What a Mental Health Counselor Is Meant to Be: A Very Brief & Scholarly Description

I will just detail what North Carolina says one is, what the American Counseling Association (ACA) says one is, and what a clinical mental health counseling textbook says.

North Carolina

I give you the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC).

This board licenses:

Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors Associates (LCMHCAs),
Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (LCMHCs), and
Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisors (LCMHCSs)

“ Unless exempt for licensure under NC GS Article 24 § 90–332.1, any person engaged in the practice of counseling in the state of North Carolina must be actively licensed by the Board.” NCBLCMHC

This board does not certify psychologists or social workers. Psychologists and social workers have different job descriptions than counselors.

If someone has a degree in anything in mental health, once they take the licensure exam in NC, they are an LCMHCA.

What is Counseling?

Pursuant to NC General Statutes § 90–330(a)(3), in the state of North Carolina the “practice of counseling” means holding oneself out to the public as a clinical mental health counselor offering counseling services that include, but are not limited to, the following:

Counseling — Assisting individuals, groups, and families through the counseling relationship by evaluating and treating mental disorders and other conditions through the use of a combination of clinical mental health and human development principles, methods, diagnostic procedures, treatment plans, and other psychotherapeutic techniques, to develop an understanding of personal problems, to define goals, and to plan action reflecting the client’s interests, abilities, aptitudes, and mental health needs as these are related to personal-social-emotional concerns, educational progress, and occupations and careers.
Appraisal Activities — Administering and interpreting tests for assessment of personal characteristics.
Consulting — Interpreting scientific data and providing guidance and personnel services to individuals, groups, or organizations.
Referral Activities — Identifying problems requiring referral to other specialists.
Research Activities — Designing, conducting, and interpreting research with human subjects.

Reference citation in the reference list below.

AMERICAN COUNSELING ASSOCIATION

The American Counseling Association is a professional and educational nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the growth and enhancement of the counseling profession. Founded in 1952, ACA is the world’s largest association exclusively representing professional counselors in various practice settings. Pasted from their website. Citation in the reference list.

“Counseling — a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals” (ACA, 2014).

The fundamental principles of professional ethical behavior are:

autonomy, or fostering the right to control the direction of one’s life;
nonmaleficence, or avoiding actions that cause harm;
beneficence, or working for the good of the individual and society by promoting mental health and well-being;
justice, or treating individuals equitably and fostering fairness and equality;
fidelity, or honoring commitments and keeping promises, including fulfilling one’s responsibilities of trust in professional relationships; and
veracity, or dealing truthfully with individuals with whom counselors come into professional contact.

Textbook: Introduction to Counseling: Integration of Faith, Professional Identity, and Clinical Practice
According to “20/20”, a group deriving of:

American Association of State Counseling Boards (AASCB)
American College Counseling Association (ACCA)
American Counseling Association (ACA)
ACA Midwest Region
ACA North Atlantic Region
ACA Southern Region
ACA Western Region
American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA)
American Rehabilitation Counseling Association (ARCA)
Association for Adult Development and Aging (AADA)
Association for Assessment in Counseling and Education (AACA)
Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES)
Association for Counselors and Educators in Government (ACEG)
Association for Creativity in Counseling (ACC)
Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues in Counseling (ALBGTIC)
Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD)
Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW)
Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVC)
Chi Sigma Iota (CSI)
Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC)
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
Council on Rehabilitation Education (CRE)
Counseling Association for Humanistic Education and Development (Formely),
-now the Association for Humanistic Counseling (AHC)
International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (IAAOC)
International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC)
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
National Career Development Association (NCDA)
National Employment Counseling Association (NECA), and
National Rehabilitation Counseling Association (NRCA)

The definition of counseling is:

“Counseling — a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals” (Lilley, et al., 2020).

Neuroscience is a wave that has been seen coming into counseling! (Lilley, et al., 2020).

Conclusion

One key area that many people are unaware of is that counselors specialize in career counseling.

The differences between a life coach and a counselor are:

Counselors have an academic and professional licensing accrediting association
Life coaches are a gamble; one could be a simple certification and be good in one area — or none, and another could cost you $25,000 a year
Counselors have to relicense every year, and
Counseling has gone through an identity-creation process.

The last thing I want the readers to know is that I have a friend who clears $120,000 a year and has a counselor on speed dial; also, most professionals also have one. Counseling can help keep people aligned with life and reality. It is like staying up-to-date.

…

Thank you for reading! Thank you for positive comments and for following!!

References

ACA Code of Ethics As approved by the ACA Governing Council Mission for non-commercial purposes only. (2014). https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-ethics.pdf?sfvrsn=fde89426_9

‌Counseling | North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors. (n.d.). Www.ncblcmhc.org. Retrieved June 3, 2023, from https://www.ncblcmhc.org/boardinfo/counseling

Simmons, R. T., Lilley, S., & Kuhnley, A. (2020). Introduction to Counseling: Integration of Faith, Professional Identity, and Clinical Practice Kendall Hunt.

‌What is a Counselor. (n.d.). Www.counseling.org. https://www.counseling.org/about-us/what-is-a-counselor

The Good Men Project

Keep

Keep:

My cover photo as you transfer the story to the website
The links as you transfer the story to the website, as they tie in with the topic, and
References as you transfer the story to the website, as they are required for U.S. Psychological and Counseling Associations.

Too easy. Thanks.