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| Related Jobs |  | Therapist, Recreational, Therapist, Physical, Social Worker, Child, Family, and School, Therapist, Occupational |
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| Job Outlook | | Mental health counselors held 100,00 jobs in 2006. Overall employment of counselors is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2016. In addition, numerous job openings will occur as many counselors reach retirement age.
Demand is expected to be strong for substance abuse and behavioral, mental health, and marriage and family therapists and for rehabilitation counselors, for a variety of reasons. The increasing availability of funds to build statewide networks to improve services for children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances and their family members should increase employment opportunities for counselors. Under managed care systems, insurance companies increasingly provide for reimbursement of counselors, enabling many counselors to move from schools and government agencies to private practice. Counselors also are forming group practices to receive expanded insurance coverage.
The number of people who need rehabilitation services will grow as advances in medical technology continue to save lives that only a few years ago would have been lost. In addition, legislation requiring equal employment rights for people with disabilities will spur demand for counselors. Counselors not only will help individuals with disabilities with their transition into the workforce, but also will help companies comply with the law.
Employers also are increasingly offering employee assistance programs that provide mental health and alcohol and drug abuse services. More people are expected to use these services as the elderly population grows and as society focuses on ways of developing mental well-being, such as controlling stress associated with job and family responsibilities. |
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| More Information | | American Counseling Association, National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. |
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| References | | Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Counselors, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos067.htm
O*NET OnLine, on the Internet at
http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/21-1014.00 |
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