5 Mental Health Administration Careers
- Director of Mental Health
- Behavioral Clinical Health Director
- Manager of Community Behavioral Health Services
- Clinical Care Manager for Behavioral Health
- Social and Community Services Manager
Healthcare management jobs in the mental health field might involve supervising the entire mental health program for a large organization, working closely on patient care at a smaller facility or running programs that connect individuals with needed resources. Managers generally have a combination of education and experience in both mental health and administration. Most management positions require a graduate degree in the field. Here are some of the career paths available.
Related: Top 25 Graduate Healthcare Management Degrees
1. Director of Mental Health
A director of mental health works at an organization of almost any size as the person who is in charge of mental health administration. This could be a hospital, an inpatient or outpatient mental health facility, a community center or any other public or private facility. Usually overseen directly by the organization’s executive director, the director of mental health may be responsible for training and supervising staff, managing budgets, going to conferences, applying for grants and evaluating the performance of staff.
2. Behavioral Health Clinical Director
A behavioral health clinical director is a healthcare management career in mental health that involves managing a facility with an emphasis on clinical treatment. This position might involve being more directly involved in patient care than a director of mental health at a large facility. Behavioral clinical health directors might manage each of the programs within the organization. Some clinical directors might also work on patient and staffing education.
3. Manager of Community Behavioral Health Services
People who are interested in the community health aspect of healthcare management careers in mental health might work in this capacity. It would involve managing the mental health services at a community health center or another facility for community care. This could include day centers, supported housing or outpatient care clinics. A manager in this position might have some of the duties mentioned for the other professions above, such as working on budgets and training staff, but also might be involved in community outreach.
4. Clinical Care Manager for Behavioral Health
Clinical care managers tend to be found in hospital settings but might also work in an outpatient or long-term care facility. A clinical care manager in the field of mental health might have a background as a psychiatric nurse along with experience and an advanced degree in administration. Duties might include managing staff, understanding and working with policy around mental health, and working with budgets.
5. Social and Community Services Manager
A social and community services manager might work with mental health social workers. Those workers, in turn, focus on connecting people who have mental illnesses with the appropriate community resources. This healthcare management career in mental health would involve running an organization that provided these types of resources.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that jobs for medical and health services managers are supposed to increase at a significant rate in the years ahead. Many of the duties involved in these careers are similar, but the nature of work on a day-to-day basis varies according to the specific position and the type of facility. Healthcare management careers in the mental health field give people with a strong background in mental health an excellent opportunity to have a significant impact on both people who suffer from mental illness and those who work with them.