628 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $42,000 | Between $35,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Dignity Health |
| Best paying industry | - | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a therapeutic support staff and a mental health practitioner in terms of educational background:
| Therapeutic Support Staff | Mental Health Practitioner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between therapeutic support staff' and mental health practitioners' demographics:
| Therapeutic Support Staff | Mental Health Practitioner | |
| Average age | 43 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 25.4% Female, 74.6% | Male, 24.1% Female, 75.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 5.5% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9% | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 15% |