Mental Health Counselors

Description:

Counsel with emphasis on prevention. Work with individuals and groups to promote optimum mental health. May help individuals deal with addictions and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; suicide; stress management; problems with self-esteem; and issues associated with aging and mental and emotional health.

Tasks

Maintain confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.
Encourage clients to express their feelings and discuss what is happening in their lives, and help them to develop insight into themselves and their relationships.
Guide clients in the development of skills and strategies for dealing with their problems.
Prepare and maintain all required treatment records and reports.
Counsel clients and patients, individually and in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, and making changes.
Collect information about clients through interviews, observation, and tests.
Act as client advocates to coordinate required services or to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.
Develop and implement treatment plans based on clinical experience and knowledge.
Collaborate with other staff members to perform clinical assessments and develop treatment plans.
Evaluate clients' physical or mental condition based on review of client information.

Knowledge

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.
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.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
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.
Sociology and Anthropology: Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
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.
Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Clerical: Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Law and Government: Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Public Safety and Security: Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

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.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities

Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
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 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).
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 Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Work Activities

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Assisting and Caring for Others: Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others: Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
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.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events: Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others: Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization: Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

Work Context

Telephone: How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
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?
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?
Work With Work Group or Team: How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Deal With External Customers: How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?
Electronic Mail: How often do you use electronic mail in this job?
Frequency of Conflict Situations: How often are there conflict situations the employee has to face in this job?
Letters and Memos: How often does the job require written letters and memos?
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?

Interests

Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
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.
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.
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.
Stress Tolerance: Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
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.
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.
Initiative: Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Attention to Detail: Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Analytical Thinking: Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

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.
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.
Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
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.
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.
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.

Description:

Tasks

Knowledge

Skills

Abilities

Work Activities

Work Context

Interests

Work Style

Work Value

Related Occupations

Common Lay Titles

Personalize Your Job Search!

Not an existing member?

Already Registered?

Local Job Search Results for Mental Health Counselors Jobs