1. Employment Profile: What exactly does a Residential Counselor do? |
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 What field is your job in?
Human Services
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What is your job title?
Residential Counselor
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Please provide a brief description of the firm or organization that you currently work for
(size and general description of what type of organization it is)
I work at a nonprofit organization that is a drug and alcohol treatment center. I specifically work in the youth branch in in-patient, but the organization also provides youth outpatient, adult in-patient and adult out-patient treatment. The organization employs approximately 150 workers and emphasizes on treating both addiction and mental health.
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How long have you been employed in this position?
3 months.
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How many hours do you work a week on average?
40+
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Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
Provide addiction and mental health services through individual therapy sessions for clients. Provide case management for clients as needed. Develop treatment plan based on assessment of addiction and mental health diagnoses according to the DSM-IV-R. Lead mental health groups.
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What was your gross income last year? Please include any bonuses or incentives received.
$32,150
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What is your expected gross income for this year? Please include any bonuses or incentives you expect to receive.
32240
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Please
list any benefits you have (Please include number of weeks vacation,
sick leave and type of health insurance, retirement plan 401k)
Health insurance (Medical & Dental) with option of dependent coverage, Flexible Spending Plan, Life Insurance, Long Term Disabililty, 9 Paid Holidays/yr, Accidental Death and Dismemberment, credit union membership, Employee Assistance Plan, 401k (after six months), Paid Time off (22 days year), & Extended Illness Benefit
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Do you feel you are under/well/over compensated at your current position?
As far as this career field goes, I am being adequately paid. In general, I believe the field of mental health therapy is severely under compensated.
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2. Work environment! |
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Does
your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this
something you like/dislike about your job? Explain
Yes. This is something I love about my job. In working with clients, obviously one has daily interactions with people. But beyond clients, I am also working with parents, court systems, school systems, other mental health and addiction workers, probation officers and social service agencies. Further, I have great interactions daily with my co-workers.
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Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
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Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
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Describe
your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what
you like/dislike about working in it
I work within a team atmosphere. Our treatment team is constantly consulting to be sure we are providing our clients with the best treatment and interventions. Working with others in this profession is important in order to feel motivated and energized to help people with traumatic, sad stories.
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Please rank in order of importance from 1-8 (1- most important 8- least important) Assign each number once.
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7 Income
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4 Work Environment - co-workers
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3 Work Environment - supervisors
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8 Benefits
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6 Hours
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5 Level of responsibility
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2 The actual "work" you do at your job
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1 Job Title
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3. How should someone new to the workforce get a J-O-B like yours? |
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If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Some places to search for jobs in counseling include newspapers employment ads, internet employment sites, and craigslist. Another way would be to contact a local graduate department in social work or psychology to find out about non-profit agencies in the area. Graduate programs work closely with these agencies in doing practicums and internships.
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What
skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a
position like yours? Please be specific and explain why (e.g., social
skills, organization skills, technical skills)
Someone in counseling needs to have good social skills, organizational skills, leadership skills, communication skills, and some computer skills.
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Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Yes, I don't believe someone who does not have an Master's Degree would be successful since this is such a specialized area.
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What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
An important part of this type of work is to have a good plan for self-care whether it be working out, taking vacations, reading, etc. This work can be really stressful and if you don't take care of yourself you will get burned out quickly. Also, know ahead of time that the monetary rewards of this career do not come close to the amount of work you will put in; the reward of this career is the satisfaction you get from knowing you've helped someone even though you may never see the results.
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