Description:
Diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, whether cognitive, affective, or behavioral, within the context of marriage and family systems. Apply psychotherapeutic and family systems theories and techniques in the delivery of professional services to individuals, couples, and families for the purpose of treating such diagnosed nervous and mental disorders.
Tasks
- Ask questions that will help clients identify their feelings and behaviors.
- Counsel clients on concerns, such as unsatisfactory relationships, divorce and separation, child rearing, home management, and financial difficulties.
- Encourage individuals and family members to develop and use skills and strategies for confronting their problems in a constructive manner.
- Maintain case files that include activities, progress notes, evaluations, and recommendations.
- Collect information about clients, using techniques such as testing, interviewing, discussion, and observation.
- Develop and implement individualized treatment plans addressing family relationship problems.
- Determine whether clients should be counseled or referred to other specialists in such fields as medicine, psychiatry, and legal aid.
- Confer with clients to develop plans for posttreatment activities.
- Confer with other counselors in order to analyze individual cases and to coordinate counseling services.
- Follow up on results of counseling programs and clients' adjustments to determine effectiveness of programs.
Knowledge
- Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Psychology
- Knowledge 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.
- Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge 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.
- English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
- Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Skills
- Active Listening
- Giving 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 Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Abilities
- Oral Comprehension
- The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression
- The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Speech Clarity
- The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Inductive Reasoning
- The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Problem Sensitivity
- The 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.
- Speech Recognition
- The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Deductive Reasoning
- The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Written Comprehension
- The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Written Expression
- The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Category Flexibility
- The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Work Activities
- Assisting and Caring for Others
- Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems
- Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
- Getting Information
- Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
- Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
- Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
- Documenting/Recording Information
- Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
- Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People
- Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
- Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
- Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
- Thinking Creatively
- Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
- Provide Consultation and Advice to Others
- Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
Work Context
- Telephone
- How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
- Structured versus Unstructured Work
- To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?
- Face-to-Face Discussions
- How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
- Freedom to Make Decisions
- How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?
- Contact With Others
- How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
- Spend Time Sitting
- How much does this job require sitting?
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
- Frequency of Decision Making
- How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
- Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results
- How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company?
- Consequence of Error
- How serious would the result usually be if the worker made a mistake that was not readily correctable?
Interests
- Social
- Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
- Artistic
- Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
- Investigative
- Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
- Enterprising
- Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
- Conventional
- Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
- Realistic
- Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Work Style
- Integrity
- Job requires being honest and ethical.
- Concern for Others
- Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
- Dependability
- Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
- Self Control
- Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
- Stress Tolerance
- Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
- Cooperation
- Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
- Persistence
- Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
- Independence
- Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
- Analytical Thinking
- Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
- Social Orientation
- Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Work Value
- Relationships
- Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
- Independence
- Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
- Achievement
- Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
- Working Conditions
- Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
- Recognition
- Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
- Support
- Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Common Lay Titles
- Behavior Therapist
- Behavioral Analyst
- Behavioral Specialist
- Child and Family Counselor
- Clinical Services Director
- Clinical Therapist
- Clinician
- Family Counselor
- Family Therapist
- Group Counselor
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
- Marriage and Family Counselor
- Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT)
- Marriage Counselor
- Marriage Therapist
- Mental Health Therapist
- Play Therapist
- Psychiatric Social Worker
- Psychologist
- Psychotherapist
- Therapist