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Mental Health Counselors Occupation Detailed Description

Mental Health Counselors career

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Mental Health Counselors

The main tasks and work activities of Mental Health Counselors are to counsel clients or patients regarding personal issues, teach life skills or strategies to clients or their families, complete documentation required by programs or regulations, write reports or evaluations. In general, for the Mental Health Counselors, active Listening, social Perceptiveness, service Orientation, speaking and other 17 skills are required.
Mental Health Counselors Job Description
EducationMost of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Related ExperienceExtensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Job TrainingEmployees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
ExampleThese occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include pharmacists, lawyers, astronomers, biologists, clergy, neurologists, and veterinarians.
The following chart shows the education/training levels for Mental Health Counselors jobs.
Less than a High School Diploma
0.00%
High School Diploma (or the equivalent)
0.00%
Post-Secondary Certificate
0.00%
Some College Courses
0.00%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
1.48%
Bachelor's Degree and Above
98.52%

Tasks and Work Activities of Mental Health Counselors

  • Maintain confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.
  • Encourage clients to express their feelings and discuss what is happening in their lives, helping them to develop insight into themselves or their relationships.
  • Guide clients in the development of skills or strategies for dealing with their problems.
  • Prepare and maintain all required treatment records and reports.
  • Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
  • Collect information about clients through interviews, observation, or tests.
  • Act as client advocates to coordinate required services or to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.
  • Develop and implement treatment plans based on clinical experience and knowledge.
  • Collaborate with other staff members to perform clinical assessments or develop treatment plans.
  • Evaluate clients' physical or mental condition, based on review of client information.
  • Meet with families, probation officers, police, or other interested parties to exchange necessary information during the treatment process.
  • Refer patients, clients, or family members to community resources or to specialists as necessary.
  • Counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, or supporting clients or patients.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling programs on clients' progress in resolving identified problems and moving towards defined objectives.
  • Plan, organize, or lead structured programs of counseling, work, study, recreation, or social activities for clients.
  • Modify treatment activities or approaches as needed to comply with changes in clients' status.
  • Learn about new developments in counseling by reading professional literature, attending courses and seminars, or establishing and maintaining contact with other social service agencies.
  • 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.
  • Monitor clients' use of medications.
  • Assisting and Caring for OthersProviding personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Documenting/Recording InformationEntering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Updating and Using Relevant KnowledgeKeeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Performing for or Working Directly with the PublicPerforming for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
  • Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with OthersHandling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
  • Thinking CreativelyDeveloping, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
  • Developing Objectives and StrategiesEstablishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
  • Making Decisions and Solving ProblemsAnalyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Counsel clients or patients regarding personal issues.
  • Teach life skills or strategies to clients or their families.
  • Complete documentation required by programs or regulations.
  • Write reports or evaluations.
  • Counsel clients or patients with substance abuse issues.
  • Interview clients to gather information about their backgrounds, needs, or progress.
  • Collect information about clients.
  • Intervene in crisis situations to assist clients.
  • Advocate for individual or community needs.
  • Develop treatment plans for patients or clients.
  • Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
  • Evaluate characteristics of individuals to determine needs or eligibility.
  • Confer with family members to discuss client treatment plans or progress.
  • Refer clients to community or social service programs.
  • Counsel family members of clients or patients.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling or educational programs.
  • Monitor clients to evaluate treatment progress.
  • Plan programs to address community mental wellness needs.
  • Modify treatment plans to accommodate client needs.
  • Develop working relationships with others to facilitate program activities.

Skills and Abilities for Mental Health Counselors

  • Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
  • SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
  • MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • PersuasionPersuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • Learning StrategiesSelecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Systems EvaluationIdentifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • NegotiationBringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • Systems AnalysisDetermining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • ScienceUsing scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
  • InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
  • Operations AnalysisAnalyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
  • Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Desktop computerse.g. Desktop computers
  • Electronic medical thermometerse.g. Digital medical thermometers
  • Scannerse.g. Flatbed scanners
  • Notebook computerse.g. Notebook computers
  • Personal computerse.g. Personal computers
  • Blood pressure cuff kitse.g. Sphygmomanometers
  • PsychologyKnowledge 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.
  • Therapy and CounselingKnowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
  • Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge 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.
  • Sociology and AnthropologyKnowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
  • English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Education and TrainingKnowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • ClericalKnowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
  • Philosophy and TheologyKnowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
  • Law and GovernmentKnowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  • Administration and ManagementKnowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.