Mental health jobs are primarily concerned with caring for people who have mental illnesses and, whenever possible, assisting in their recovery. There are many different types of careers available in this field, each with a different amount of training time and pay potential. Furthermore, many mental health careers provide opportunities to apply skills in a variety of ways. Psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, licensed clinical social workers, nurses, and a variety of technicians are among the most common mental health professionals.
Psychiatry may be the career of choice for those who want to make diagnoses, prescribe medications, and possibly perform therapy. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who have received additional training in the treatment of mental illness. Some work in private practice, seeing patients mostly as outpatients. Others work in nursing homes, hospitals, day treatment centers, or mental health facilities. Some people can consult with one of these facilities while still running their own practice.
Psychologists can work in a variety of mental health positions, and they, like psychiatrists, can work in a variety of settings. Therapy and some types of mental health and educational testing may be performed by them. A psychologist’s work does not have to be patient-centered, and some of these professionals with a doctorate in psychology contribute to the field of mental health by conducting research, teaching, or both.
Marriage and family therapists, licensed professional counselors, and licensed clinical social workers are among the licensed counselors who work in mental health. Several of these professionals, who typically have a master’s degree, are therapists who have a private practice where they see patients. To meet the mental health needs of patients, mental hospitals and other hospitals could hire some therapists.
Nurses, particularly psychiatric nurses, can find mental health jobs in a variety of inpatient and outpatient mental health facilities. Most nurses in this field have a bachelor’s degree in registered nursing and may have psychiatric nursing post-graduate training or master’s degrees. Some psychiatrists hire psychiatric nurses, and they may be useful in educating psychiatrists’ patients about medication and med-compliance.
Psychiatric technicians, with varying levels of training, are most commonly found in mental health jobs at day care centers and prisons. Some of these people may also work in psychiatric hospitals for the criminally insane. Those interested in these positions should check regional standards to see what level of education is required.
Other jobs that are directly related to mental health may exist. Drug and alcohol counselors are unquestionably a part of this field, with varying levels of training depending on location. Any large institution that serves the mentally ill will employ cooks, maintenance workers, and, in most cases, security personnel who can intervene if necessary to help someone who is severely ill and potentially dangerous.