Activities	Counsel and advise individuals with alcohol, drug, gambling, and eating disorders. They counsel individuals who are addicted to drugs to help them identify behaviors and problems related to their addictions. They hold counseling sessions for one person, families, or groups of people to assist them in dealing with their problems.
Outlook	Faster-than-average-job growth
Median Income	$34,040 per year in May 2006
Work Context & Conditions	Counselors usually work indoors and spend a great deal of time in contact with others (face-to-face and by telephone). They work in a variety of public and private settings. These jobs usually require sitting for long periods of time. They are often in situations involving conflict.
Minimum Education Requirements	Master's Degree
Skills	Persuasion, Social Perceptiveness, Learning Strategies, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Instructing, Active Listening, Writing, Service Orientation, Negotiation, Time Management, Active Learning, Complex Problem Solving, Coordination, Reading Comprehension, Speaking
Abilities	Oral Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Speech Clarity, Inductive Reasoning, Oral Comprehension

Job Category		Community & Social Services
Job Description		Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors help people who have problems with alcohol, drugs, gambling, and eating disorders. They counsel individuals who are addicted to drugs to help them identify behaviors and problems related to their addiction. They hold counseling sessions for one person, for families, or for groups of people to assist them in dealing with problems.
Working Conditions		Substance abuse counselors usually work a standard 40-hour week. Self-employed counselors and those working in mental health and community agencies, often work evenings to counsel clients who work during the day. Counselors must possess high physical and emotional energy to handle the array of problems they address. Dealing daily with these problems can cause stress. Because privacy is essential for confidential and frank discussions with clients, counselors usually have private offices.
Salary Range		Median annual earnings of rehabilitation counselors in May 2006 were $34,040. The middle 50 percent earned between $27,330 and $42,650. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $22,600, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $52,340. Substance abuse, mental health, and rehabilitation counselors, working for the Federal government generally earn the highest wages, followed by hospitals and social service agencies. Residential care facilities often pay the lowest wages. Self-employed counselors who have well-established practices, as well as counselors employed in group practices, usually have the highest earnings.

Education Required		Formal education is necessary to gain employment as a counselor. About half of all counselors have a master's degree. Graduate-level counselor education programs in colleges and universities usually are in departments of education or psychology. In an accredited program, 48 to 60 semester hours of graduate study, including a period of supervised clinical experience in counseling, are required for a master's degree. Counselors must be aware of educational and training requirements that are often very detailed and that vary by area and by counseling specialty. Prospective counselors should check with State and local governments, employers, and national voluntary certification organizations in order to determine which requirements apply. A master’s degree is typically required to be licensed as a counselor. A bachelor’s degree often qualifies a person to work as a counseling aide, rehabilitation aide, or social service worker. Some States require counselors in public employment to have a master’s degree; others accept a bachelor’s degree with appropriate counseling courses. Counselor education programs in colleges and universities usually are found in departments of education or psychology. Fields of study include college student affairs, elementary or secondary school counseling, education, gerontological counseling, marriage and family counseling, substance abuse counseling, rehabilitation counseling, agency or community counseling, clinical mental health counseling, counseling psychology, career counseling, and related fields. Courses are grouped into eight core areas: Human growth and development, social and cultural diversity, relationships, group work, career development, assessment, research and program evaluation, and professional identity. In an accredited master’s degree program, 48 to 60 semester hours of graduate study, including a period of supervised clinical experience in counseling, are required. Graduate programs in career, community, gerontological, mental health, school, student affairs, and marriage and family counseling are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). While completion of a CACREP-accredited program is not necessary to become a counselor, it makes it easier to fulfill the requirements for State licensing. Another organization, the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE), accredits graduate programs in rehabilitation counseling. Accredited master’s degree programs include a minimum of 2 years of full-time study, including 600 hours of supervised clinical internship experience Counselors can become supervisors or administrators in their agencies. Some counselors move into research, consulting, or college teaching, or go into private or group practice.
Recommended High School Courses		Biology, English, Communications, Sociology and Anthropology
Postsecondary Instructional Programs		Psychology, Education and Training, Therapy and Counseling, Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training
Certification and Licensing		In 2006, 49 States and the District of Columbia had some form of counselor credentialing, licensure, certification, or registration that governed their practice of counseling. Requirements typically include the completion of a master’s degree in counseling, the accumulation of 2 years or 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience beyond the master’s degree level, the passage of a State-recognized exam, adherence to ethical codes and standards, and the satisfaction of annual continuing education requirements. Many counselors elect to be nationally certified by the National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. (NBCC), which grants the general practice credential, "National Certified Counselor." To be certified, a counselor must hold a master's or higher degree with a concentration in counseling from a regionally accredited college or university, have at least 2 years of supervised field experience in a counseling setting (graduates from counselor education programs accredited by CACREP are exempted), provide two professional endorsements -- one of which must be from a recent supervisor, and have a passing score on the NBCC's National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE). This national certification is voluntary, and is distinct from state certification. However, in some states, those who pass the national exam are exempted from taking a state certification exam. NBCC also offers specialty certification in school, clinical mental health, and addictions counseling. To maintain their certification, counselors retake and pass the NCE or complete 100 hours of acceptable continuing education credit every 5 years.

Interest Area		Social Involves working and communicating with, helping, and teaching people.
Work Values		Achievement Get a feeling of accomplishment. Independence Work alone.
Skills		Persuasion Persuade others to approach things differently. Social Perceptiveness Be aware of others' reactions and understand why they react the way they do. Learning Strategies Use multiple approaches when learning or teaching new things. Monitoring Assess how well someone is doing when learning or doing something. Critical Thinking Use logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Instructing Teach others how to do something. Active Listening Listen to what other people are saying and ask questions as appropriate. Writing Communicate effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience. Service Orientation Actively look for ways to help people. Negotiation Bring others together and trying to reconcile differences. Time Management Manage one's own time and the time of others. Active Learning Work with new material or information to grasp its implications. Complex Problem Solving Solving novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings. Coordination Adjust actions in relation to others' actions. Reading Comprehension Understand written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. Speaking Talk to others to effectively convey information.
Abilities		Oral Expression Able to convey information and ideas through speech in ways that others will understand. Problem Sensitivity Able to tell when something is wrong or likely to go wrong. This doesn't involve solving the problem, just recognizing that there is a problem. Speech Clarity Able to speak clearly so listeners understand. Inductive Reasoning Able to combine separate pieces of information, or specific answers to problems, to form general rules or conclusions. This includes coming up with a logical explanation for why seemingly unrelated events occur together. Oral Comprehension Able to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Related Jobs		Physician, Family and General, Social Worker, Child, Family, and School, Therapist, Physical, Therapist, Recreational, Nurse, Registered, Therapist, Occupational, Social Worker, Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Job Outlook		Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors held about 83,000 jobs in 2006. Demand is expected to be strong for substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors because drug offenders are increasingly being sent to treatment programs rather than to jail. Mental health counselors will be needed to staff statewide networks that are being established to improve services for children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances and for their family members. Under managed care systems, insurance companies are increasingly providing for reimbursement of counselors as a less costly alternative to psychiatrists and psychologists. 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 retire or leave the profession. While job prospects will vary with location and specialization, opportunities generally should be very good because the number of job openings that arise should exceed the number of graduates of counseling programs.Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors and rehabilitation counselors, in particular, should experience excellent prospects.Counselors also are forming group practices to receive expanded insurance coverage. Some substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors work in therapeutic communities where addicts live while under treatment. Counselors also work in organizations engaged in community improvement and social change, as well as in drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs and state and local government agencies. A growing number of counselors work in health maintenance organizations, insurance companies, group practice, and private practice.
More Information		American Counseling Association, Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, American Counseling Association, National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc.
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/21-1011.00