Being a counselor is all about having empathy for another human being, listening to their troubles and understanding their problems. Counselors don’t just fulfill one role throughout their careers because once qualified by taking an online masters in counseling, they’re able to consider several different jobs where this qualification is a counseling, or a psychology degree is a prerequisite.
Let’s look at a few jobs that you can do as a qualified counselor.
Child Abuse Counselor
Once you’ve qualified via masters in counseling programs available from Bradley University your career could take you into the role of child abuse counselor. Sometimes, counselors have undertaken additional specialized training on child abuse to be able to identify at-risk children who have been a victim of this horrible crime.
A child abuse counselor may or may not have been a victim previously themselves, but certainly, they have an affinity for kids and even feel a calling to provide therapeutic aid to the vulnerable children in society who are (or were) being preyed upon by adults.
Couples Counselor
For counselors that work particularly well with couples to help them overcome their communication difficulties and differences in their relationship, becoming a Couples Counselor can be very rewarding. Sometimes, the couple is counseled individually to work through more personal issues that are affecting one of the parties and their ability to be a good partner. This can be unresolved feelings about a past romantic betrayal, childhood abuse issues holding back intimacy, and other problems where individual counseling can help. Other times, the counselor sees both partners in a group session.
A Couples Counselor is also sometimes called a family therapist or a marriage therapist. Some work out of a church offering counseling assistance to religious couples, whether technically qualified to do so, or not.
Domestic Violence Counselor
The incidence of domestic abuse in the home is far more common than people like to admit. Sometimes, people who are victims have had several partners previously who were violent and continually manage to attract the wrong type of partner without realizing it. As well as the act of violence, being a victim of domestic violence in the home where they expect to feel the safest violates their personal space and creates trauma and patterns of behavior that are difficult to address alone.
A domestic violence counselor may (or may not) have experienced abusive relationships themselves, but probably has received additional training in this area. Being able to relate to victims of abuse makes it easier to get the patient to relax, open up and find ways together to resolve the issues they have at home. In some cases, that means moving away from the home, in which case a counselor is likely to be able to point their patient to safe refuge homes before resettling permanently.
There are many jobs that are suitable for counselors such as grief counseling, mental health counseling, and as a school counselor. With counseling, it’s often possible to move your career towards one specialization or another that suits your particular interests or skill-set better. When doing so, job satisfaction rises because it feels more like you’re fulfilling your calling.
