Also called: Behavior Analyst, Behavior Support Specialist (BSS), Behavioral Health Consultant, Behavioral Health Counselor, Behavioral Health Therapist
Mental health counselors counsel and advise individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health, with an emphasis on prevention. May help individuals deal with a broad range of mental health issues, such as those associated with addictions and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; stress management; self-esteem; or aging.
Maintain confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.
Encourage clients to express their feelings and discuss what is happening in their lives, helping them to develop insight into themselves or their relationships.
Collect information about clients through interviews, observation, or tests.
Assess patients for risk of suicide attempts.
Fill out and maintain client-related paperwork, including federal- and state-mandated forms, client diagnostic records, and progress notes.
Prepare and maintain all required treatment records and reports.
Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
Guide clients in the development of skills or strategies for dealing with their problems.
Perform crisis interventions with clients.
Develop and implement treatment plans based on clinical experience and knowledge.
Evaluate clients' physical or mental condition, based on review of client information.
Act as client advocates to coordinate required services or to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.
Modify treatment activities or approaches as needed to comply with changes in clients' status.
Evaluate the effectiveness of counseling programs on clients' progress in resolving identified problems and moving towards defined objectives.
Meet with families, probation officers, police, or other interested parties to exchange necessary information during the treatment process.
Discuss with individual patients their plans for life after leaving therapy.
Collaborate with other staff members to perform clinical assessments or develop treatment plans.
Counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, or supporting clients or patients.
Monitor clients' use of medications.
Plan, organize, or lead structured programs of counseling, work, study, recreation, or social activities for clients.
Learn about new developments in counseling by reading professional literature, attending courses and seminars, or establishing and maintaining contact with other social service agencies.
Refer patients, clients, or family members to community resources or to specialists as necessary.
Gather information about community mental health needs or resources that could be used in conjunction with therapy.
Supervise other counselors, social service staff, assistants, or graduate students.
Plan or conduct programs to prevent substance abuse or improve community health or counseling services.
Coordinate or direct employee workshops, courses, or training about mental health issues.
Work Context
Structured versus Unstructured Work — 84% responded "A lot of freedom".
Contact With Others — 91% responded "Constant contact with others".
Telephone — 80% responded "Every day".
Freedom to Make Decisions — 73% responded "A lot of freedom".
Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Therapy and Counseling
Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Sociology and Anthropology
Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Clerical
Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Philosophy and Theology
Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Law and Government
Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Operations Analysis
Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Written Comprehension
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Inductive Reasoning
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Speech Recognition
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Deductive Reasoning
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Speech Clarity
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Fluency of Ideas
The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Information Ordering
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Category Flexibility
The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Selective Attention
The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Originality
The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Near Vision
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
