Vocational counselors are also called employment or career counselors.  They provide:

• Career counseling outside the school setting
• Chief focus is helping individuals with career decisions
• Explore and evaluate the client’s education, training, work history, interests, skills and personality traits.
• Help individuals to develop their job-search skills
• Help clients to locate and apply for jobs
• Support to people experiencing job loss, job stress, or other career transition issues.

Rehabilitation counselors:

• Help people deal with the personal, social and vocational effects of disabilities
• Counsel people with disabilities resulting from birth defects, illness or disease, accidents, or other causes
• Evaluate the strengths and limitations of individuals
• Provide personal and vocational counseling
• Arrange for medical care, vocational training, and job placement
• Interview both individuals with disabilities and their families
• Evaluate school and medical reports
• Meet with physicians, psychologists, occupational therapists, and employers to determine the capabilities and skills of an individual
• Work toward increasing the client’s capacity to live independently

Mental health counselors:

• Work with individuals, families and groups to address and treat mental and emotional disorders and to promote mental health
• Are trained in a variety of therapeutic techniques used to address issues such as depression, addiction and substance abuse, suicidal impulses, stress, problems with self-esteem, and grief
• Help with job and career concerns
• Help with education decisions
• Provide help with issues related to mental and emotional health
• Assist with family, parenting, marital or other relationship problems
• They sometimes work closely with other mental health specialists like psychiatrists, psychologists, c

Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors:

• Help people who have problems with alcohol, drugs, gambling, and eating disorders
• Counsel individuals who are addicted to drugs
• Often work with family members who are affected by the additions of their loved ones
• Conduct programs aimed at preventing addictions

Counseling is done:

• On an individual basis
• Or frequently done in a group setting

Marriage and family therapists:

• Apply family systems theory, principals and techniques to individuals, families and couples to resolve emotional conflicts

Marriage and family therapists’ goals are:

• To modify people’s perceptions and behaviors
• To enhance communication and understanding among family members
• And help prevent family and individual crises

Marriage and family therapists’ may also:

• Engage in psychotherapy of a non-medical nature
• Make appropriate referrals to psychiatric resources
• Perform research

• Teach courses about human development and interpersonal relationships

Other counseling specialties include:

• Gerontological:  Provides services to elderly people and their families as they face changing lifestyles
• Multicultural
• Genetic:  provide information and support to families who have members with birth defects or genetic disorders and to families who may be at risk for a variety of inherited conditions

Continued in Part 3

Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Counselors, on the Internet

Written by:  Connie Limon  For more career description information visit http://smalldogs2.com/CareerDescriptions  For a variety of FREE reprint articles and special topic articles rarely found elsewhere visit Camelot Articles at http://www.camelotarticles.com

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