Mental Health Counselors

Skills

People in this career need to:

Communicate

• Listen to others, understand, and ask questions.
• Express ideas clearly when speaking or writing.
• Read and understand written information.

Reason and Problem Solve

• Analyze ideas and use logic to determine their strengths and weaknesses.
• Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong.
• Understand new information or materials by studying and working with them.
• Combine several pieces of information and draw conclusions.
• Identify problems and review information. Develop, review, and apply solutions.
• Think of new ideas or original and creative ways to solve problems.
• Use reasoning to discover answers to problems.
• Concentrate and not be distracted while performing a task.
• Judge the costs and benefits of a possible action.
• Develop rules or follow guidelines for arranging items.
• Make sense of information that seems without meaning or organization.

Manage Oneself, People, Time and Things

• Manage the time of self and others.
• Check how well one is learning or doing something.

Work with People

• Be aware of others' reactions and change behavior in relation to them.
• Look for ways to help people.
• Use several methods to teach others how to do something.
• Solve problems by bringing others together to discuss differences.
• Persuade others to approach things differently.

Perceive and Visualize

• Identify a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in distracting material.

Knowledge

People in this career need knowledge in the following areas:

• Psychology: Knowledge of people, their actions, and mental processes. This may include knowledge of how to treat emotional and behavioral problems.
• Therapy and Counseling: Knowledge of the effect of diseases and injuries. Knowledge of how to give advice on social or personal problems. Also includes the knowledge of setting up a plan for treatment.
• Sociology and Anthropology: Knowledge of the behavior, customs, and origins of groups of people.
• Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of providing special services to customers based on their needs.
• English Language: Knowledge of the meaning, spelling, and use of the English language.
• Education and Training: Knowledge of teaching and the methods involved in learning and instruction.
• Philosophy and Theology: Knowledge of different religions. Knowledge of ways of thinking that attempt to examine the nature of reality.
• Clerical: Knowledge of general office work such as filing and recording information.

Interests

People in this career are people who tend to:

• Consider relationships important. They like to work in a friendly, non-competitive environment. They like to do things for other people. They prefer jobs where they are not pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
• Consider achievement important. They like to see the results of their work and to use their strongest abilities. They like to get a feeling of accomplishment from their work.
• Consider independence important. They like to make decisions and try out ideas on their own. They prefer jobs where they can plan their work with little supervision.
• Consider recognition important. They like to work in jobs which have opportunities for them to advance, be recognized for their work, and direct and instruct others. They usually prefer jobs in which they are looked up to by others.
• Consider good working conditions important. They like jobs offering steady employment and good pay. They want employment that fits their individual work style. They may prefer doing a variety of tasks, working alone, or being busy all the time.
• Have social interests. They like work activities that assist others and promote learning and personal development. They like to communicate with others: to teach, give advice, help, or otherwise be of service to others.
• Have investigative interests. They like work activities that have to do with ideas and thinking. They like to search for facts and figure out solutions to problems mentally.

Source: Minnesota Department of Education.