Rehabilitation counselors are licensed by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification External link (CRCC) and work directly with people who have physical, mental, developmental, and emotional problems to help them live independently. Assessment, case management, and program research are just a few of the services that rehabilitation counselors can give, as can interventions to reduce environmental barriers, job analysis and development, and consultation services with other agencies.
Vocational counselors are employed in the rehabilitation industry. These counselors specialize in issues relating to employment. External link with parents and older students. Students transitioning from school to work, veterans, and elderly persons adjusting to changes in their lifestyle may all benefit from rehabilitation therapy.
What does a rehabilitation counselor do?
Rehabilitation counselors are responsible for a wide range of activities and tasks. Rehabilitation experts, unlike mental health counselors, deal with clients who have physical, emotional, developmental, or mental problems to build a plan that meets their educational level, aptitude, physical ability, and career objectives.
They address impediments to work, participate in job development and placement programs, and arrange for evaluations of physical, mental, intellectual, and vocational needs, often in collaboration with other social service and mental health experts.
Rehabilitation counselors’ role, according to the Commission on Rehabilitation Counseling Certification (CRCC), is to provide analysis and diagnostic information on their clients’ mental, emotional, or behavioral conditions to develop an appropriate treatment plan for adjustment or healthy development.
They address their clients’ behavior through individual, group, family, and marital counseling and psychotherapy using counseling treatment approaches such as developmental, wellness, pathology, and multicultural perspectives.
6 steps to become a Rehabilitation counselor:
Get a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation and related fields
Because a bachelor’s degree is required for licensure, rehabilitation counseling students should pursue a master’s degree in rehabilitation and disability studies or similar subjects.
Undergraduate rehabilitation and disability studies courses may involve human development evaluations, counseling foundations, personality theories, assessments, and/or vocational evaluations.
Obtain a masters degree in rehabilitation counseling
Several CACREP-accredited universities provide rehabilitation counseling programs or certifications. To work as a licensed professional counselor or a certified rehabilitation counselor, you must have a graduate degree in rehabilitation counseling.
Complete graduate and postgraduate internship experience for certification and licensure requirements
Graduate supervised counseling experience is an important component of recognized counseling master’s programs. The external link gives students a glimpse into their future career as a licensed professional counselors by allowing them to shadow other certified professional counselors.
Unless they have graduated from a CACREP-accredited program, states normally require students to complete 2,000 to 3,000 hours of supervised counseling experience and 100 hours of supervision over a two-year post-time master’s frame.
For licensure and certification pass any required rehabilitation counseling exams
For graduation or licensing, certain states and/or counseling programs require passing a recognized examination, such as the National Counselor Examination. You must pass the CRC examination to become a certified rehabilitation counselor (CRC).
Earn additional counseling certification s
The National Board of Certified Counselors External link offers national certification to licensed professional counselors (NBCC). For professional practice, certain employers need rehabilitation counselors to obtain certification as a CRC.
Continue your education and stay up to date on rehabilitation counseling trends and changes
Maintaining professional counseling licensure/certification and staying current with changes and/or developments in the rehabilitation, vocational, and career counseling professions necessitates continuing education.
