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Careers In series

Careers in Mental Health

With more encouragement for people to get support for their mental health and wellbeing and the development of services and support available, let's take a look at the range of careers in mental health and the work they do.      

There are a wide range of careers available in mental health and a variety of ways to get into them. Some will be through gaining recognised professional qualifications, whilst other employment opportunities in the sector can be accessed through volunteering, building up a bank of experience and skills and work-based qualifications. Sometimes, this will involve a combination of all the above. 

To work in mental health and with people experiencing mental health problems, it is important to have the right set of skills and qualities. Below are some skills and qualities that can be useful in the sector:

  • Good judgement

  • Excellent  communication and listening skills

  • Be able to problem solve 

  • Patience

  • Understanding 

  • Ability to work as part of a team

  • Empathy

  • Be friendly and approachable

  • Ability to work flexibly 

 

Career choices in Mental Health: 

Below are some of the careers where you can work directly with people with mental health issues to provide support. You can click on the job title  to find out more information about these roles. Contact a Careers Adviser at Careers Guernsey if you would like some careers advice on how to get into any of these roles:   

Clinical Psychologist 

Clinical Psychologists help people to deal with mental health issues, phobias, and addiction. They aim to reduce distress and to enhance and promote psychological well-being, minimise exclusion and inequalities and enable service users to engage in meaningful relationships and valued work and leisure activities. You could work in a hospital, at a university or at a health centre.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapist  

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) practitioners use talking therapy to help patients change negative patterns of thinking or behaviour. You could work at a health centre, in a hospital, in the community, in a prison or in a therapy clinic. 

Education Mental Health Practitioner 

Educational mental health practitioners (EMHPs) work across education and healthcare to provide mental health support for children and young people in schools and colleges.  Your role will be to provide low intensity interventions such as guided self-help based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and group-based CBT for those with persistent mild to moderate depression. 

Educational Psychologist 

They help children and young people with problems in areas such as learning, additional support needs, social, emotional or behavioural issues. Their work would involve improving young people's life chances by finding solutions to support their learning and wellbeing. The role includes working with young people but also with parents and carers, teachers, social work and health services to make sure young people get the best help.


Health Psychologist
Health psychologists are specially trained to help people deal with the psychological and emotional aspects of health and illness as well as supporting people who are chronically ill. They promote healthier lifestyles and try to find ways to encourage people to improve their health. Health psychologists work in a number of settings, including hospitals, community settings, private healthcare providers and academic organisations. 

Mental Health Nurse 

Mental health nurses are usually based in hospitals or in the community, as this is where the majority of mental healthcare is offered. Mental health nursing is a demanding but rewarding career choice. Mental health nurses promote and support a person's recovery and enable them to have more involvement and control over their condition. 

Occupational Therapist

Occupational Therapists use 'meaningful occupation' as a treatment tool. They specialise in getting to know a person, what they need and want to do in life, and find ways to help them to undertake these activities. They deliver 1:1 sessions and group opportunities for people with severe/ enduring mental health problems and illness. 

Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner 

Psychological wellbeing practitioners are trained to assess and support people with common mental health problems in the self-management of their recovery.  PWPs work closely with other healthcare professionals including high intensity therapists.

Psychiatrist  

Psychiatrists are doctors who diagnose and treat patients with mental health problems. Psychiatrists emphasise the importance of developing a good collaborative therapeutic alliance with their patients and their patients' families. They work as part of multi-disciplinary teams in which they have a key leadership role. You could work in a prison, in a hospital, at a client's home or in the community.

Psychotherapist 

Psychotherapists use talking techniques and therapies to help people who are distressed or have mental health problems. You could work in the community, in a therapy clinic, in a hospital or at a health centre.

Find out more about people in Guernsey working in these roles by viewing the Question & Answer's in the Document Downloads section on this page.

There are many other roles where you can spend a proportion of your time working with people with mental health problems. Here are some examples and you can click on the job titles below to link to more information about the roles. Titles below to link to more information about the roles. 

Contact a Careers Adviser at Careers Guernsey if you would like some careers advice on how to get into any of these roles:   

Art Therapist

Counsellor 

Dietitian 

Forensic Psychologist

GP (General Practitioner, Doctor)

Healthcare Assistant  

Health Promotion Specialist 

Music Therapist

Social Work Assistant

Social Worker

SEN Teacher

Speech and Language Therapist

Youth Worker

 

Find out more about Mental Health services in Guernsey and the different job roles.

 

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