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Job Title: Mental Health Therapist
Type of Company: A psychiatric hospital.
Education: Med
Previous Experience: I worked as a case manager.
Job Tasks: I work with patients with mental health problems as an individual therapist. My main goal is to enhance my patients' understanding of their illnesses and to improve their coping skills and their ability to manage the symptoms of their illnesses. I also work as part of a multi-disciplinary treatment team to improve the outcome of a patient's treatment and discharge. We meet as a team most days during the week to go over each patient's status and to establish and follow through on patient individual need areas. I run therapeutic treatment groups that aim at improving a patient's readiness for the community and his ability to manage symptoms of his affliction. I also document all therapeutic interactions with patients to ensure the team of professionals are working together. I am available to staff when I am needed to discuss the nature and symptoms of specific mental illnesses and improve their interactions with patients.
Best and Worst Parts of the Job: The best part of my job is that every day is different. Time goes by very quickly. I have the opportunity to work with people who are wrestling with very difficult problems and to work with them to enhance their understanding of the bad hands they've been dealt. I also have the opportunity to improve my own education on a regular basis. My job allows me to attend training on a regular basis and I work with very smart people who I learn from every day.
Job Tips: I would recommend taking a volunteer job in the human services field to see if you like and are interested in people and their behavior. I would also suggest that you participate in your own therapy to work on your own issues. If you are going to become a therapist it's a good idea to know yourself better and address issues that need improvement. I have seen many helping professionals who need their own help.
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