What Do Mental Health Counselors Do?

Mental health counselors provide ongoing psychological care to patients on a regular basis. They work in many different venues which come with varying work loads and duties. One of the major responsibilities is being part of a team for each patient. Documenting clear and concise notes that become a permanent part of the patient's record is also an important part of their work.

Individual and Group Therapies

• Mental health counselors work with patients on any personal issues that they need addressed. They work with people who are having problems with depression, anxiety, unhealthy relationships and many other issues.

  In many of the facilities where a mental health counselor works they are responsible for facilitating groups, such as in hospitals and clinics. These groups can be large and are mostly held on a weekly basis.

Work Hours

• Mental health counselors typically work long hours and on many different shifts in some venues, such as a hospital. It is not unusual for one of these counselors to put in ten hour days with the overwhelming amount of documentation they need to do.

  In many venues where a mental health counselor is employed, they have to be "on-call." This entails the extra work of answering urgent calls from clients after work hours. Some mental health counselors, such as the ones on a crisis team, may need to go into work if they receive a call after work hours. An evaluation of someone who is in a mental health crisis is one of the reasons a mental health counselor may be called back to work after hours.

Part of a Team of Professionals

• Working in tandem with many other mental health professionals is also part of a mental health counselor's job. When seeing a patient, a mental health counselor is only one person on a team that treats that person. There are psychiatrists, primary care physicians, case workers and any other members of a team that are also treating this person. It is the mental health counselors responsibility to pass along information to the other team members.

Documentation and Plans

• A very big part of a mental health counselor's job is documentation. They usually see patients on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule and their progress needs to be charted clearly and decisively. This record keeping is passed on to the other team members so they all are aware of what is going on with a patient.

  Mental health counselors make treatment plans for their patients, which could include goals and time lines for their treatment. These plans can be very detailed and address all aspects of the issues they are working on.

Specialties

• A mental health counselor works in many different locations and in many different specialties. These may include drug rehabs, hospitals, mental health clinics and schools. There are also mental health counselors that go to people's homes as a part of outreach programs.

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