The following are typical duties of Army Mental Health Specialists:
- Collect and record data
- Assist with treatment administered to patients struggling with substance abuse, depression, and mental health disorders
- Counsel soldiers suffering with depression and anxiety
- Meeting with soldiers who've considered suicide
- Interviewing soldiers
- Administering aptitude and personality tests
- Assessing whether soldiers have experienced organic brain damage
Mental health specialists frequently organize and manage suicide prevention initiatives to decrease suicide throughout the Army. Whenever they're assigned to combat zones, these specialists provide stress reduction instruction. Mental health specialists are frequently embedded with units assigned to remote outposts in dangerous areas. They can also be found at military base hospitals, veterans' hospitals, Army correctional facilities, and deployment centers.
The Army offers many incentives to recruit mental health specialists. They also provide training, which can be applied in the civilian world. In fact, Army mental health specialists often land great jobs, including psychiatric aide and caseworker jobs, once their military commitment ends. Jobs can also be found at drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, counseling centers, medical clinics, and hospitals.