Guides to Counseling Careers & Other Resources

Anyone who aspires to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) or a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) will inevitably take the National Counselor Examination (NCE). While each state has different licensure requirements, the NCE is a comprehensive test administered by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) and used throughout the United States.

While people can disagree about the potential for harm from AI, there is no arguing that AI is here, advancing rapidly, and poised to influence many aspects of life in ways that are currently unimaginable. The use of AI in psychotherapy is not some proposed future event but is here and now. To maximize usefulness and avoid hars, counselors should keep up-to-date on AI technologies and to the best of their abilities, take a proactive stance regarding ethical issues before they arise.

Exploring one’s sexuality or gender identity is, by its very nature, an existential pursuit. In fact, LGBTQ+ clients often seek out therapy to help make sense of their phenomenological experience.

Cultural competence was introduced in the 1980s by social workers and counseling psychologists as an approach to working successfully in multicultural contexts. Primarily concerned with learning about the cultures of those with whom we live and work through the examination of behaviors, attitudes, and policies, cultural competence was embraced by the healthcare community and has been used widely throughout the industry.

Too much caring without proper boundaries can cause emotional stress and strain on the counselor. Even with sufficient self-care measures, chronic day-to-day occupational stress can wear down even the most experienced professional.

The goal of BCI technology is to translate brain activity into actions or sensations. The technology picks up Signals from the brain and communicates via Bluetooth to a computer application. The application decodes the signals and translates them into actions, such as the movement of a cursor or prosthetic device.

As a counselor, you hope to have a good ending in which the therapist and client have a final session to say goodbye and discuss aftercare plans. This is not always the case. To increase the odds of a good ending, termination must be discussed throughout the counseling process, starting at the first session.

If you aspire to work with trans and nonbinary people as a mental health professional, there are many trans-focused career paths to explore, depending on your area of focus and level of training and certification.

As always, clients should be encouraged to ask questions, yet due to the long history of discrimination, LGBTQ+ individuals may have some unique concerns pertaining to their privacy, emotional safety, and legal rights.

Mental health internships offer students the opportunity to learn hands-on clinical skills in various settings. Most graduate-level psychology programs require students to complete a practicum and an internship experience prior to graduation.