Who's job is it ?

There are many professionals involved in the care of mentally ill persons. They include Psychiatrist, Clinical Psychologist, Psychiatric Nurse, Psychotherapist, Counsellor, Psychiatric Social worker, Case manager, Community Psychiatric nurse, occupational therapist etc.
Among these the most essential categories are psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, psychiatric social worker and the psychiatric nurse. These professionals are employed in majority of hospitals / clinics. The other categories are employed in centres offering specialised services.
Psychiatrist is a licensed physician trained in basic modern medicine with post graduate qualification and training in Psychiatry. This is a branch of Medicine dealing with diagnosis, management, prevention and research in the area of mental disorders. A psychiatrist is authorized to treat patients using medicines and psychological treatments (in which he is trained / competent)
Clinical Psychologist has a basic degree / PG degree in Psychology plus supervised training and appropriate qualification in Clinical Psychology. S/he is authorized to treat patients using psychological methods in which he is trained / competent. Earlier most of the courses in psychology were in the arts/humanities stream. But now most centers offer courses leading to graduation is science.
A Psychiatric social worker has Degree / PG qualification in Social work. S/he is also trained to offer psychosocial treatments. They offer counseling for alcohol/drug abusers, couples / family therapy etc Also involved in educating families about how to handle a mentally ill member , counseling those in distress, crisis intervention etc.
Psychiatric nurse does the nursing care, administration of medication etc. A community psychiatric nurse offers her service in a community health care setting.
Counselors offer counseling services in their area of expertise For example marital, career guidance, HIV prevention. They are usually qualified in social work, psychology etc. (Note that I have omitted the word Clinical before the the preceding terms. This is because counselors may not have in depth training in clinical work)
Any person who is trained in a specific technique of Psychotherapy an has approval of the licensing authority can practice as a psychotherapist. Usually these persons are psychiatrist, psychologists 9clinical or otherwise0, social workers etc.
Occupational therapists are trained in administering rehabilitation services for the persons with chronic mental disorders.
Case managers undertake liaison work coordinating these various professionals with the patients and their families. They ensure that patient stays in regular treatment.