Mental Health Counselor Essay

Mental Health counselors help people with mental and emotional problems; thus including anxiety, depression, stress and low self-esteem. Some mental health counselors help people cope with difficult life events, for example, physical illness, death of loved ones, and relationship problems or divorce. Others help people manage serious mental illnesses like bipolar disorder. Counselors need to know when to refer clients or patients for additional resources and how to identify when abuse may be happening or when there is a risk of suicide or other violence. Cognitive therapy is among the most common techniques, but there are many other kinds of techniques that can be used. Some clinical counselors specialize and work with a particular age group, for example, the elderly. …show more content…
First an individual must earn a Bachelor’s Degree. Few bachelor’s programs offer a degree specifically in counseling, so an undergraduate degree in psychology, human services, or another related field is a good start. Next one needs to obtain a Graduate Degree. Students may be able to get an entry-level counseling job with a bachelor’s degree, but licensed professional counselors (LPCs) customarily must hold at least a master’s. In several cases, a doctoral degree is preferred, and can lead to advanced position. After earning a graduate degree, field training is essential to create practice for the field. Graduate degree programs tend to include practice and internships can be part of this curriculum. Scholars may also seek out additional opportunities to strengthen their field experience. The final step in the process of becoming a mental health counselor would be to earn a license. A license is required by every state to work as a professional counselor, this criterion varies from state to state. Once all of these steps are completed the individual can officially be hired as a mental health