How To Become a Behavioral Health Manager
As the need for mental health professionals increases, people are considering careers as behavioral health managers. Several steps must be completed to enter this industry, such as earning a degree, becoming licensed, and getting experience.
As people become more and more conscious of their mental health, the need for behavioral health managers will continue to increase. If you are looking into this career option, there are several steps you'll need to complete to begin working in behavioral health services.
How To Become a Behavioral Health Manager
Like any career, there are multiple steps to becoming a behavioral health manager.
Find the Right School
Before you can begin earning a degree, you'll need to find the right school for your career goals. Most behavioral health managers start their careers with at least a bachelor's degree, so you will need to look for a university to apply to or find a community college that will have credits you can easily transfer.
Another potential option is to pursue your degree online. Several accredited colleges offer programs that can help you secure a job within the behavioral health industry.
Complete an Undergraduate Degree
Once you've been accepted into a school, you'll need to choose a degree program to complete. Several degree options can help prepare you for work in case management.
Some of the bachelor's and master's degree programs to consider include:
Some schools even offer behavioral health degrees, but more commonly people in this industry have a degree in a related field and work in behavioral health.
It's also possible to work within the field with an associate degree, but these positions will have lower ceilings than bachelor's or graduate degrees will.
Acquire a Behavioral Health Certification
Once you have a degree, you should consider the options you have for licensure. Additional licenses demonstrate your knowledge and can add additional specializations to your education. These certification programs also often serve as continuing education for state licensing requirements.
Gain Experience in the Healthcare Field
Once you have a degree and possibly certifications, it's time to start gaining work experience. To become a mental health professional, you'll probably need to gain some hands-on experience with an internship or similar role before starting full-time work. Looking for job descriptions that mention entry-level work is a great place to start finding jobs that can give you the experience you need to improve.
The health field has a diverse range of employers ranging from high schools to hospitals and other health providers.
Consider an Advanced Degree
If you've completed a bachelor's degree and have been working as a behavioral health technician, you might consider an advanced graduate degree. Completing a higher degree will give you additional opportunities to specialize in substance abuse recovery, mental health, and other subsets of behavioral health.
Maintain Your License
Based on your state, you will have different requirements regarding continuing education and other courses to maintain your license. Without an active license, you won't be allowed to practice, meaning that keeping up to date on your certifications and licensure is essential to continuing your work.
What Is a Behavioral Health Manager?
A behavioral health manager works with people recovering from a variety of mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and more. Behavioral health managers work with their clients to create treatment plans and provide mental health services in either an inpatient or outpatient program.
Responsibilities of a Behavioral Health Manager
Behavioral health managers are responsible for multiple stages of mental health care, including:
- creating and guiding clients through treatment plans
- providing referrals to mental health services and doctors, such as psychiatrists
- working in a collaborative role with social workers to promote community health initiatives
Skills Required of a Behavioral Health Manager
Becoming a behavioral health manager takes a very specific skill set. As the job title suggests, behavioral health managers work to promote mental health through health case management. This includes a heavy reliance on communication skills as well as empathy.
Benefits of Working as a Behavioral Health Manager
There are many benefits to working as a behavioral health manager, including providing human services to people who truly need them. Knowing how much of a positive effect their work has on the lives of others is often the biggest benefit.
In addition to those benefits, there are many tangible benefits like a flexible schedule, and multiple career options ranging from working with students to marriage counseling.
The field is also expected to continue to become more in demand. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an 18% growth for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors by 2032. For comparison, the average projected growth for all occupations is only 3%.
FAQs About Becoming a Behavioral Health Manager
Behavioral health management is a rewarding industry, but the caseload and other responsibilities can be a lot for some people considering the career. As a result, many common questions arise for prospective behavioral health workers.
How Long Does It Take To Become a Behavioral Health Manager?
It will vary from person to person, but most people take anywhere from four to eight years to earn all the degrees, certifications, licenses, and experience required to begin working as a behavioral health manager. Although many positions only require a bachelor's degree, some people earn a master's degree before starting, which will often take longer.
You also might be delayed based on how you perform on the certification and licensing examinations since you will need to pass them before you can legally begin work.
Is Becoming a Behavioral Health Manager Worth It?
If you want to help people and make a difference in the lives of others by helping them overcome severe mental health illnesses like addiction, anxiety, depression, and more, then a career in behavioral health management can be very rewarding.
Jobs within the industry are expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations and many positions within the industry can lead to high-paying work.
In What Settings Does a Behavioral Health Manager Work?
Behavioral health managers can work in a variety of settings, especially with different specializations. Most mental health care is broken into inpatient and outpatient care, and which one you work with will change where you can work.
Inpatient mental health services are offered in hospitals and in dedicated mental health and substance abuse rehabilitation facilities.
Outpatient care is provided in even more settings. Since the pandemic, telemedicine has become popular and many behavioral health managers work from their homes and meet with patients virtually. Although many offer in-person services for counseling.
Another location where you can perform your work is in schools. Many younger students struggle with anxiety and depression and schools have begun employing onsite clinicians to help them.
Is It Possible To Become a Behavioral Health Manager Completely Online?
Yes, it is. Because the degree program to become a behavioral health manager doesn't have lab or practical class work requirements like some other professions in the medical field do, it is possible to earn your degree online.