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Mental Health Counselors

Counsel and advise individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health, with an emphasis on prevention. May help individuals deal with a broad range of mental health issues, such as those associated with addictions and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; stress management; self-esteem; or aging.
Related: Clinical & Counseling Psychologists  Healthcare Social Workers  Marriage & Family Therapists  Mental Health & Substance Abuse Social Workers  Rehabilitation Counselors 
Industries: Health & Counseling 

  • Summary

  • Details

    • Work Activities

    • Assess patients for risk of suicide attempts.
    • Perform crisis interventions to help ensure the safety of the patients and others.
    • Assess patients for risk of suicide attempts.
    • Perform crisis interventions with clients.
    • Evaluate clients' physical or mental condition, based on review of client information.
    • Coordinate or direct employee workshops, courses, or training about mental health issues.
    • Counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, or supporting clients or patients.
    • Plan or conduct programs to prevent substance abuse or improve community health or counseling services.
    • Learn about new developments in counseling by reading professional literature, attending courses and seminars, or establishing and maintaining contact with other social service agencies.
    • Act as client advocates to coordinate required services or to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.
    • Fill out and maintain client-related paperwork, including federal- and state-mandated forms, client diagnostic records, and progress notes.
    • Fill out and maintain client-related paperwork, including federal- and state-mandated forms, client diagnostic records, and progress notes.
    • Learn about new developments in counseling by reading professional literature, attending courses and seminars, or establishing and maintaining contact with other social service agencies.
    • Meet with families, probation officers, police, or other interested parties to exchange necessary information during the treatment process.
    • Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
    • Prepare and maintain all required treatment records and reports.
    • Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling programs on clients' progress in resolving identified problems and moving towards defined objectives.
    • Develop and implement treatment plans based on clinical experience and knowledge.
    • Supervise other counselors, social service staff, assistants, or graduate students.
    • Discuss with individual patients their plans for life after leaving therapy.
    • Gather information about community mental health needs or resources that could be used in conjunction with therapy.
    • Plan, organize, or lead structured programs of counseling, work, study, recreation, or social activities for clients.
    • Coordinate or direct employee workshops, courses, or training about mental health issues.
    • Meet with families, probation officers, police, or other interested parties to exchange necessary information during the treatment process.
    • Guide clients in the development of skills or strategies for dealing with their problems.
    • Act as client advocates to coordinate required services or to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.
    • Maintain confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.
    • Perform crisis interventions to help ensure the safety of the patients and others.
    • Encourage clients to express their feelings and discuss what is happening in their lives, helping them to develop insight into themselves or their relationships.
    • Collect information about clients through interviews, observation, or tests.
    • Collect information about clients through interviews, observation, or tests.
    • Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling programs on clients' progress in resolving identified problems and moving towards defined objectives.
    • Monitor clients' use of medications.
    • Collaborate with mental health professionals and other staff members to perform clinical assessments or develop treatment plans.
    • Collaborate with mental health professionals and other staff members to perform clinical assessments or develop treatment plans.
    • Refer patients, clients, or family members to community resources or to specialists as necessary.
    • Collaborate with mental health professionals and other staff members to perform clinical assessments or develop treatment plans.
    • Maintain confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.
    • Prepare and maintain all required treatment records and reports.
    • Modify treatment activities or approaches as needed to comply with changes in clients' status.

    Skills

    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    Abilities

    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    Knowledge

    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • 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.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • 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.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • 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.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    Education

    Education
    Master's degree
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    Internship/residency
    Education and Training Opportunities

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    64220/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    30.88/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    564,600
    Yearly Projected Openings
    48300

    Personality

    Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Sincerity
    • Optimism
    • Adaptability
    • Empathy
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Self-Control

    Tools

    • Blood pressure cuff kits
    • Desktop computers
    • Electronic medical thermometers
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Scanners

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Internet browser software
    • Medical software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Find Mental Health Counselors jobs Education and Training for Mental Health Counselors
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