A counseling professional helps individual cope with emotional issues in family, personal, social, and educational relationships. Counseling professionals are found in elementary and high schools as well as in the medical and professional fields. For instance, vocational counselors (or career counselors) assist professionals in deciding on career moves or finding jobs more in line with their interests. A marriage counselor guides couples--married or not—to have a more fulfilling relationship. Some other counseling work involves helping the mentally ill, the disabled, or people fighting drug or alcohol addiction. As a rule a counseling professional helps people mature, grow, and thrive as happy, independent individuals.
To work as a counselor, you need to ensure that your educational qualifications are in line with your state licensure regulations, chosen occupation, work environment, specialty, and employer. You need to inquire with state and local government officials, prospective employers, and volunteer organizations to obtain accurate information about the correct counseling degree program to meet your specific plans.
The majority of states and employers insist on counselors obtaining a license. To qualify for a license one needs a master's degree as well as up to 2,000 hours of experience as in a supervised clinical internship. Besides, one needs to score at least the qualifying marks in state-administered examinations. Apart from this you need to continue your career education and meet follow up qualifications after you start a career as a clinical counselor.
Even though the majority of counseling careers ask for a master's degree, some states and employers are content to permit you to become a counselor even with a bachelor's degree provided you have also attended approved counseling courses.
The future is promising for those working toward a college degree in counseling. Data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveal that work opportunities for counselors is likely to grow 21 percent by 2016. The work opportunities for behavioral disorder counselors will increase by 34 percent, and vocational and school counseling jobs will witness an increase of 13 percent. The BLS feels that school counseling careers will experience rapid growth because of more enrollment in secondary schools, leading to greater demand for school counselors. Insurance companies as well as managed care systems are increasing their reliance on mental health counselors (a more cost-effective option when compared to psychologists) has also added to the demand.
Many people frequently need advice and guidance to dealing with problems that occur in their lives. A counseling psychologist helps people deal with family, personal, or social issues. A good counselor must be emotionally stable, interested in human behavior, and broad-minded. Apart from these personality traits, one must obtain a doctoral degree in counseling psychology to become a counseling psychologist.
A counseling psychologist attends to patients with a variety of issues. The psychologist must be prepared to study and work in different settings. A counseling psychologist is trained to help clients who are struggling to deal with:
- Aggression and anger control
- Anxiety disorders
- Community development
- Crisis intervention
- Drug abuse
- Eating disorders
- Interpersonal relationships
- Mental health issues
- Vocational guidance
Counseling psychology is the psychological specialty that aids personal and interpersonal functioning over a life span. It focuses on social, emotional, vocational, health-related, educational, developmental, and organizational concerns. This specialty integrates research, theory, and practice, is sensitive to multicultural issues, and uses many practices to help people enhance their well-being, resolve crises, lessen distress and maladjustment, and increase their capability to lead more functioning lives. This branch of psychology is unique as it pays attention to both normal developmental issues and to the problems associated with emotional, physical, and mental disorders.
The primary difference between clinical psychology and counseling is in their training and perspective. While counseling psychologists focus on the individual who is psychologically healthy, clinical psychologists focus on those with severe mental illnesses (for instance, schizophrenia). Counseling psychology is a by product of vocational psychology with a base in education. These programs are usually located in schools. Clinical programs, on the other hand, deal more with medicine and focus on treating mental illnesses.
Counseling psychologists are generalists, with training in many basic therapeutic skills. On the other hand, clinical psychologists focus on a few areas (such as depression, substance abuse). Even when counseling psychologists specialize, their training provides them with a general repertoire of skills. Both counseling and clinical psychologists treat similar patients. Moreover, this overlap between the two specialties continues to grow.