Rehabilitation or Mental Health Counselors

http://library.thinkquest.org/15569/car1a.html

Duties and Responsibilities:

Rehabilitation or mental health counselors work with the mentally, emotionally, and physically disabled. It is their job to help patients develop more faith in themselves. They work with patients to help them become self-sufficient and productive. Counselors often work closely with their patients’ doctors and family. Counselors may work in private practice, for schools, industry, or in hospital or residential health care settings. Counselors often:

·         Work with patients who abuse alcohol or are addicted to drugs.

·         Interview and observe patients to determine problem areas.

·         Conduct personality, aptitude, achievement, and psychological test.

·         Help patients find and keep jobs.

Average Salary: $25,000 - $45,000

Educational Requirements:

Students interested in becoming counselors should take a challenging high school curriculum.

A bachelor’s degree in education, psychology, or sociology is the minimum requirement for low level counseling jobs, but a master’s degree is required for most. To become licensed by a state, counselors must pass written and oral examinations and work for about two years in a supervised clinical setting.