If you feel for others and want to make a difference to their lives; you are compassionate, empathetic, and willing to work for the betterment of others, then you are the perfect person to be a mental health counselor and marriage and family therapist. Mental health counselors and Marriage and family therapist play an important role in the society. A skilled counselor or a therapist helps people to change their outlook towards life and lead a normal life.
Counselors and therapist assist patients with clinical conditions such as anxiety, drugs and depression. They help people to avoid the serious conditions arising from not treating mental illness, which can include isolation, health problems, poverty and harming themselves or others.
Mental health counselors are skilled professionals who help their clients in finding solutions. To find solutions, mental health counselor combine traditional methods with a practical and problem-solving approach.
Marriage and family therapist are professionals which help people to overcome issues related to relationships. They are trained to analyze, diagnose and find solutions to help individuals, couples, families and groups to have a more balanced, satisfying and healthy relationships.
As a part of their job profile, Marriage and Family therapist counsel individuals, couples, children going through a tough and stressful situation. The terms "marriage and family therapists" and "marriage, family and child counselors" (MFCCs) are used interchangeably.
Role of a Mental Health Counselor/Marriage and Family Therapist
- Diagnose and treat psychological disorders.
- Motivate clients to discuss their experiences.
- Make referrals to community agencies, treatment programs and medical professionals.
- Encourage and teach clients- skills and attitudes needed to lead a normal life.
- Guide clients to make decisions that are related to their future.
- Coordinate with professionals such as social workers and psychiatrist.
Skills Required
Compassion: Being compassionate is a quality that help counselors in their work while dealing with people who are going through stressful and difficult situations.
People skills: Ability to work with different types of people is necessary for counselors to help them work with clients and other professionals.
Listening skills: Having good listening skills help the counselors to listen and understand their clients experiences.
Speaking skills: Ability to speak clearly, express ideas and perceive information in such a way that is easily understood by the clients is always beneficial.
Organizational skills: Being organized is always beneficial.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Job satisfaction.
- Rewarding work.
- Good career choice if you like meeting with people.
- Flexibility to work in a variety of settings, such as hospitals, mental health facilities and private offices.
Cons
- Extended working hours.
- Advanced education required.
- State licensing requirements.
- Doing different kind of work daily can be frustrating.
- Average salary.
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