So You Think You Want to Be a Counselor?
In honor of my new job, I have a guest from Robert Parmer, a student at Boise State University and a freelance writer. He's here today to discuss the different paths possible in a counseling career and choosing the right one for you.
I’m very excited to do a guest post for Counselor Up, and to go over the great career choices in counseling that are out there. Looking for a job you’ll love to be invested in? Look no further. The world of counseling is a rewarding career choice that can take many directions. Regardless of the exact path you take, one thing is for sure: you’ll be helping make a difference in people’s lives on the daily.
Mental Health Counseling helps those with a wide scope of mental illnesses ranging from depression to anxiety to schizophrenia. They help treat people with any degree of mental illness and set goals to help achieve stability and recovery. Mental health counselors often work in conjunction with psychiatrists and psychologists. Substance abuse, anger management, and relationship counseling can often tie into mental health counseling.
School/Educational Counseling encompasses everything from elementary to high school students and beyond. Students are developing mentally and emotionally at a high right during their first decade of education and school counselors are able to offer support and advice along the way. Counselors can profoundly impact a student’s life by improving their overall outlook on life. School counselors are visionary in order to always be on top of ever-changing social behaviors of students. A great example of this is how adjustments have been made as recent rise and issue of cyber bullying.
Marriage/Family Counseling is important in recognizing and mending issues related to couples and family structures. Marriage counselors help to assess and sort out problems within relationships. These types of counselors take dysfunctional behaviors and correct them, which helps get people back on the right track. Marriage and family counseling rebuilds relationships that may have never repaired themselves without this aid.
Substance Abuse Counselors are responsible for restoring people’s lives. Addiction affects millions of people all over the world, so the need to provide help is real. Treatment helps addicts start from scratch and make progress towards a better life. Substance abuse counselors help people struggling with alcohol and drug problems, as well as gambling and all other forms of addiction. Addiction can be a lifelong struggle so these types of counselors can have long term patients and are very influential to their success.
Career Counselors stimulate and inspires individuals and help them discover what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Everyone is striving to land the job that truly makes them happy and proud to enter the workplace every day. When a person is searching for the career they’ll love, career counselors can help pave the way. They offer foundational support and help people feel empowered and motivated.
One very common question associated with career choices is what the day-to-day job duties look like. The following infographic highlights some main responsibilities different types of counselors encounter on the daily.