Understanding Careers in Mental Health and Psychology

Are you interested in a career in mental health and psychology? If so, then it is important that you do your research into the career before you fully make up your mind. This field is one that many people enjoy; however, it may not be the right choice for everyone. So, before you get ready to make this important career decision, there are a few things that you need to consider. You'll no doubt want to be informed about the educational requirements, the various job positions available in the field, the salary you can expect, and perhaps a few companies that offer great jobs in the field. Once you sort out this information, you'll be better prepared to decide if this career is really for you or not.

Preparing with Education

If you plan on having a career in mental health and psychology, you are definitely going to need a good education. However, the education that you will need will be based on what specific job you want within the field. If you want to be a mental health counselor, then you will need a different education than a mental health nurse. Nurses who want to specialize in mental health nursing must take their regular nurse training, which usually takes 4 years for a Bachelor's degree. During that time you can choose to specialize in mental health nursing.

If you plan on being a psychologist then you will need to have a doctoral degree. If a Ph.D. in psychology is your goal, you are going to spend about 5-7 years in graduate school, which comes after you have a Bachelor's degree. So basically you will have spent about 9-11 years in higher education. Some degrees also include internships as well. If you want to become a school psychologist, dealing with students, you will need a special Ed.S. degree that focuses on both education and psychology. There are also some jobs available that only require that you have a Master's degree in psychology.

Positions Available in the Field

There are a variety of excellent positions available on the field of mental health, depending on what you are most interested in. There are counseling jobs available, jobs for nurses and nurses' aides who want to work in mental health care, and of course there are a variety of jobs available to psychologists as well. There are jobs available in clinical psychology, with specialties in neuropsychology, health psychology, and geropsychology.

School psychologists can find great jobs working in elementary schools as well as high schools and they deal with psychological and behavior problems in students. You can also find available jobs in developmental psychology as well, which deals with social, cognitive, and physiological develop that occurs in people throughout their life. Of course there are teaching jobs and research jobs available in the mental health field as well.

Pay - What to Expect

Of course the pay that you expect will highly depend on which job you pick within the mental health field. Nurses will only make between $30,000 and $50,000 in this field, depending on their experience and education. Psychologists that work in schools usually make around $58,000 a year, those in family services usually make about $42,000 yearly, and those who work with other health care practitioners make around $65,000 a year. Some psychologists make as low as $40,000 a year, while on the top end, others make as much as $100,000 a year.

Great Companies that Offer Jobs

If you do decide to get involved in a mental health or psychology career, no doubt you are going to be interested in finding companies that offer excellent jobs, with great pay and benefits. Whether you live in the United States or Canada, there are some great companies out there that hire people in mental health careers. A few great companies to consider in the United States include Georgia Correctional Healthcare, Range Mental Health Center in Minnesota, Bayview Center for Mental Health, Inc., in Miami, Florida, and Anne Arundel Health Systems in Maryland. There are also some great companies to consider in Canada as well, including Provincial Health Services Authority in British Columbia, Prairie North Regional Health Authority in Saskatchewan, and River Valley Health, in New Brunswick. All of these companies offer competitive salaries as well as good benefits.

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