An accident? Loss of business? Social and psychological effects on fellow employees? Providing treatment no matter how insignificant it may seem has a vital impact on a community in whole for both the person suffering from the illness to someone being affected by the person.
Another example, individuals suffering from substance addictions, to overcome the addiction they would need to focus on developing coping skills, working on their ego, self-esteem and other necessary skills needed to live a happy healthy life within a community.
That is where the careers in the mental health field come in. From the psychiatrists who are medical doctors so that they can diagnose illnesses and write the prescription for the patient to the careers that do not involve an extensive medical training such as the ones that the U.S. Department of Labor labeled under the general heading of Social and Human Service Assistants.
- These jobs require the minimum of a high school diploma, but it is a great asset to have training on top of the diploma.
- These jobs would be under the direction of the psychologists, nurses, and mangers of whatever facility worked at.
- Such facilities include psychiatric hospitals, group homes, sheltered workshops and community mental health centers.
- Whereas psychiatrists are able to either operate private practices or be employed by some sort of health care facility.
- The psychiatrist has a support staff that includes but not limited to social workers, counselors, mental health aide, human service worker or life skills counselor.
Counselors: They are there to provide guidance ranging from personal problems to educational choices. They are usually employed by schools and other facilities.
A master's degree is required for counseling jobs along with state certification.
Social and human Service assistants: They assess client's needs, help them with acts of daily living and supervising recreational activities.
As the American population grows older with the baby boomers starting to retire the number of people suffering for the affects of the aging process grows.
Conditions like Alzheimer's and dementia. So the job market in the mental health industry is going to grow to meet the needs of these people.
But this time, jobs aren't as plentiful as they are going to be. So as it stands now, getting a degree, working at an entry-level job in your chosen field of mental health and going from there is going to pay off in the long run as America ages. This is a current rundown of the jobs and responsibilities; minimum education required and approximates salary for that job.
Jobs and Responsibilities
- Psychiatrists
Median Salary: 30,000
- Psychologists
Median Salary: $48,596
- Social workers
Median Salary: $31,470
- Counselors
Median Salary: $42,110
- Social and Human Service Assistants
Median Salary: $22,330
Remember the salaries are approximate and vary by experience.
So as the American population grows over the course the next fifty years the need to have people in mental health industry is going to grow. The need to have specialists working with the effects of aging process will grow. Especially the demand in the social and human service assistants. A thing to remember is what one does no matter how insignificant has a tremendous impact on great number of people. These are things to take into consideration when you consider your choose in what level of education you want to pursue. Other things to take into consideration is do you want to work with the young, the elderly, those with substance addictions. Do you want to have a private practice or do you want to be involved in a team. There are many career opportunities for someone who has the ambition to pursue a career in mental health.
