Mental health counseling programs prepare people to help patients with personal problems, conflicts, or emotional crises. Students learn to guide patients to improved mental health. Students also learn counseling and interviewing skills. In addition, they learn observation and testing methods.
Not too many years ago, people with mental illnesses were treated as outcasts. It was believed that mental illness was something people could "snap out of." It was also believed that mental illness was different than having a physical sickness such as cancer. Thankfully, today mental health issues are better understood, and a number of treatment options are available. Mental health counselors are often the primary caregivers to people with mental illnesses. Mental health counselors help people deal with their problems and change their behavior. In many cases, they help people manage a mental illness so that they can work and have a full life again.
As a mental health counselor, you learn how to identify mental illnesses, behavioral problems, and emotional disorders. You help people identify the source of emotional conflicts and learn how to communicate more openly with their loved ones. You also help patients manage their emotions and thoughts to prevent future crises. Often you work with psychiatrists if a patient has a severe mental illness or needs medication.
As a mental health counselor, you can work at mental health centers, in private practice, psychiatric hospitals, or substance abuse centers. Sometimes you work in conjunction with private groups and businesses. You can also work at juvenile homes and prisons.
In mental health counseling programs, you take courses in therapy techniques, human psychological development, social research methods, and statistics. You learn about patterns of behavior and human psychological development. You learn how to counsel individuals and groups and how to identify specific mental disorders. You can also concentrate your course work on different age groups, such as children, adolescents, or adults. In addition, you can take courses about topics as varied as substance abuse problems, dealing with grief, and early childhood trauma.
You can become a mental health counselor by completing a two-year master's degree program after you finish your bachelor's degree. Many colleges and universities offer mental health counseling programs. Several schools also offer doctoral programs in mental health counseling. Most people with doctoral degrees in mental health counseling become professors.