It is a very challenging job to become a mental health counselor. This profession requires a person to have a master’s degree, although there are programs that can help candidates go right from high school to earning a master’s degree. Candidates need to be prepared to take a series of tests in order to determine their aptitude for counseling. These tests will assess aspects of personality and counseling such as leadership, listening skills, interpersonal skills, and problem solving. Counseling requires a lot of patience, determination, self-discipline, and a strong work ethic since counselors are supposed to guide and motivate people to lead the lives that they want.
The salary of a mental health counselor varies with qualifications and location. The highest paying jobs belong to colleges or universities where the students earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology or mental health and development. Some areas have higher salary than others.
The United States Department of Education is one of the largest employers of these types of counselors.
Online programs are available to help people to become mental health counselors. Since it does not require any campus-based experience, people who want to become counselors can still complete their education at home. People who are working professionals choose this career path because they enjoy interacting with people. Counselors give presentations to groups of people, to encourage understanding and hope. They help people overcome problems such as anxiety, depression, anger issues, and abuse. Counselors do not give advice but rather listen to the person and try to discover what the root cause of the problem is so that the counselor can then help the client to devise a plan to fix the problem.
Sometimes counselors are asked to refer people to other therapists. They assist these therapists by giving information and telling them what to do to achieve better results. Many times these counselors will travel to different places in an effort to locate clients. When choosing to become a psychotherapist, people must have a strong desire to help others achieve personal growth.
A mental health counselor also spends time doing research to find out about their client’s history, wants, needs, and problems. Sometimes clients are referred to marriage counselors, family counselors, or psychologists. Once a referral is received, the individual will spend a period of time interviewing the person in order to develop a thorough profile of the person. A profile usually includes the information on the person’s personality, beliefs, values, and habits. After the profile has been developed, the counselor will begin to communicate with the individual, helping them to develop an effective plan to help them deal with issues that they may be having.
Counselors are able to provide many different kinds of services to people. They may be called upon to assess the current state of an individual’s mental health. In other instances, the counselor will need to get information from the client to help them work on a treatment plan. Some counselors may be asked to evaluate their clients’ progress. Once a plan is developed, the counselor will train the individual to implement it.
