You know you\u2019re interested in a career in the mental health field. You\u2019re a good listener, great with people one-on-one, and feel you\u2019d excel at offering mental health support. But the mental health field is broad, with many possible career paths. Which role is right for you? What does each entail? What kind of advanced degree or licensure will you need?<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re uncertain which mental health career to pursue, start here. Learn about the different roles, along with responsibilities and education requirements for each.<\/p>\n
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A licensed professional counselor treats emotional and behavioral disorders through therapeutic counseling with individuals, couples, families, or groups. According to the American Counseling Association<\/a>, LPCs can have training in a variety of sub-specialties, such as addiction counseling and marriage and family counseling. Similar licenses exist, including the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) and Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). The license type will vary based on state.<\/p>\n Responsibilities: <\/strong><\/p>\n Traits and skills needed:<\/strong><\/p>\n Where you might work:<\/strong><\/p>\n Education requirements:<\/strong><\/p>\n See all of Capella\u2019s <\/em>online counseling degree<\/em><\/a> programs. <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Psychiatric nursing is a specialty for registered nurses (RNs). Psych nurses care for patients hospitalized with mental disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depression. The American Psychiatric Nurses Association<\/a> offers a full description of psychiatric-mental health nursing.<\/p>\n Responsibilities: <\/strong><\/p>\n Traits and skills needed:<\/strong><\/p>\n Where you might work:<\/strong><\/p>\n Education requirements:<\/strong><\/p>\n Gain an edge in the psych nursing field with a <\/em>master’s in human behavior studies<\/em><\/a> degree. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Psychiatrists are medical doctors (MDs) who complete a year of medical internship and a three-year residency in the assessment and treatment of mental health disorders. The American Psychiatric Association<\/a> (APA), the chief professional organization for psychiatrists, provides a round-up of educational and career opportunities in the field.<\/p>\n Responsibilities: <\/strong><\/p>\n Traits and skills needed:<\/strong><\/p>\n Where you might work:<\/strong><\/p>\n Education requirements:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Psychologists hold a PhD or PsyD in psychology. They use their advanced training and knowledge to help people cope with mental health problems. The APA<\/a> explains the full spectrum of psychology careers.<\/p>\n Responsibilities: <\/strong><\/p>\n Traits and skills needed:<\/strong><\/p>\n Where you might work:<\/strong><\/p>\n Education requirements:<\/strong><\/p>\n See all of Capella\u2019s <\/em>doctoral degrees in psychology<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Social workers help individuals and groups deal with challenges like poverty, abuse, trauma, discrimination and disability. The National Association of Social Workers<\/a> has a complete list of educational, career, and professional development tracks for social workers.<\/p>\n Responsibilities: <\/strong><\/p>\n Traits and skills needed:<\/strong><\/p>\n Where you might work:<\/strong><\/p>\n Education requirements:<\/strong><\/p>\n Explore Capella\u2019s <\/em>master of social work<\/em><\/a> degree program.<\/em><\/p>\n Explore five different mental health career paths, including the responsibilities, skills, and educational requirements of each.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":5186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[322],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5172"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5173,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5172\/revisions\/5173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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2.\u00a0Psychiatric Nurse<\/h4>\n
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3. Psychiatrist<\/h4>\n
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4. Psychologist<\/h4>\n
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5. Social Worker<\/h4>\n
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See graduation rates, median student debt, and other information at <\/em>Capella Results<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/h6>\n
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