A commonality that most all counseling professions share is that they require at minimum a master's degree education, post degree supervised clinical experience, and passing of the National Counselor Examination or an equivalent exam recognized by the state in which you will be practicing. All states including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico require licensure for licensed professional counselors or LPC's.
Generally speaking, licensed counselors work with people that are suffering from mental health and behavioral or emotional issues. They are trained professionals that are there to help those individual and families in need. There are however, a multitude of other areas in which counselors are needed that don't focus specifically on mental health or emotional problems. Various types of counselors can be there to help you work through difficult personal decisions, career planning, difficult relationships amongst other problems.
Listed below are different types of licensed counselors that provide help and guidance to individuals and families alike. Click on those counseling career specialties that interest you to learn more.
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- School Counselors
- Mental Health Counselors
- Addiction and Substance Abuse Counselors
- Rehabilitation Counselors
- Spiritual Counselors
- Geriatric Counselors
- Veterans Counselors
- Domestic Violence Counselors
- Child Pediatric Counselors
- Child Abuse Counselors
- Community Mental Health Counselors
- Suicide Counselors
- Depression Counselors
- Transformational Counselors
- Grief Counselors
- Board Certified Behavior Analyst