Mental Health Counselor Research Paper

881 Words4 Pages

I enjoy helping the people I care about. When they have problems, they always come to me. I started to watch a show that my mother watched. As I was watching, a woman was helping a man who was suicidal and had mental issues. I wondered if I could be as good of a counselor as she. From that point I wanted to be a mental health counselor. I have loved helping people since I was in the seventh grade. I thought that this career would be good for me because since I love helping people who have problems, why not follow a career I love to do. I like helping people when they have problems and I like giving them advice as they need it.
A mental health counselor has many roles to play. They go from focusing on certain people to helping them overcome …show more content…

The first step is to get a bachelor’s degree in psychology or social work. Also, volunteering in a mental health facility will help. The second step is to get a master’s degree in counseling or a related field; an internship is important. The third step is to complete a clinical experience. That means that 2,000-4,000 hours have to be done while having two years already completed. The fourth step is to obtain a license. It has to be a state-issued and that means to complete a clinical experience and pass the exam. The last step is to continue the education process. It will help keep anyone who is doing this occupation strong and it will help anyone succeed at more. Also, joining a professional organization will help. The American Mental Health Association (AMHCA) offers the classes needed (“How to Become a Mental Clinician”). Being a mental health counselor requires many years of schooling and requires many hours you have to perform to be able to become a mental health counselor.
In addition, mental health counselors are paid well. An annual wage for a less skilled worker is $26,030. This would be for someone who just started working or may have been working for a year or so. A median worker would earn $40,850 per year. This would be for someone who has been there for quite a few years, maybe eight or more. A more skilled mental counselor gets $66,930 per year (“Mental Health Counselors”). Since these wages are high,