Mental Health Generalist Job Description

Mental health generalist are middle-level professionals employed to assist other professionals in providing quality care to consumers. Companies and government agencies may employ the mental health generalist as a method to help reduce costs and provide more coordinated consumer care. Mental health generalists' careers can be primarily administrative or they can be primarily person oriented with a majority of their time spent with direct consumer contact.

• Mental Health Generalists help lower health care costs.

Educational Requirements

• Mental health generalists will have a minimum of a two-year associate degree in a health or social service related field. However, a four-year bachelor degree is preferred. Education or experience with management skills is helpful to the job seeker. A background in computer information systems will improve opportunities to secure a job.

Job Duties

• Mental health generalists perform tasks of interviewing consumers to determine potential areas of need, identify barriers to community access and assist other mental health professionals with routine tasks involving coordination of consumer care. Computerizing confidential consumer information and management of insurance records are also duties that may be required of the mental health generalist.

Opportunities

• Mental health services in rural America are in short supply. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for mental health generalists is expected to grow faster than average in the next 10 years due to an increase in the elderly population and improved survival rates for people with disabilities. Community access and choice are also factors that increase the need for mental health generalists.

  Mental health generalists can be employed by private hospitals and other companies. The federal government employs numerous mental health generalists (called mental health assistant II) in agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education and the Armed Forces. State governments offer similar positions within their own Department of Mental Health, Department of Public Safety and Department of Health.

History

• The mental health generalist job category was initiated by Purdue University in response to a research program. The research program showed evidence of a need to supply people qualified to perform intake questioning and provide general support to consumers while they wait to be seen by specialized mental health professionals. The mental health generalist career was originally called the "mental health preprofessional" by Purdue University.

Related Fields

• Other career opportunities related to mental health generalists are mental health associates, licensed practical nursing, social and community health managers, insurance underwriters and social worker associate level I.