How to Become a Mental Health Counselor

Mental health is a serious issue, which is why there is now a demand for professional counselors who understand the field and can provide much-needed help with regards to it. Becoming a mental health counselor is not necessarily an easy task, though. Rigorous training, relating to everything from psychotherapy to problem-solving, needs to be undertaken by anybody who wants to become clinically licensed in this career pathway.

To see what you need to do specifically to become a mental health counselor, read on.

Get the necessary degrees

In order to acquire licensure as a mental health counselor, you’re going to need to obtain at least two degrees. Starting with a bachelor’s and then ending with a master’s, you’re going to have to go on an extensive educational journey. Your undergraduate course should be based on a number of different fields, two of which include human development and psychology, as both of these programs give a basic approach to counseling and therapy. For your graduate course, you need to major solely in Clinical Mental Health Counseling — when it comes to choosing the right grad course, always make sure you consider one that integrates clinical practice with ethical development, such as the MS Counseling Online that is offered by New England College. By taking such a course, you’ll be able to seamlessly step into your career once you have obtained your degree.

Pass additional counseling exams

Depending on what state you live in, you may also have to pass the recognized counseling examination in order to become a licensed counselor. This test is set by the National Counselor Examination (NCE), and you should check whether your address dictates that you have to take it as soon as you graduate.

An additional qualification that you don’t have to earn but should seriously consider earning is a National Board of Certified Counselors national certification. This will see you become specialized in one of these four categories:

• Grief
• Pastoral
• School-based mental health
• General mental health disorders

Dedicate your time to one patient group

You could provide treatment to a wide range of people, but it is always advisable to pick one dedicated patient group to treat. By doing so, you’ll be able to really get used to the type of people that you treat, which means, as you grow more comfortable in your role, you’ll be able to provide more of an in-depth kind of care.

The different types of patient groups you can choose to treat include:

• Individuals
• Couples
• Families
• Groups
• Elderly people
• Disabled people
• Military personnel
• Adolescents

Each year, 1 in 5 adults in America experience issues and illnesses relating to their mental health, which means that the need for clinically licensed mental health counselors is greater now than it ever has been. If you think that you’ve got what it takes to take this all-important job role on and provide the service that millions of people around the world need, then take the above advice and get your career in counseling up and running.