What Does a Counselor Do?

Counselor

Empathy is essential in counseling. Clients will often share sensitive and private information with their therapist, so they must know they will be heard.

Grand Canyon University notes that an effective counselor must also have an understanding of both emotion and logic, in order to decipher what their client is actually expressing without their own issues getting in the way – something known as countertransference.

Qualifications

Many counselors specialize in one specific area. For instance, an addiction counselor might specialize in helping clients struggling with alcoholism or drug dependency while mental health counselors might help those dealing with anxiety or depression.

To become a counselor, at minimum you require a bachelor’s degree in the relevant field and, later on, earn your master’s in either counseling, psychology, sociology or education – the latter two providing real world learning and internship experiences according to Dougherty.

Once you complete your master’s program, licensure as a counselor or therapist through your state licensing board is an option that opens up job opportunities and insurance reimbursement. In order to become licensed you typically need to complete certain clinical hours as well as pass an exam that varies according to state – in some instances this might also involve becoming a supervised CASAC trainee.

Areas of Specialization

Counselors may opt to specialize in one field to better meet client needs, while some opt to broaden their practice. The decision whether or not to specialize or diversify will depend on each counselor’s career goals – those seeking to become recognized experts within their field may choose specialization while other counselors may find that this makes them feel unfulfilled professionally and overworked.

Counselors specialize in numerous areas of counseling, from school counseling and rehabilitation, through substance abuse counseling to substance use disorders and more. School counseling is one of the more prevalent specializations, often including elementary, secondary school and college counseling sessions. Rehabilitation counselling may provide assistance for anxiety, agitation depression grief sex drive problems traumatic stress disorders. Counselors specializing in rehabilitation tend to work alongside physicians psychologiss other health care professionals within rehabilitation facilities or facilities as well as privately with clients; private practices also exist for these counselors who specialize in this specialty area of counseling.

Types of Counseling

Counselors provide people with emotional and mental health support by employing various skills. Counselors also help individuals adjust to life changes such as job loss, divorce and the loss of loved ones while working alongside them to create goals and strategies for living more fulfilling lives.

Counselors may choose to specialize in particular areas. For instance, certain counsellors specialize in helping those suffering from substance abuse or addiction; others might focus on helping individuals manage mental health conditions like depression or anxiety.

Counselors also assist clients who are experiencing family or relationship difficulties, such as isolation and loneliness. Therapy sessions often consist of sharing experiences and strategies among other clients facing similar struggles; this type of group counseling allows people to share experiences and coping strategies and can lead to a greater sense of well-being among its participants. Furthermore, other counselors specialize in working with children, adolescents or those incarcerated.

Licensing

A license is the official proof that you have fulfilled all education, experience and examination requirements set by each state for counseling services. Furthermore, it demonstrates your agreement to abide by client protections specific to that state as well as codes of ethics specific to this field of endeavor.

Licensing regulations differ by state, but most require an accredited master’s degree, supervised clinical experience, and passing a licensure exam. NBCC maintains a directory of state licensure boards so you can quickly locate specific requirements in your region.

Some graduate programs provide supervised practicum experiences as part of their programs, so if this applies to you make sure your practicum hours are credited toward meeting the minimum number of supervised work hours needed for licensure. New York provides a CASAC Trainee (CASAC-T) credential which allows individuals to apply for counseling associate licenses while they accumulate enough supervised experience required for licensure as Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs). Once this experience has been gained it must then pass your state licensing examination in order to be licensed Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs).