Do you need a degree to be a mental health worker?

Yes, you need a degree to be a mental health worker. Typically people who work as mental health workers have a bachelor's degree in social work or psychology, as well as any licensure that is required by the state that they live and work in.

How long does it take to become a mental health worker?

It takes four to six years to become a mental health worker. Typically people who work as mental health workers have a bachelor's degree in social work or psychology, as well as any licensure that is required by the state that they live and work in.

What is considered a mental health worker?

There are a number of roles that are considered a mental health worker, and these include psychologist, counselor, or psychiatrist. Many types of mental health care professionals can help a person achieve their mental health goals.

What qualifications do you need to be a mental health worker?

The primary qualification needed to become a mental health worker is relevant education. Levels of acceptable education vary for mental health workers, but minimum standards are required to be considered for a position in this field.

How To Become A Mental Health Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a mental health worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Debra Minsky-Kelly

A mental health worker provides care for people with mental health concerns or developmental disabilities. You will mostly work under the supervision of a registered nurse in psychiatric hospitals and residential mental health facilities. Some of your core job responsibilities include assessing and interacting with patients to develop treatment plans and strategies, administering therapeutic care, monitoring patients, leading individual, family, or group therapy to foster group support and growth. You will be involved in case management, brokerage services, pharmaceutical assistance, chart documentation, and other insurance concerns.

You are also expected to facilitate communication between care, service, and support providers. Important skills for any mental health worker are crisis intervention, mental health, patient care, CPR, vital signs, and great verbal and non-verbal communication skills. The average mental health worker earns $17.72 per hour or $36,000 annually. Most of them have a bachelor's degree in psychology, social work, criminal justice, or other related fields.

What general advice would you give to a Mental Health Worker?

Debra Minsky-Kelly

Director of Field Education / Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work, Carthage College

I think there are two critical skills for social workers, whether they are first entering the workforce or seasoned professionals. These skills are humility and an appreciation for ambiguity in our work. A humble approach to our work empowers clients to become experts on their circumstances. Social workers are then positioned in a collaborative role to help clients use existing skills and resources to improve their situations. An appreciation for ambiguity is closely related to the idea of humility. It helps us to remember that practice situations we face in this field are often far more complicated than they appear on the surface. Thus, all social workers need to make a strong commitment to lifelong learning and ongoing consultation with colleagues to ensure that multiple perspectives are included as we work to solve complex problems.

ScoreMental Health WorkerUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $41,081

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.3

Growth Rate 9%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 3.12%

Black or African American 7.90%

Hispanic or Latino 7.90%

Unknown 6.24%

White 74.22%

Gender

female 65.09%

male 34.91%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress Level

9.3

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

10.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.5

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Newest jobs for Mental Health Worker in Franklin, IN

Receive alerts for the newest job postings.

Key steps to become a mental health worker

Explore mental health worker education requirements

Most common mental health worker degrees

Bachelor's

59.1 %

Associate

14.5 %

Master's

11.9 %

Start to develop specific mental health worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	19.94%
Crisis Intervention	6.42%
Social Work	6.28%
CPR	4.99%
Vital Signs	4.57%

Complete relevant mental health worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New mental health workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a mental health worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real mental health worker resumes.

Research mental health worker duties and responsibilities

Respond to and assist in behavioral codes working as a team member to successfully manage patient using methods obtain in CPI training
Train in provision of CPI, CPR, food handling, infection control and basic nursing care.
Provide direct care to patients under direction and guidance of professional nursing personnel within a mental illness psychiatric outpatient hospital.
Assist patients in becoming accustom to hospital routine and encourage them to participate in social and recreational activities to promote rehabilitation.

Prepare your mental health worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your mental health worker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a mental health worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Mental Health Worker Resume templates

Build a professional Mental Health Worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Mental Health Worker resume.

Apply for mental health worker jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a mental health worker job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do mental health workers rate their job?

1/5

Based On 1 Ratings

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Mental Health Worker reviews

1.0

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2022

Cons

The system is BROKEN! The clients are either entitled or not truly receiving the help they really need.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022

Pros

Working collaboratively with clients to help them understand themselves and experience their authentic selves. Learning from my clients.

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020