Introduction
In the United States, when one is mentally ill, he or she often turns to a mental health professional to receive care and treatment. However, the title "mental health professional" can be an umbrella term that covers many different types of careers. These include nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors and much more. While many of these professionals deal with the same types of individuals, the amount of training and education that goes into their job is what separates them from the rest. Here is a look at the types of degrees and education necessary to become a mental health professional.
Psychiatrists
The mental health professional that requires the most training and education is the psychiatrist. A psychiatrist is an actual doctor with medical training who takes a medical approach to mental health. He or she has the ability to write prescriptions for various medications and use psychotherapy or cognitive behavioral therapy.
In the United States, a person who wishes to become a psychiatrist must first earn a Bachelor's degree, usually in pre-medicine, and then he or she will go on to attend a four-year medical school. He or she must then pass three extensive United States Medical Licensing Exams that focus on all aspects of medicine. This is followed by four years of a psychiatry residency and annual national in-service exams. Requirements vary by program, but during the first year of the residency, a psychiatrist must spend months training in other fields, such as neurology and internal medicine. Upon graduation of medical school, a psychiatrist will generally spend another four to five years becoming qualified to practice on their own. Some psychiatrists choose to add a speciality and will spend another year or two training in other areas of psychiatry.
Psychologists
There are two types of psychologists: Clinical and counseling. Many often confuse psychologists and psychiatrists when deciding what type of mental health professional they would like to become.
A clinical psychologist should receive a Bachelor's degree, usually in psychology, and they will go on to complete about four to six years of postgraduate training. Most of the requirements depend on which training model the student chooses to follow. These include the Clinical Scientist Model, Scientist-Practitioner Model of Clinical Psychology and the Practitioner-Scholar Model of Clinical Psychology.
A counseling psychologist will generally have a Bachelor's degree, as well as a PhD or EdD. Many will also have a Master's degree. Because counseling psychologists are generally used for moderate problems, their educational requirements aren't as great and often vary by individual, program or state requirements.
Mental Health Nurses and Nurse Practitioners
A mental health or psychiatric nurse or nurse practitioner generally works in a hospital, clinic or doctor's office. These types of nurses will administer treatment, manage care and provide emergency psychiatric services for people who are mentally ill. The different between a nurse and nurse practitioner has to do without how much training they have had and what they can and cannot do for a patient.
A registered nurse must have a Bachelor's degree in nursing. However, a nurse practitioner will have a Bachelor's degree, usually in nursing, and will go on to attend school for two more years of training and clinical experience to receive a Master's Degree. Before beginning a Master's degree program, they must first pass the NCLEX-RN.
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