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What They Do
About This Career
Counsels and advises 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.
This career is part of the Human Services cluster Counseling and Mental Health Services pathway.
A person in this career:
- Maintains confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.
- Encourages clients to express their feelings and discuss what is happening in their lives, helping them to develop insight into themselves or their relationships.
- Assesses patients for risk of suicide attempts.
- Prepares and maintains all required treatment records and reports.
- Counsels clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
- Guides clients in the development of skills or strategies for dealing with their problems.
- Performs crisis interventions to help ensure the safety of the patients and others.
- Fills out and maintains client-related paperwork, including federal- and state-mandated forms, client diagnostic records, and progress notes.
- Fills out and maintains client-related paperwork, including federal- and state-mandated forms, client diagnostic records, and progress notes.
- Develops and implements treatment plans based on clinical experience and knowledge.
Working Conditions and Physical Demands
People who do this job report that:
- You would sit most of the time. There's some walking and standing. You may have to lift and carry things like books, papers or tools weighing 10 lbs. or less.
- Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
- Work in this occupation involves sitting more than one-third of the time
Working in this career involves (physical activities):
- Seeing clearly up close
- Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
- Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
Work Hours and Travel
Specialty and Similar Careers
Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:
- Behavior Analyst
- Behavior Support Specialist (BSS)
- Case Manager — Deals with individuals involved in accident claims to ensure that the individual receives the best possible options.
- Clinician
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
- Counselor
- Mental Health Specialist — Performs an assessment of the patient's mental state and then may recommend a treatment or refer the patient to a psychiatrist who can also prescribe medicine.
- Mental Health Therapist — Works with clients who are dealing with a range of emotional or psychological conditions.
- Mental Health Program Specialist
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts national surveys of wage data by occupation in every state and in all industry divisions. These surveys are conducted through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program.
The statistics collected for one year are published the next fall. For example, 2013 wage information was published in the fall of 2014.
There are over 800 occupations in the surveys, and these occupations cover the entire U.S. labor market. The surveys ask for reports in a scale of ranges for both hourly wages and annual wages.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics for a broad category, be aware that the salary data for a specific career may differ.
For more details about how wage information is collected and calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm.
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts a national survey of over 400,000
employers in every state and in all industry divisions. This survey is conducted
through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. Every other year the
department publishes outlook information based on these surveys.
Each outlook period covers 10 years. For example, in 2003 the outlook information
was published for 2004-2014. Employers are asked to report the number of employees
in about 770 different occupations that cover the entire U.S. labor market.
From this information, staffing patterns for different industries are established.
Industry growth is projected into the future based on past trends and current economic
conditions. Industry staffing patterns are then applied to the industry projections
to obtain occupational projections.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties
of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational
category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics
for a broad category, be aware that the employment data for a specific field may
differ.
For more details about how employment information is collected and calculated by
the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.
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