Becoming a mental health project officer: role, studies and prospects

Mental health has become a public health priority. To make progress in a local area, someone has to bring the players together (elected officials, hospitals, associations, schools, police, social landlords, service users), identify needs and drive concrete actions: that is the role of the mental health project officer, or coordinator. This field- and organisation-based job attracts more and more psychology graduates. This profile is part of our guide to careers in psychology.

What does a mental health project officer do?

The job

The mental health project officer organises and runs collective actions to improve a population’s mental health: prevention, early detection, access to care, fighting stigma, inclusion of people living with a mental disorder. They do not see patients: they work on organisation, partnerships and projects.

Local mental health councils and territorial projects

Many of these posts are linked to two French schemes. The local mental health council (CLSM) brings together, at the level of a town or group of municipalities, elected officials, public psychiatry, service users, their families and local players; it is run by a coordinator. The territorial mental health project (PTSM), created by the 2016 French health system modernisation law, organises care pathways across a département, from prevention to care and social integration.

What are the duties of a mental health project officer?

• Carry out an assessment of the area’s needs and resources, with partners.
• Run the network: plenary meetings, thematic working groups, steering committees.
• Set up and monitor projects: prevention among young people, handling complex situations, housing for people living with a mental disorder, mental health first aid training.
• Organise awareness campaigns, for example during the French Mental Health Information Weeks.
• Seek funding and report progress to funders, especially the regional health agency.
• Evaluate the actions carried out and propose priorities for the future.

Skills and qualities of a mental health project officer

The job requires knowledge of the mental health field (disorders, players, organisation of psychiatric care), the ability to manage a project from start to finish (method, budget, schedule, evaluation) and to chair meetings between partners from very different cultures. Diplomacy, listening skills, the ability to summarise and good writing are essential.

What psychology brings

A psychology degree provides a detailed knowledge of mental disorders, their impact on daily life and the care systems. It helps to talk with care professionals as well as service users, and to take a non-stigmatising view of mental illness. It needs to be complemented by project management and public health skills, often acquired through placements or continuing education.

Studies and training to become a mental health project officer

No specific diploma is required to work in this job. In practice, employers usually look for a master’s degree: psychology, public health, sociology or social project management. In the French local civil service, these posts often fall under the grades of administrative attaché or local psychologist; they are also open to contract staff. A placement in a mental health organisation, a service users’ association or a local authority is a strong asset.

Studying at ESPÉ

ESPÉ’s programmes prepare for this job: the MSc in Clinical Psychology covers mental disorders, care systems and multidisciplinary teamwork, with many hours of placement. For posts reserved for holders of the title of psychologist, remember that our degrees do not grant this protected title; many coordination posts, however, do not require it.

Pay and working conditions of a mental health project officer

In the local civil service, pay follows the grade’s scale, plus allowances. In the voluntary sector, it depends on the collective agreement. Some posts are part-time, particularly for the local councils of small groups of municipalities. The work alternates between the office, meetings with partners and field actions.

Career prospects for a mental health project officer

With experience, a project officer can coordinate a territorial mental health project at département level, join a regional health agency, head a prevention or health promotion service, or move on to managing a medico-social organisation.

Why become a mental health project officer?

It is a job for people who want to act on mental health on a large scale, by changing how an area is organised rather than by seeing patients one by one. It combines knowledge of psychology, political awareness and a taste for collective work, in a field where needs are growing.