There are many types of counselor qualifications available for professionals who want to specialize in a particular area of interest. Several types of counselor qualifications are very common, such as substance abuse, marriage and family counseling, but others are less familiar to many people. Grief counseling, rehabilitation and mental health are a few of the lesser-known counselor positions that are available for licensing and specialization. Many counseling careers can be started with a four-year college degree, but most require a master's degree or higher to reach the top of the field.
College courses and professional training exist for nearly every type of counseling specialization, such as physical, emotional and mental disabilities. Group counseling courses are designed to help a counselor lead substance abuse, sexual abuse and habitual offender or criminal counseling courses. Becoming a qualified counselor typically begins by learning how to listen carefully, process the information and respond appropriately to help clients through obstacles in life. The ability to pull small details out of a long and often rambling sentence and the knowledge to understand how to make a client open up are some of the traits of a successful counselor.
Some counselor qualifications are designed to help an individual or group through a positive and exciting aspect of life, such as career and religious counseling. Many counseling roles, however, are aimed at seeking information about some of the darkest areas of humanity, such as criminal sexual offenders, criminal mental health offenders and drug addiction. The particular counselor qualifications vary from area to area, but many of the requirements to become a licensed counselor are the same in almost any area of the world.
To receive a counselor's license in most areas, a master's or doctoral degree in counseling or a related field must be obtained from an accredited college or university. The completion of certain required courses must occur during the process of earning the degree. Also required is the completion of a practicum containing both research and actual client-related casework during the completion of a master's program. After the educational component of the counselor qualifications has been completed, an examination from the local government licensing agency typically must be taken and passed. Upon passing this examination, the applicant typically must complete a supervised internship that includes both group and individual counseling sessions totaling several thousand hours before an actual counseling license is awarded.
