Counseling Specializations Flashcards
professional counselor
works in diverse settings with diverse clientele, including colleges, hospitals, clinics, private practices, and schools. Many of the counselors from special counseling disciplines are described in the sections that follow.
Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Clinical mental health counselors work with individuals, groups, and families in many different settings, including community organizations, hospitals, drug and alcohol treatment centers, and private practices.
College Admissions Counseling
settings, most commonly in colleges, universities, and high schools. Often, professional school counselors who work in high schools are highly involved in this process, although some high schools employ a separate counselor whose sole responsibility is to work with students interested in attending college;
College Counseling
professional counselors and psychologists who hold doctoral degrees; they may also be counseling interns. College counselors engage in individual and group counseling and serve as liaisons to community services and resources.
Rehabilitation Counseling
to help individuals with disabilities work through personal and vocational issues they may encounter as a result of their impairment.
Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC)
a nonprofit organization that was formed in 1974 to certify rehabilitation counselors who meet particular professional standards and have achieved adequate education and work experience related to rehabilitation
School Counseling
Professional school counselors work in elementary, middle, and high schools to serve the personal–social, career, and academic needs of the school’s students.
mental health practitioner
person trained to treat individuals with mental health issues and mental illnesses. Many types of the professional counselors reviewed in preceding subsections are mental health practitioners, but this extensive occupational category incorporates a wide range of professionals, a handful of whom are described in this section, including psychologists, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, social workers, psychiatric nurses, and marriage and family therapists.
PSYCHOLOGISTS
A psychologist diagnoses and treats psychological, learning, and behavioral disorders in a variety of settings, including clinics, schools, hospitals, counseling centers, and private and group practice.
PSYCHIATRISTS
PSYCHIATRISTS A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who works with clients with severe psychological disorders. Psychiatrists provide psychotherapy, prescribe medications, perform physical examinations, and order laboratory testing for clients.
PSYCHOANALYSTS
A psychoanalyst helps clients resolve psychological issues through psychoanalysis—an intervention developed by Sigmund Freud—a long-term process that attempts to help clients remedy and alleviate their symptoms through exploring their unconscious conflicts.
SOCIAL WORKERS
A social worker is characterized by his or her commitment to pursuing social reform, social justice, and affecting public policy. The social worker’s role is one of counselor, case manager, and change agent, which is accomplished through delivering therapeutic treatments to clients, connecting clients with valuable community resources, advocating to fix societal conflicts, working with communities to develop programs to meet the needs of citizens, conducting research, and teaching.
PSYCHIATRIC NURSES
Psychiatric nursing is a specialization within the nursing profession.
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS
A marriage and family therapist approaches working with individuals, couples, and families from a systems theory perspective, helping clients to develop more effective patterns of interaction with significant others and family members.
Counselor Supervision Models
Counselor supervisors are experienced professionals who train new counselors and help them in the development and improvement of their clinical skills. All counselor supervisors are responsible for their own clients, and for those of their supervisees.
