Counseling Schools & Licensure

Counselors provide guidance and support to people who are struggling with a wide spectrum of issues. By forming a collaborative and compassionate relationship with their clients, counselors put an individual, couple, or family on the path to personal success and mental wellness.

The need for qualified counselors is urgent, immense, and growing. In the field of mental health alone, counselors are the cure to what the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports as a “major national crisis.” According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS 2025), employment for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors is set to grow 17 percent between 2024 and 2034—a rate that’s almost six times the national average for all occupations (3 percent). 

Joining the counseling profession is not always straightforward, but CounselingSchools.com makes it easier to explore the varied facets of the profession. Here, you will find an authoritative and comprehensive resource for everything related to the counseling profession, with detailed information on online counseling degree programs, career paths, state licensure, certification requirements, and professional advocacy issues.

New On Counseling Schools

Check out our latest guides to careers in counseling, therapy, and psychology, as well as detailed breakdowns of accredited degree programs and interviews with experts in the field.

07/27/26

By Lisa Hutchison, LMHC

The Healing Power of Humor and Laughter in Therapy

When a client and a counselor connect with humor or laughter, this can help the client relax, let go, decrease symptoms and engage in creative problem-solving.

07/23/26

By Johannes Stitz

Christian Counselor

While the medical treatment of physical diseases reaches back into prehistory, the field of mental health as a formal discipline is relatively new. However, people have long sought to address these same issues, be it through philosophy or religion. For many people, prayer, meditation, and other religious rituals can provide a powerful form of support in difficult times, and some may use a combination of modern mental health and religious practices in order to feel better.

07/20/26

By Kimmy Gustafson, Vanessa Salvia

Life Coach

A life coach, or as they are sometimes called, a transformational counselor, is a counselor who works with people to bring about the changes they want to see in their lives to feel fulfilled or meet their goals. Pursuing this career is often an individual path, as there is no traditional degree program for this.

Online Counseling School Profiles

CounselingSchools.com has developed a comprehensive database of over 700 online counseling programs from over 250 schools, each with a full-page school profile, updated yearly.

Program data was hand-collected to ensure completeness, structured for uniformity, and vetted to ensure “onlineness” and accuracy.

Browse our online school profiles to compare program admissions requirements, accreditation, duration, and cost, as well as other essentials like program start dates, campus visit/residency requirements, and state authorizations.

Evaluate programmatic fit, and find the right counseling school for you.

Careers in Counseling

Careers in counseling are as varied as the people they serve. Each career track has its own educational, licensing, and experiential requirements that ensure a counselor is well-equipped to help their clients.

Whether a counselor is specialized to work with a specific segment of the population or trained in a particular medium of therapy, their career will center around offering expert, evidence-backed support to those who need it most. We give you the details on every career in counseling, so you can find the one that’s right for you.

Accredited Online Counseling Programs

The journey to becoming a professional counselor starts with an accredited degree or certificate program in counseling. These are officially recognized programs that lead to a career as a counselor.

Accreditation by industry-specific authorities means that a program has been thoroughly vetted for its content and quality, and ensures that a student is on track to meet the educational, experiential, and exam requirements of their profession.

Of course, not all counseling programs or accreditation bodies are created equal. The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is the gold standard of programmatic approval in counseling, but certainly not the only reputable accreditor recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Discover a wealth of accredited online counseling degrees and certificate programs in these detailed guides, which include information on coursework, duration, and tuition.

Counseling Degrees & Licensure By State – LPC, LMHC, MFT, and More

While many degree programs can be completed online, geography still matters in the world of counseling. Many counseling careers are governed by state licensing boards, and the requirements for licensure vary from state to state.

To help their students meet those requirements, many degree programs pattern their curriculum upon their home state’s unique requirements. Sometimes these conditions overlap across states, but often they are nuanced and detailed. Take the bird’s eye view and find the program and professional license that aligns with your location.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Counseling Education & Professions

All counselors know the power of questions. Between different state licenses, professional titles, and educational requirements, it is natural to have a few question marks dangling above your head when planning your counseling career.

Check out our FAQ for the detailed, step-by-step answers you need.

View All FAQs

Features – Interviews, Advocacy & Resources

Counseling is premised upon the healthy flow of communication and this is a profession where the learning never stops. By drawing upon in-depth expert interviews, academic research, and professional advocacy issues, CS features bring you up to speed on the most relevant conversations in counseling.

View Features