Mental ailments, undeniably, are common. In fact, based on a study made by the National Institute for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), one in every 17 adults suffers from a mental disorder. Most of those who are afflicted by mental illness seek assistance from social service centers and hospitals. The mental health specialist will assist a patient’s transition back to a healthy state. This can be a very difficult job as those with mental illness may be combative or destructive. Additionally, the patient population in a facility can range from children to geriatric patients. You may be dealing with patients that suffer from substance abuse, schizophrenia, or behavior disorders.
Now, if these statistics moved you to become a trained mental health worker who deals with mental patients in an institution or hospital setting, read on. To become a mental health counselor, you may want to begin with a college degree. Accredited online universities with good psychology departments can help you with this. There are several different educational paths to achieve these jobs.
Here are some pointers on how you can become a mental health specialist:
- What are your primary duties? Mental health specialists work under the supervision of registered nurses, therapists and psychiatrists. As a mental health specialist, you are expected to assess a patient’s mental condition frequently. You need to perform interviews and review appropriate health records. You will be taking vital signs as well as assessing the mood and behavior of psychiatric patients in either an inpatient or an outpatient setting. Your assessment becomes critical when assessing the patient’s reaction to treatments and therapies. You may also be asked to provide transportation on supervised outings, assist with the daily care of the patient, assist other staff as needed in the care of unruly patients, and help provide a supportive and safe environment for the patient. This may mean doing a close observation of patients that have self-destructive behavior. It also means providing security for other patients if a patient becomes violent towards others.
- What are your secondary duties? You are tasked with keeping patient’s records. You are also responsible for reporting patient’s symptoms upon admission and during hospitalization. You are also expected to facilitate support groups and report any abnormalities or changes in behavior to the supervisor. Additionally, you will also be helping with tasks such as patient hygiene, passing food trays and ice water in the inpatient setting. Monitoring visitors for forbidden contraband in drug and alcohol treatment facilities will also be part of the job.
- What should be your educational background? This is an entry-level position into mental health care. The minimum educational level is a GED or a high school diploma. Having experience as a nurse’s aid is a big plus. Some facilities prefer the education level to be a bachelor’s degree, preferably related to the field of human services. It is better if your degree is in psychology or social work. Note, however, that if you intend to provide army-based mental health services, you need to undergo a 20-week Advanced Individual Training (AIT) on psychiatric patient care. That’s on top of enlisting and passing basic training successfully. Mental health specialists in the military have a greater capacity to provide counseling than those working in civilian positions.
- What are your income brackets and job prospects? Depending on your location, acquired experience and educational background, you can expect a beginning annual salary of $22,000. Salary increases commensurate with education and experience. Your career outlook as a mental health specialist is generally strong. Statistics project an 18% growth until 2018. This is certainly faster than the average growth rate of many other careers.
Being a mental health specialist is the entry-level position in the mental health field. You may decide to stay in this position your whole career. And you may decide to take advanced training to become a psychiatric nurse, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, a councilor, a mental health therapist or a psychiatrist. There are several options available.