Mental health counselor

A mental health counselor (MHC), or counselor, is a person who uses psychotherapeutic methods to help others.^[1]

Description of duties

The legal definition of a counselor, and hence the legal scope of practice, varies with jurisdiction. In some jurisdictions across the United States, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and psychologists have virtually identical definitions: evaluating and treating mental and behavioral disorders.^[2] In spite of such definitions, many mental health professionals reject the medical model (which assumes that clients are "disordered") in favor of broader viewpoints, such as those that emerged from systems psychology.^[3]

Service users

MHCs work with individuals, couples, families, and groups to address and treat emotional and mental disorders and to promote mental health. Most mental health counselors in the U.S. work in outpatient and residential care centers, individual and family services, and local governments. ^[4] They are trained in a variety of therapeutic techniques used to address issues, including depression, anxiety, addiction and substance abuse, suicidal impulses, stress, problems with self-esteem, and grief. They also help with job and career concerns, educational decisions, issues related to mental and emotional health, and family, parenting, marital, or other relationship problems. MHCs also continue to play a growing role in the military mental health crisis, helping military personnel and their families deal with issues such as PTSD.^[5] MHCs often work closely with other mental health specialists, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, and school counselors. In the U.S. states, MHCs diagnose as well as treat mental illness,^[6] though the scope of practice for mental health practitioners varies from state to state.^[7]

Professional regulation

United States

Licensing requirements depending on political division. In all states, mental health counseling licensure is required to independently practice, but can be practiced without a license if under close supervision of a licensed practitioner. Licensing titles for mental health counselors vary from state to state: Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), and various forms of these titles may list differently per state statues. The titled "Mental Health Counselor" (or variation thereof) is a protected title and a violation of state laws for persons to hold themselves as such without the proper credential.

A licensed mental health counselor holds a minimum of a master's degree in counseling or another closely related field in mental health care. After obtaining a master's degree, mental health counselors complete two to three years (depending on various state statutes) of clinical work under the supervision of a licensed or certified mental health professional. The qualifications for licensure are similar to those for marriage and family therapists and clinical social workers.^[8]

See also

• List of counseling topics
• Mental health professional
• Psychotherapist
• Nonviolent communication
• Social worker
• Psychologist
• Psychiatrist
• Occupational therapist
• Expressive therapy
• Behavior therapy
• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Rational emotive behavior therapy
• Dialectical behavioral therapy

References

Sources

• Brooks, D. K. & Weikel, W.J. (1996) Mental health counseling: The first twenty years. In W. J. Weikel & A. J. Palmo (Eds.) "Foundations of mental health counseling" (2nd ed.), (pp. 5–29). Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.
• Hershenson, D. B. & Strein, W. (1991) Toward a mentally healthy curriculum for mental health counselor education. "Journal of Mental Health Counseling", 13, 247-252.
• Palmo, A. J., Shosh, M. J. & Weikel, W. J. (2001). The independent practice of mental health counseling: past, present, and future. In D.C. Locke, J. E. Myers, & E. L. Herr (eds.), "The handbook of counseling" (pp. 653–667). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Seiler, G., Brooks, D. and Beck, E.S., (1987). "Training Standards for Mental Health Counselors", Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 9(4): 199–209.
• Smith, H. B. & Weikel, W. J. (2006) Mental health counseling: The first thirty years and beyond. In A. J. Palmo, W. J. Weikel & D. P. Borsos (Eds.) "Foundations of mental health counseling" (3rd ed.), (pp5–29. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.
• Prepared June 2008 by William J. Weikel. Ph.D., Howard Smith, Ed.D., Artis J. Palmo, Ph.D., and Edward Beck, Ed.D.

External links

• American Counseling Association
• American Mental Health Counselors Association