Introduction to Mental Health Professions

Many people confronting mental illness for the first time fall back on (often quite inaccurate) preconceptions about what mental illness is, what sort of treatment is available, and who does the treating. The most common scenario I've encountered is one in which people think that mental illness involves hallucinations and delusions (e.g., that mental illness reduces to schizophrenia), and that it is treated primarily by medical doctors in corduroy coats (with leather arm patches, beards and pipes) who offer some variation on Freudian analysis as treatment. This scenario was actually a little accurate forty years ago, but it resembles little having to do with reality today.
Mental Health treatment in the 21st century generally involves a coordination amongst several healthcare professionals drawn from different disciplines. While medical doctors still run the show (in the form of Psychiatrists), their role has typically diminished to that of diagnostician and prescriber of...More
Fast Facts: Learn! Fast!
What are mental health professions?
- Mental Health treatment in the 21st century generally involves a coordination amongst several healthcare professionals drawn from different disciplines.
- While medical doctors still run the show (in the form of Psychiatrists), their role has typically diminished to that of diagnostician and prescriber of medication (and the occasional assessment and/or ECT).
- Clinical Psychologists are often called upon to handle assessment work (psychological and cognitive testing), as well as psychotherapy.
- Social workers increasingly offer psychotherapy services as well.
- A host of related professionals, (licensed counselors specializing in substance abuse, marital and family therapy, etc.) now exist as well and handle many psychotherapy tasks.
- Psychiatric nurses are still around too, handling much of the hands-on work involved in inpatient hospital care.
- Whether you are looking to understand your therapists' credentials better, or are wondering about a career in mental health treatment, this information is helpful to know about.
Resources
Articles
Questions and Answers
Book & Media Reviews
- A Research Agenda for DSM-V
- Community and In-Home Behavioral Health Treatment
- Conflict of Interest in the Professions
- Creative Writing In Health And Social Care
- Defining Psychopathology in the 21st Century
- Ethics of Psychiatry
- First, Do No Harm
- Gracefully Insane
- Intensive Care
- No Apparent Distress
- 6 more
- Rewarding Specialties for Mental Health Clinicians
- The Ethical Dimensions of the Biological and Health Sciences
- The Farm Colonies: Caring for New York City's Mentally Ill In Long Island's State Hospitals
- The Insider's Guide to Mental Health Resources Online
- The Insider's Guide to Mental Health Resources Online
- The Portable Ethicist for Mental Health Professionals
Links
Videos
- Treating Anxiety Disorders: A Unified Protocol
- Assessment and Intervention with Suicidal Clients: Volume 2
- Assessment and Intervention with Suicidal Clients: Volume 1
- Assessment and Intervention with Suicidal Clients: Volume 3
- NAMI's Ask the Doctor Call--Changes to the DSM
- NAMI's Ask the Doctor Calls--Successful Aging with Schizophrenia
- Beyond the Data -- Preventing Suicide: A Comprehensive Public Health Approach
- Legal and Ethical Issues for Mental Health Professionals Video
- DSM-5 Update for Mental Health Counselors
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy Techniques for Emotional Dysregulation
- 3 more
More Information
Topics
Related Topic Centers
Addictions
Aging & Elder Care
Assessments & Interventions
Career & Workplace
Emotional Well-Being
Life Issues
Parenting & Child Care
Abuse
ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Adoption
Autism
Child & Adolescent Development: Overview
Child & Adolescent Development: Puberty
Child Development & Parenting: Early (3-7)
Child Development & Parenting: Infants (0-2)
Child Development & Parenting: Middle (8-11)
Child Development & Parenting:Adolescence (12-24)
Child Development Theory: Adolescence (12-24)
Child Development Theory: Middle Childhood (8-11)
Childhood Mental Disorders and Illnesses
Childhood Special Education
Divorce
Family & Relationship Issues
Intellectual Disabilities
Learning Disorders
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Parenting
Self Esteem
Psychological Disorders
Anxiety Disorders
Bipolar Disorder
Conversion Disorders
Depression: Depression & Related Conditions
Dissociative Disorders
Domestic Violence and Rape
Eating Disorders
Impulse Control Disorders
Intellectual Disabilities
Mental Disorders
Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
Personality Disorders
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Schizophrenia
Sexual Disorders
Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders
Suicide
Tourettes and other Tic Disorders