Mental Health Counseling Degrees in Psychology

Health does not always equate to only physical well being though that is also quite important. In fact, the impact on health may not always be physically apparent and instead, may affect mental condition. Mental health issues can also be outcomes of family, career or personal aspects. Consequently, the field of mental health counselors has sprung up to cater, care and advice individuals experiencing mental health issues and improve quality of life. These counselors also work with other specialists including clinical workers, social workers and psychologists. As a prelude to effective mental health counseling, counselors initially gather as much information as possible to assess how best they can assist their clients. The information is gathered through various means such as interviews, testing and observations with individuals, families and groups. Psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage and family therapists all belong to the group of mental health counselors. Examples of mental health counseling include substance abuse, addiction and alcoholism.

There are several programs offered by institutions to prepare aspirants for careers in mental health counseling spanning Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees. In most case, the minimum criterion to practice as a mental health counselor is a Master’s degree coupled with 2,000 hours of supervised clinical internship and obtaining license through qualifying scores in state administered examinations.

The future looks bright and promising for this discipline with growth projections of 21% through 2016 emanating from Bureau of Labor Statistics. From an earnings perspective, the top end of 10% drew salaries at $59,700 annually in May 2006. A large segment of mental health counselors are self employed with established private practices.

University of Phoenix and Argosy University lead the group with flexible quality programs. Everest College of Business and South University are staffed by skilled educators with strong academic backgrounds. Brown Mackie College’s programs focus on translating students’ goals into reality.