Counselors
"Facing it, always facing it, that's the way to get through. Face it." Whether it is adjusting to university life, getting slapped with the pink slip, being diagnosed with a terminal illness, coping with a relationship conflict, or struggling with the loss of a loved one, challenging circumstances and transitions often generate painful emotions and a sense of hopelessness. The truth is, no situation is insurmountable, however an uphill battle it might seem. Transformative change simply demands preparation, determination, a plan of action, a commitment to action, and the adoption of a novel approach and desirable behavior. Each year, countless Americans choose the route of professional counseling to help them face and overcome a seemingly enormous problem that is chipping away at their inner peace and happiness. Counselors provide direction and support and equip patients with the tools needed to pursue the path of personal growth. They offer short-term counseling to individuals overwhelmed by personal, professional, familial, academic, and mental health difficulties.
The counselor's occupational specialty, which is associated with a particular setting and concerns a specific population, dictates his or her duties. Counselors are normally required to have a master's degree and typically specialize in one of the following areas:
- Substance abuse and behavioral counseling
A substance abuse counselor treats issues involving drug and alcohol abuse and helps individuals identify problems and behaviors emanating from their addiction. These counselors also reach out to family members who are impacted by the addictive behavior of relatives or loved ones. An addiction counselor offers individual or group therapy sessions and conducts addiction-prevention programs (i.e. gambling addiction).
- Mental health counseling
A mental health counselor is a highly-skilled professional who treats individuals who are experiencing emotional and mental distress. He or she generally applies psychotherapeutic principles to 1) guide patients towards emotional well-being, 2) cope with everyday problems and daily life, and 3) treat psychopathology. A mental health counselor's services are available to individuals, groups, families, and couples. A holistic approach is employed, with the counselor keeping tabs on patients' mental, behavioral, and physical health and examining the environmental and external influences to which they are subjected. A mental health counselor treats a host of issues involving illness, mental disorders, relationships, and families. He or she gathers data via tests, observations, and interviews and then determines the most effective method to assist clients. To enable patients to avoid, treat and address mental or emotional impairment, a mental health counselor helps them establish goals and create plans. He or she may be a specialist in a specific area such as marital counseling, substance abuse or career counseling, or focus on a specific age group. A depression counselor is a type of mental health counselor who typically relies on the following forms of therapy to treat patients: (1) biofeedback, (2) cognitive behavioral therapy, (3) medication, and (4) relaxation methods.
Mental health counseling is available for a variety of issues, including those relating to the following:
- Aging;
- Suicidal ideation;
- Stress;
- Self-esteem;
- Relationship and marital problems;
- Depression;
- Career issues;
- Substance abuse and addiction; and
- Parenting conflicts.
A mental health counselor provides an extensive range of services such as:
- Brief therapy focused on a solution;
- Crisis management;
- Prevention programs;
- Psychotherapy;
- Evaluation and diagnosis; and
- Anger management
He or she often collaborates with other mental health experts, such as psychologists, psychiatric nurses, psychiatrists, marriage and family therapists, school counselors, and social workers.
- Marriage and family counseling
A marriage and family counselor assists couples, families, and individuals understand relationships, improve communication, and find a resolution to emotional crises. Marriage and family counselors help clients treat a host of issues including the following:
- Marital distress;
- Chronic illness;
- Behavioral problems in adolescents;
- Rape trauma;
- Bereavement;
- Infidelity;
- Self-mutilation and suicide ideation;
- Infertility;
- Depression;
- Divorce;
- Domestic violence;
- Child abuse and neglect;
- Substance abuse; and
- Alzheimer's.
They also address issues involving or affecting (1) multiracial families, (2) gay and lesbian youth, (3) same sex couples, (4) families living with HIV disease, (5) adoptions, (6) children of alcoholics, (7) parents grieving the loss of a child, (8) stepfamilies, and (9) the elderly (i.e. Alzheimer's).
- Vocational, educational and school counseling
School counselors help elementary school to college-level students attain scholastic achievement, achieve social and personal growth, and plan for their career. School counselors perform numerous tasks including:
- Assessment of students' interests, personalities, talents, and abilities via aptitude evaluation tests, counseling sessions, and interviews;
- Implementation of career education programs;
- Assistance of students with learning disabilities, behavioral problems, or special needs;
- Developmental and preventive counseling;
- Coordination of drug and alcohol prevention programs;
- Conflict resolution;
- Domestic abuse screening; and
- Improvement of parent-teacher rapport.
Career counselors assist individuals in making productive career choices, achieving higher education, learning new skills, changing careers, relieving stress, and re-entering the workforce. They provide support to individuals coping with the loss of a job, career transition, or employment stress. They perform other tasks such as:
- Assessment of clients' employment history, education, personality, training, talents, skills, and interests;
- Arrangements for achievement and aptitude tests to help individuals find a career that corresponds to their skills; and
- Assistance with job hunting and with employment applications.
- Rehabilitation counseling
Rehabilitation counselors help patients with a mental, physical, emotional or developmental disability realize personal and professional objectives and lead more fulfilling lives. The disabilities that rehabilitation counselors treat may be attributed to a number of causes, such as accidents, disease, birth defects, or illness. The majority of rehabilitation counselors focus on a particular disability, such as head trauma, deafness, psychiatric disability, blindness, or spinal cord injury. Rehabilitation counselors help patients in numerous ways:
- Assessing their strengths and limitations by meeting with their clients' employers, psychologists, physicians, and/or occupational therapists;
- Providing career, post-employment, and personal counseling;
- Ensuring good working conditions;
- Arranging for health care and job placement;
- Evaluating medical and academic reports;
- Providing job skills training; and
- Helping clients live independently.
Many mental health, substance abuse, and marriage and family counselors, especially those who are self-employed, accommodate their patients by accepting weekend and evening appointments.