- People interested in counselling should have a strong desire to help others and should be able to inspire respect, trust, and confidence.
- Counsellors work in diverse community settings designed to provide a variety of counselling, rehabilitation, and support services.
- Their duties vary greatly, depending on their specialty, which is determined by the setting in which they work and the population they serve.
- Although the specific setting may have an implied scope of practice, counsellors frequently are challenged with children, adolescents, adults, or families that have multiple issues, such as mental health disorders and addiction, disability and employment needs, school problems or career counselling needs, and trauma.
- Counsellors must recognize these issues in order to provide their clients with appropriate counselling and support.
- Educational, vocational, and school counsellors provide individuals and groups with career, personal, social and educational counselling.
- School counsellors assist students of all levels, from elementary school to postsecondary education.
- They advocate for students and work with other individuals and organizations to promote the academic, career, personal, and social development of children and youth.
- School counsellors help students evaluate their abilities, interests, talents, and personalities to develop realistic academic and career goals.
- Counsellors use interviews, counselling sessions, interest and aptitude assessment tests, and other methods to evaluate and advise students. They also operate career information centers and career education programs.
- Often, counsellors work with students who have academic and social development problems or other special needs.
- Elementary school counsellors provide individual, small-group, and classroom guidance services to students.
- Counsellors observe children during classroom and play activities and confer with their teachers and parents to evaluate the children's strengths, problems, or special needs.
- In conjunction with teachers and administrators, they make sure that the curriculum addresses both the academic and the developmental needs of students.
- Elementary school counsellors do less vocational and academic counselling than high school counsellors do.
- High school counsellors advise students regarding college majors, admission requirements, entrance exams, financial aid, trade or technical schools, and apprenticeship programs.
- They help students develop job search skills, such as resume writing and interviewing techniques.
- College career planning and placement counsellors assist alumni or students with career development and job-hunting techniques.
- School counsellors at all levels help students to understand and deal with social, behavioral, and personal problems.
- These counsellors emphasize preventive and developmental counselling to enhance students' personal, social, and academic growth and to provide students with the life skills needed to deal with problems before they worsen.
- Counsellors provide special services, including alcohol and drug prevention programs and conflict resolution classes. They also try to identify cases of domestic abuse and other family problems that can affect a student's development.
- Counsellors interact with students individually, in small groups, or as an entire class. They consult and collaborate with parents, teachers, school administrators, school psychologists, medical professionals, and social workers to develop and implement strategies to help students succeed.
- Vocational counsellors, also called employment counsellors or career counsellors, usually provide career counselling outside the school setting.
- Their chief focus is helping individuals with career decisions.
- Vocational counsellors explore and evaluate the client's education, training, work history, interests, skills, and personality traits. They may arrange for aptitude and achievement tests to help the client make career decisions.
- They also work with individuals to develop their job-search skills and assist clients in locating and applying for jobs. In addition, career counsellors provide support to people experiencing job loss, job stress, or other career transition issues.
- Rehabilitation counsellors help people deal with the personal, social, and vocational effects of disabilities.
- They counsel people with both physical and emotional disabilities resulting from birth defects, illness or disease, accidents, or other causes.
- They evaluate the strengths and limitations of individuals, provide personal and vocational counselling, offer case management support, and arrange for medical care, vocational training, and job placement.
- Rehabilitation counsellors interview both individuals with disabilities and their families, evaluate school and medical reports, and confer with physicians, psychologists, employers, and physical, occupational, and speech therapists to determine the capabilities and skills of the individual.
- They develop individual rehabilitation programs by conferring with the client.
- These programs often include training to help individuals develop job skills, become employed, and provide opportunities for community integration.
- Rehabilitation counsellors are trained to recognize and to help lessen environmental and attitudinal barriers.
- Such help may include providing education, and advocacy services to individuals, families, employers, and others in the community.
- Rehabilitation counsellors work toward increasing the person’s capacity to live independently by facilitating and coordinating with other service providers.
- Mental health counsellors work with individuals, families, and groups to address and treat mental and emotional disorders and to promote mental health.
- They are trained in a variety of therapeutic techniques used to address issues such as depression, anxiety, addiction and substance abuse, suicidal impulses, stress, trauma, low self-esteem, and grief.
- They also help with job and career concerns, educational decisions, mental and emotional health issues, and relationship problems. In addition, they may be involved in community outreach, advocacy, and mediation activities.
- Some specialize in delivering mental health services for the elderly.
- Mental health counsellors often work closely with other mental health specialists, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, and school counsellors.
- Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counsellors help people who have problems with alcohol, drugs, gambling, and eating disorders.
- They counsel individuals to help them to identify behaviors and problems related to their addiction.
- Counselling can be done on an individual basis, but is frequently done in a group setting and can include crisis counselling, daily or weekly counselling, or drop-in counselling supports.
- Counsellors are trained to assist in developing personalized recovery programs that help to establish healthy behaviors and provide coping strategies. Often, these counsellors also will work with family members who are affected by the addictions of their loved ones.
- Some counsellors conduct programs and community outreach aimed at preventing addiction and educating the public.
- Counsellors must be able to recognize how addiction affects the entire person and those around him or her.
- Marriage and family therapists apply family systems theory, principles, and techniques to address and treat mental and emotional disorders.
- In doing so, they modify people's perceptions and behaviors, enhance communication and understanding among family members, and help to prevent family and individual crises.
- They may work with individuals, families, couples, and groups.
- Marriage and family therapy differs from traditional therapy because less emphasis is placed on an identified client or internal psychological conflict.
- The focus is on viewing and understanding their clients’ symptoms and interactions within their existing environment.
- Marriage and family therapists also may make appropriate referrals to psychiatric resources, perform research, and teach courses in human development and interpersonal relationships.
- Employment of substance abuse and behavioral disorder counsellors is expected to grow. As society becomes more knowledgeable about addiction, more people are seeking treatment. Furthermore, drug offenders are increasingly being sent to treatment programs rather than to jail.
- Employment for educational, vocational, and school counsellors is expected to grow. Demand for vocational or career counsellors should grow as multiple job and career changes become common and as workers become increasingly aware of counselling services.
- Counsellors are becoming more involved in crisis and preventive counselling, helping students deal with issues ranging from drug and alcohol abuse to death and suicide.
- Although schools realize the value of counsellors in helping their students to achieve academic success, budget constraints at every school level will dampen the job growth of school counsellors.
- There has been increased demand for mental health services as individuals become more willing to seek help.
- The number of people who will need rehabilitation counselling will increase as the size of the elderly population, whose members become injured or disabled at a higher rate than other age groups, increases and as treatment for mental health related disabilities increases.
- It is becoming more common for people to seek help for their marital and family problems than it was in the past.
Counsellors help people evaluate their interests, abilities, and disabilities and deal with personal, social, academic, and career problems. Others who help people in similar ways include Human Resources, training, and labor relations managers and specialists; Occupational therapists; Physicians and surgeons; Psychologists; Registered nurses; Social and human services assistants; Social workers; Teachers.
- Masters degree in Counsellor education program in universities
This career information is drawn from data provided by the U.S. Department of Labor.