What is Mental Health Counseling?

July 18, 2012 – 01:51 pm

Life is full of frustration and difficult times. Most adults will usually have to deal with such things as balancing family and career life, and paying bills that they can’t afford. These stressful times can be very hard to get through and extremely overwhelming for some. Not coping with this type of stress in a healthy manner, however, can lead to mental and emotional strain.

Mental health counseling can be used to pull some people out of their mental din. Professionals in this field offer counseling, support, and guidance to individuals that are having trouble coping mentally or emotionally.

There are a number of mental problems that mental health counselors might encounter during their careers, from people dealing with everyday stress to those with diagnosable mental illnesses and disorders. For instance, they might counsel people that are having had times due to family, job, or social issues. They might also offer counseling to individuals that suffer from disorders such as:

  • Depression
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Generalized anxiety disorder
  • Panic disorder
  • Phobias
  • Eating disorders
  • Obsessive compulsive disorder
  • Addiction
  • Chronic pain

Mental disorders are sometimes considered to be the most common disability in the United States. In fact, research conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health has shown that over a quarter of all adults suffers from a mental illness each year. More and more people are finally realizing the importance of not only their physical well being, but also their mental well being. Health insurance companies are even more apt to offer coverage for mental illness services as well. Because of this, there will not be a shortage of mental counseling jobs in the coming years, and mental health counseling is a rapidly growing field.

Sponsored Mental Health Counseling Degree Programs

How do I Become a Mental Health Counselor?

To become a mental health counselor you will need to go through a rather rigorous amount of schooling. This includes obtaining a Bachelor's Degree, then a Master's Degree, and finally entering into a Doctorate or PhD program. If you are serious about entering into this field of study, request information from programs available for you here.

Why do we Need Mental Health Counseling?

Trying to cope with a mental disorder - or even extreme everyday stress - can be very difficult and overwhelming for most. These disorders are often very scary, confusing, and frustrating. Some people suffering from mental illnesses and disorders may even feel ashamed of their conditions.

Mental health counselors, however, can help people learn to cope with their disorders and anything else life throws their way in a healthy manner. The guidance and skills that these professionals provide can often help people lead normal, happy lives.

Source: careersinpsychology.org

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  • avatar Clinical Psychology - Mental Health? | Yahoo Answers
    • Not at all! If anything I believe it gives you more of an insight on those disorders. Everyone, whether they will admit it or not has had one sort of mental problem in their lifetime. It's just like a physical illness and can be fixed. I say go for it and good luck! :D

  • avatar what is the difference between social work, psychology and mental health counseling?
    • Social workers specialize in treatment of mental or emotional disorders. Mental Health Counselors are therapists.

  • avatar psychology and mental health...? | Yahoo Answers
    • I was in the same position only a year ago when I applied for university and some of the best places I found were in Wales. These are Cardiff, Bangor and Swansea. Bangor does a course on psychology with child and language development which may have something to do with schitzophrenia in it. Sufolk and staford also seemed pretty good.
      The best thing to do is to go onto UCAS which is the website used to apply to univeristy in the UK and do a course searc for psychology and then just spend time looking through each course and their content.
      Hope this helps!