Professionals and Practitioners

in Counseling
Counselors may work in hospitals, Correctional
and prison facilities, rehabilitation centers,
retail business, educational system, career
centers, nonprofit or social services agencies,
religious institution, private and public practice
as well as in a weight loss camp.
 Counseling Careers
1. Mental Health Counselor Mental health
counselors provide therapeutic support to
clients faced with mental, emotional and
behavioral health issues, such as anxiety,
depression, stress, low self-esteem and other
concerns.
2. School Counselor Professional school counselor
provides services to students to support their
academic, personal and social development
while working with teachers, administrators and
parents.
3. Career Counselor help individuals
understand themselves and the world of work
to make solid occupational, education and life
decisions.
4. Child and adolescent counselors help
children and teens with physical, emotional,
or mental roadblocks that impede healthy
development.
5. College Counselor provide college students
with a variety of supports in order to promote
overall academic, mental and behavioral
wellness.
6. Grief Counselor support client growth from
profound loss, death of a loved one,
debilitating injury, terminal illness, divorce or
other personal bereavements.
7. Military Counselor assist active duty,
veterans and their families on mental,
emotional and social concerns related to the
military lifestyle and experience.
8. Pastoral Counselor In pastoral settings,
counselors combine therapy with theological
training to offer patients a unique and
integrated approach to sessions.
9. Rehabilitation Counselor For individuals
with physical, mental, developmental, and
or emotional disabilities, rehabilitation
counselors assist them in leading fulfilling
and successful independent lives.
10. Substance Abuse Counselor Substance
abuse and addiction counselors work with
clients to support their mental and physical
health in order to accurately provide a
holistic treatment of substance abuse
disorders.
COMPETENCIES OF PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS
1. Communication skills Effective counselors should have
excellent communication skills before embarking on a
counseling career. Counselors need to have a natural
ability to listen and be able clearly explain their ideas
and thoughts to others.
2. Acceptance Counselors must be able to “start where
the client is at.” This phrase is often used in counseling
to describe the ability to relate to clients with an
open, nonjudgmental attitude-accepting the client for
who she is and her current situation.
3. Empathy Counselors help people through some of the
most difficult and stressful times of their lives. They must be
able to display empathy-the ability to feel what another
person is feeling.
4. Problem-Solving skills Counselors must have excellent
problem-solving skills to be able to help their clients identify
and make changes to negative thought patterns and other
harmful behaviors that might be contributing to their issues.
5. Rapport-Building skills Counselors must possess a strong
set of interpersonal skills to help establish rapport quickly
with clients and develop strong relationships. They must
give their undivided attention to clients and be able to
cultivate trust.
6. Flexibility Counselors must have the ability to
adapt and change the way they respond to meet
their client’s needs.
7. Self-Awareness Counselors need to have the
ability to look within and identify their own unmet
psychological needs and desires, such as a need for
intimacy or the desires to be professionally
competent.
8. Multicultural Competency Counselors help
people from all walks of life. They must display
multicultural competency and adopt a multicultural
worldview.
ROLES OF PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS
1. Work with individuals, groups and
communities to improve mental health.
2. Encourage clients to discuss emotions and
experiences.
3. Examine issues including substance abuse,
aging, bullying, anger management, careers,
depression, relationships, LGBTQ issues,
self-image, stress and suicide.
4. Work with families.
ROLES OF PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS

5. Help client’s define goals, plan

action and gain insight.
6. Develop therapeutical processes.
7. Refer clients to psychologists and
other services.
8. Take a holistic approach to mental
health care.
Specific Work Areas of Counselors
1. Hospitals Counselors provide mental health evaluations, some
counselors are hired to assist patients overcome various
psychological and behavioral issues.
2. Inpatient or Outpatient Detoxification Centers
Counselors may also serve as detox specialists or crisis workers
within detoxification center. Counselors are hired to work in:
2.1. Inpatient facilities hire counselors to assist with 24-hour care
of high-risk patients battling substance abuse.
2.2 . Outpatient facilities hire counselors to provide treatment
during the day, while patients are allowed to return to their
homes at night.
3. Mental Health Facilities & Agencies Counselors provide
one-on-one treatment or holding group therapy sessions.
Community counselors are hired at localized mental health
agencies to assist a local population, interact with community
leaders, and bridge the gap between support services found
in surrounding areas.
4. Residential Care Facilities A residential care facility
provides counseling services to people living in a temporary
environment that requires continuous supervision. This may
include facilities that house troubled or at-risk youths, autistic
children, or people with mental or physical disabilities.
5. Halfway Houses Halfway houses, also known as transitional
housing facilities and recovery houses, hire rehabilitation and
substance abuse counselors to guide patients or residents in
need of help transitioning back to a societal environment,
their family, their community, and/or entering the workforce.
6. Geriatric-Related Facilities Counselors, especially geriatric
counselors, are often employed by facilities, agencies and
organizations that serve the elderly population.
7. Medical Hospitals and Outpatient Clinics Counselors are hired
to work with veterans, their spouses, and family to address
issues, such as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and anger
management.
8. Correctional Facilities and/or Prisons From mental health
counseling to substance abuse counseling, the prison system
employs counselors to provide individual and group therapy for
individuals who are jailed, or living in a correctional facility.
9. Retail Businesses Assuming positions in the human resources
or public relations departments of large retail organizations, job
duties typically include improving company-customer
relationships, as well as designing ,conducting training programs.
10. The Educational System Primarily helping students to better
navigate the stresses of growing up and successfully completing
their studies, counselors play an important role at all levels of the
school system.
Code of Ethics Guidance counselors work with clients, as individuals
and in groups, to whom they supply professional services concerning
educational, vocational, personal and social development. The
following are the ethical behaviors and unethical behaviors among
counselors: Ethical Behaviors:
1. They protect members from practices that may result in public
condemnation.
2. They provide a measure of self-regulation, thus giving members a
certain freedom and autonomy.
3. They provide clients a degree of protection from cheats and the
incompetent.
4. They help to protect counselors from the public if they pursued
for malpractice.
Unethical Behaviors:
1. Incompetence
2. Lack of integrity
3. Violating confidences
4. Exceeding the level of professional competence
5. Imposing values on clients
6. Creating dependence on the part of the clients to meet the
counselor’s own needs.
7. Improper advertising
8. Charging fees for private counseling to those who are
entitled to free services through the counselor’s employing
institutions and or using one’s job to recruit clients for a private
practice.
“INDIVIDUAL” counseling is a personal opportunity to receive support
and experience growth during challenging times in life. Such kind of
counseling facilitates one deal with a variety of life topics such as
anger, depression, anxiety, relationship challenges, substance abuse,
parenting problems, school difficulties & career changes.
 Otherwise known as talk therapy, this type of counseling is done
in a confidential environment where clientele work one-on-one
with a trained professional, (e.g in school a guidance counselor)
 It is focused on the individual’s immediate or near future concerns.
It is facilitated to talk to through mental health concerns &help
clients heal, grow and move toward more productive lives.
“GROUP”
 Group counseling consists of four to ten clients and
one or two experienced group therapists.
 During this period, the members of the group talk
about issues concerning them and offer each other
support and feedback.
 This type of counseling may be useful for students
who are having difficulties in their relationships or who
want to learn about themselves and their connections
to other people.
“ORGANIZATION “
 Counseling and therapy aren’t just for individuals,
couples and groups. Organization can also benefit
from the same techniques to help reduce
workplace anxiety, improve communication,
enhance performance and support employees
more thoroughly.
 This type of counseling is used to provide deeply
effective coaching to teams who lack direction,
stress, burnout or anxiety.
Community counseling is geared towards increasing coordination
between community members and all the services that address all
types of discrimination. This type of counseling applies both
counseling and social work in the community setting.
 It recognizes diversity as it must pay attention to the diverse
systems noting that a community consists of individuals with varied
personalities and perspectives.
 Components of community counseling include providing advice &
consultation to a community’s caregivers to increase access to
mental health care,identifying high-risk populations,reducing the
incidence of mental disorders at an individual level,developing
preventive measures to reduce relapses,recognizing the value of
the community& its ability to develop effective programs&services.