What Can You Do with a Degree in Counseling?

There are a number of career options available to you if you earn a degree in counseling, especially if you earn a master’s degree in counseling.

Social Work

Depending on the jurisdiction where you live, you could work as a social worker with a bachelor’s degree or higher in counseling. If you have a bachelor’s degree already, including in social work, you could earn a masters in counseling online from Regis College. If you have a master’s degree in counseling, you could be a social worker in the field or work as a counselor in the office as families come in for court ordered counseling and reconciliation sessions. If you continue in social work, your online counseling degree translates into a pay raise, and you may even get your employer to reimburse the cost.

School Counselor

Why did you get into a fight with your friend? Why are you having trouble turning in your homework? You’ve been late every day this week – why? If these are more the types of questions you want to ask your subjects, perhaps you should be a school counselor.

You’d also be expected to help them identify colleges, scholarship opportunities, prepare for exams for admission to college, and aid those at risk of dropping out.

One of the benefits of educational, guidance, school, and vocational counselors is working for school districts, having summers and many school holidays off.

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation takes two forms for counselors. One form is counseling addicts to adjust their thinking patterns and behaviors that led to addiction. Another is working with those who are physically injured or developed a debilitating condition like a heart attack or stroke. In this case, the counselor will help them work through the emotions dealing with the pain and loss, and the same counselor or a vocational rehabilitation counselor will help them determine what career options remain open to them.

Marriage Counselor/ Family Therapist

Whether it is rebuilding trust after an affair or finding out why a child is distancing himself or herself from the family, marriage counselors and family therapists are always in demand. They are working with people dealing with the most difficult situations in their lives barring surviving a car accident or crime. This area of counseling sees significant overlap with the religious vocations, making it a good choice for religious counselors.

Mental Health Counselor

This is the default job description most people think of when they consider going into counseling. Whether patients are dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder after a horrible experience, depression they’ve struggled with for years, began hearing voices or have developed other psychiatric conditions, there is constant work for mental health professionals. These cases may overlap with family counseling, addiction and other types of counseling.

Conclusion

Mental health counseling is the popular perception of counselors, but it is far from the only job open to them. A degree in counseling allows you to work or earn more in the field of social work. You could work as a school counselor or family therapist. A counselor working in rehab may be working with addicts or those who recently became disabled.