Mental Health Counselors
Human Services > Counseling & Mental Health ServicesProjected Growth:
Projected Job Openings
Extensive Preparation Needed
Job Description
Your job is to Counsel with emphasis on prevention. Work with individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health. May help individuals deal with issues associated with addictions and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; stress management; self-esteem; and aging.
Common job titles of Mental Health Counselors include:
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Experience and Education
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
62.16% said they needed a Master's Degree.
34.29% said they needed a Bachelor's Degree.
Tasks
Guide clients in the development of skills or strategies for dealing with their problems.
Fill out and maintain client-related paperwork, including federal- and state-mandated forms, client diagnostic records, and progress notes.
Prepare and maintain all required treatment records and reports.
Plan, organize, or lead structured programs of counseling, work, study, recreation, or social activities for clients.
Encourage clients to express their feelings and discuss what is happening in their lives, helping them to develop insight into themselves or their relationships.
Maintain confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.
Collect information about clients through interviews, observation, or tests.
Evaluate clients' physical or mental condition, based on review of client information.
Develop and implement treatment plans based on clinical experience and knowledge.
Assess patients for risk of suicide attempts.
Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
Monitor clients' use of medications.
Plan or conduct programs to prevent substance abuse or improve community health or counseling services.
Discuss with individual patients their plans for life after leaving therapy.
Modify treatment activities or approaches as needed to comply with changes in clients' status.
Counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, or supporting clients or patients.
Meet with families, probation officers, police, or other interested parties to exchange necessary information during the treatment process.
Perform crisis interventions with clients.
Supervise other counselors, social service staff, assistants, or graduate students.
Gather information about community mental health needs or resources that could be used in conjunction with therapy.
Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling programs on clients' progress in resolving identified problems and moving towards defined objectives.
Refer patients, clients, or family members to community resources or to specialists as necessary.
Collaborate with other staff members to perform clinical assessments or develop treatment plans.
Act as client advocates to coordinate required services or to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.
Coordinate or direct employee workshops, courses, or training about mental health issues.
Learn about new developments in counseling by reading professional literature, attending courses and seminars, or establishing and maintaining contact with other social service agencies.
Tools
Sphygmomanometers
Personal computers
Notebook computers
Flatbed scanners
Digital medical thermometers
Desktop computers
Technologies
Management information systems MIS
Microsoft Dynamics
Client information database systems
Netscape Navigator
Office suite software
Patient electronic medical record EMR software
Scheduling software
All TechnologiesSpreadsheet software
Test interpretation software
Skills
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Operations Analysis
Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Abilities
Listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Oral Comprehension
Communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Oral Expression
Tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Problem Sensitivity
Read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Written Comprehension
Communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Written Expression
Combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Inductive Reasoning
Apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Deductive Reasoning
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
Auditory and Speech Abilities › Sensory Abilities › Speech Recognition
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
Auditory and Speech Abilities › Sensory Abilities › Speech Clarity
Come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Fluency of Ideas
Generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Category Flexibility
Come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Originality
Occupation Sections
Knowledge
Psychology
Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Therapy and Counseling
Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Sociology and Anthropology
Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Clerical
Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Philosophy and Theology
Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Law and Government
Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.