College career planning and placement counselors help students and alumni plan careers and locate jobs. Rehabilitation counselors help persons with disabilities become more self-sufficient and productive. They evaluate clients' disabilities and potential for employment, and arrange for medical care, rehabilitation, occupation training, and job placement. They interview them and their families, evaluate school and medical reports, and confer with physicians, psychologists, occupational therapists, and employers. They then recommend a rehabilitation program and training to help them become more independent and more employable.
Employment counselors help individuals make wise career decisions.
They help clients explore and evaluate their education, training, work history, interests, skills, personal traits, and physical capacities and may arrange for aptitude and achievement tests. They also help clients locate and apply for jobs. Mental health counselors help individuals deal with drug and alcohol abuse, family conflicts, including child and spouse abuse, suicide, work problems, criminal behavior, and other problems. They also counsel rape victims, individuals and families trying to cope with illness and death, and people with emotional problems. Mental health counselors may work closely with other specialists, including psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, and psychiatric nurses.