Do you have a strong desire to help people?
Have you been told you’re a good listener?
Are you the one in your family or friend group that everyone seems to go to for advice or a listening ear?
Maybe you find that even strangers in line at the grocery store or at a friend’s party share their life story with you.
Are you compassionate, open-minded and able to appreciate the uniqueness in each human-including our individualized perspectives, experiences, personalities, quirks, and strengths?
Do you enjoy learning about how the brain works?
If this is you, then you may want to consider a career in the mental health field as a therapist, social worker, or psychologist.
Professionals in mental health careers, including therapists, social workers, and psychologists, are focused on helping people with mental health challenges. They provide support to clients during major life transitions, such as adjusting to life as a parent, the death of a loved one, a new career, or a challenging medical diagnosis. They may also provide professional support for addictions, such as alcohol or gambling, learning disorders, like ADHD, or treat psychological concerns such as anxiety disorders or depression, post-partum mood and anxiety disorders, or conditions like schizophrenia and personality disorders. They may work one on one with clients, or with more than one person at a time, such as couples, siblings, families or groups. They work with people of all ages, from birth to end of life. They serve in diverse roles including administrators, researchers, professors, instructors and trainers, and consultants. And they work in a variety of settings, including medical and psychiatric hospitals and clinics, schools, universities, private practice, non-profits, telehealth, crisis response teams, domestic violence and homeless shelters, sports teams, community mental health clinics, and more!
If you’re exploring a career in the mental health field, here are a few action items to get started in your journey to discovering if this might be a good fit for you.
Develop a general understanding of what mental health disorders are and how they're typically treated. You can begin by reviewing material from reputable sources such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), National Association of Social Worker (NASW), and The American Psychological Association (APA). Or you might decide to audit a college course in psychology or social work or pay for a professional training from a licensed therapist, psychologist or social worker. Education in this field is ongoing. We learn more and more every day in the field of psychology. With that in mind, would this be something you’d like to keep educating yourself about?
Educate yourself on the various types of mental health careers, the settings in which they work, and even the specializations within each field:
Organizations such as the American Counseling Association, American Art Therapy Association, National Association of Social Worker (NASW), The American Psychological Association (APA) have a great amount of information on their websites about careers in counseling, psychology and social work. Reach out to your local university and ask to meet with the dean or associate dean in their psychology, counseling, or social work departments for informational interviews. And third, it’s important to begin to know yourself-your strengths, your needs, your likes, dislikes, values, ethics, and what you’re passionate about. With the information you’ve gathered, would you really be happy in this role, setting, age or group?
Consider the education and training requirements for the type of career you’re interested in. Does your ideal job require a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education (Master’s or doctorate)? Do you have the resources to make this commitment? If not, could you start with a bachelor’s degree and work and go to school at the same time while you’re enrolled in a master’s or doctorate program? What is the best schools to attend to pursue your desired goal? Will that require a move, commute, and/or unpaid field placements or internships?
Explore the salary forecasts for each of these careers. Will you have student loan debt or other needs or obligations to consider when choosing a career path? Is what you are hoping to earn in your career at the same level of compensation that you can typically expect from these positions?
Know yourself. The important decision of choosing a career is not only based upon the job or academic requirements and forecasts for employment, but also what is best suited for you personally. This is based on many things, including your interests, passion, strengths and challenges, preferences, workstyle, personality, biases, spiritual beliefs, ethics, and values, and even your life experiences. For example, if you have had a significant loss in your life or trauma, this might have created a passion in you to work with others who are experiencing loss, grief, or trauma, but have you processed your own experiences in a healthy way so that you can practice professional boundaries with your clients, and appreciate that their journey to healing may not look like your own?
Consider any background experiences that may affect your ability to be hired in these fields. If you have a criminal history or have been investigated by your state child welfare agency, then you will need to determine if there are any statutes or rules that prohibit you working in a particular field or obtaining a license in that field.
A career in the mental health field is at times demanding and challenging. Therefore, it’s important to establish good practices for self-care and maintain a robust support system. Begin practicing healthy ways to meet your own mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical needs. You may even decide to begin your own therapy.
Working as a social worker, therapist, counselor, or psychologist can be an exciting and rewarding career path. With so many choices, in these fields, it’s important to do your research before investing your time and resources into this career path.
