Rehabilitation Counselors

Summary

Rehabilitation counselors help people with emotional and physical disabilities live independently.

Quick Facts: Rehabilitation Counselors
2010 Median Pay	$32,350 per year $15.55 per hour
Entry-Level Education	Master’s degree
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
On-the-job Training	None
Number of Jobs, 2010	129,800
Job Outlook, 2010-20	28% (Faster than average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	36,600

What Rehabilitation Counselors Do

Rehabilitation counselors help people with emotional and physical disabilities live independently. They help their clients overcome personal, social, and professional effects of disabilities as they relate to employment or independent living.

Work Environment

Rehabilitation counselors work in a variety of settings, such as schools, prisons, independent-living facilities, rehabilitation agencies and private practice. Most work full time.

How to Become a Rehabilitation Counselor

Most often, rehabilitation counselors must have a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling. Some positions require certification or a license.

Pay

The median annual wage of rehabilitation counselors was $32,350 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of rehabilitation counselors is expected to grow by 28 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Demand for rehabilitation counselors is expected to grow with the increase in the elderly population and with the continued rehabilitation needs of other groups, such as veterans and people with disabilities.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of rehabilitation counselors with similar occupations.

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Contacts for More Information

Learn more about rehabilitation counselors by contacting these additional resources.

What Rehabilitation Counselors Do About this section

Some rehabilitation counselors help elderly people with health problems adjust to their new limitations.

Rehabilitation counselors help people with emotional and physical disabilities live independently. They work with clients to overcome personal, social, and professional effects of disabilities as they relate to employment or independent living.

Duties

Rehabilitation counselors typically do the following:

• Provide individual and group counseling to help clients adjust to their disability
• Evaluate clients’ abilities, interests, experience, skills, health, and education
• Develop a treatment plan in consultation with other professionals, such as doctors, mental health counselors, and psychologists
• Create treatment plans based on clients’ values, strengths, limitations, and goals
• Arrange for clients to get service, such as medical care or career training
• Help employers understand the needs and abilities of disabled people
• Assist clients in creating strategies to develop their strengths and overcome their limitations
• Locate resources, such as wheelchairs or computer programs, that help clients live and work more independently
• Monitor clients’ progress and adjust the treatment plan as necessary
• Advocate for the rights of people with disabilities to live in the community and work in the job of their choice

Rehabilitation counselors help people with physical, mental, emotional, or social disabilities at various stages in their lives. Some work with students to develop strategies to live with their disability and to move from school to work. Others help veterans cope with the mental or physical effects of their military service. Still others help elderly people adapt to disabilities developed later in life due to illness or injury. Because rehabilitation counselors deal with employment issues, they typically work with older students and adults rather than young children.

Some rehabilitation counselors work in private practice. These counselors must spend time marketing their practice to prospective clients and working with insurance companies and clients to get paid for their services.

Work Environment About this section

Rehabilitation counselors work in a wide variety of settings, such as colleges, elementary and secondary schools, prisons, and independent living facilities.

Rehabilitation counselors held about 129,800 jobs in 2010. 

They work in a variety of settings, such as colleges, elementary and secondary schools, prisons, and independent-living facilities. They also work in private practice and in state, private, and nonprofit rehabilitation agencies.

The following industries employed the most rehabilitation counselors in 2010:

Work Schedules

Most rehabilitation counselors work full time.

How to Become a Rehabilitation Counselor About this section

Most employers require rehabilitation counselors to have a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling or a related field.

Most often, rehabilitation counselors must have a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling or a related field. Some positions require certification or a license.

Education

Most employers require a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling or a related field. Most master’s programs in rehabilitation counseling accept a bachelor’s degree in almost any field to enter. These programs focus on evaluating clients’ needs, formulating and implementing job placement strategies, and providing mental health counseling. They typically require a period of supervised experience, such as an internship.

Some employers hire workers with a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation and disability studies. Generally, these workers cannot offer the full range of services that a rehabilitation counselor with a master’s degree can provide. Bachelor’s degree programs teach students about issues that people with disabilities face and about the process of providing rehabilitation services.

Licenses

Some employers prefer to hire licensed rehabilitation counselors, but a license may not be necessary in many settings. However, it is required to work in private practice. Licensure requires a master’s degree and 2,000 to 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience. In addition, counselors must pass a state-recognized exam and complete annual continuing education credits. Contact information for state regulating boards is available through the National Board of Certified Counselors.

Certification

Some employers prefer rehabilitation counselors who are Certified Rehabilitation Counselors (CRC). Applicants must meet advanced education, work experience, and clinical supervision requirements, and pass a test. Once certified, counselors must complete continuing education requirements. For more information, contact the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.

Important Qualities

Compassion. Counselors often work with people who are dealing with stressful and difficult situations, so they must be compassionate and empathize with their clients.

Listening skills. Good listening skills are essential for rehabilitation counselors, who need to give their full attention to clients in order to understand their problems, concerns, and values.

Patience. To help people learn new skills and strategies, rehabilitation counselors must have patience as clients struggle to learn about and address the impact of their disabilities.

People skills. Being able to work with different types of people is essential for rehabilitation counselors, who spend most of their time working directly with clients, families, employers, or other professionals. They must be able to develop a good working relationship.

Speaking skills. Rehabilitation counselors need to be able to communicate with clients effectively, expressing ideas and information in a way that is easily understood.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage of rehabilitation counselors was $32,350 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $20,770 and the top 10 percent earned more than $56,720.

In May 2010, the median annual wages of rehabilitation counselors in the top employing industries were as follows:

Most rehabilitation counselors work full time.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of rehabilitation counselors is expected to grow by 28 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Demand for rehabilitation counselors is expected to grow with the increase in the elderly population and with the continued rehabilitation needs of other groups, such as veterans and people with disabilities.

Older adults are more likely than other age groups to become disabled or injured. They will need to learn to adapt to their disabilities and learn strategies to live independently. As a result, they will require the services of rehabilitation counselors. As the size of this population grows, so will the need for rehabilitation counselors.

In addition, there will be a continued need for rehabilitation counselors to work with veterans who were disabled during their military service. They will also be needed to work with other groups, such as people who have learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, or substance abuse problems.

From 2010 to 2020, expected employment growth of rehabilitation counselors in the top employing industries is as follows:

Contacts for More Information About this section

For more information about counseling and information about counseling specialties, visit

American Counseling Association

For more information about the Certified Rehabilitation Counselors certification, visit

Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification

For contact information for state regulating boards, visit

National Board for Certified Counselors