For people who are passionate about helping others ease their mental and emotional burdens, counseling psychology is a deeply enriching career path. As a counseling psychologist, you’ll be rewarded with the opportunity to make a lasting difference in people’s lives. It’s also a highly stable career since the demand for people with a counseling psychology degree is increasing rapidly.
Faulkner University’s nationally renowned online counseling psychology program provides graduates with all the resources they need to enter this exciting and promising career path – all while learning from the comfort of their homes. You’ll be making a lasting difference in people’s lives while building an incredibly bright future for your clients and yourself.
The average counseling psychologist’s salary is around $80,000, and the field of mental health counseling is growing at a rate of 29%. If you’re committed to helping people overcome mental distress and lead fuller, happier lives, learn what job opportunities are available to those with counseling psychology degrees.
What Is Counseling Psychology?
Counseling psychology is the field of treating people with various mental and emotional disorders who may or may not have been formally diagnosed. That means counseling psychologists focus on mental health issues faced by just about anyone. This often involves sharing methods for maintaining mental and emotional well-being, even during distressing life situations.
Faulkner University’s renowned counseling psychology program is one of seven degrees offered through our psychology department. Built around core psychology and counseling principles, our aim is to prepare students for exciting careers in a wide range of environments.
With an enormous amount of breadth, counseling psychology covers any stage of life, providing counseling psychology graduates with an incredible number of career opportunities. Counseling psychology is often confused with clinical psychology, but there are key differences.
What Is the Difference Between Clinical and Counseling Psychology?
While the two fields frequently overlap, the major difference between the two is that clinical psychology is focused on psychopathology, which is the study of various mental disorders through techniques such as psychoanalysis. Counseling psychology is oriented toward helping anyone – even those without diagnosed mental disorders – to develop better habits for coping with and alleviating stress.
What Can You Do with a Counseling Psychology Degree?
Counseling psychologists can work with all age groups and demographics and in a variety of settings. Their services are in high demand in several industries, which means a formally trained counseling psychologist has access to many career paths.
Common roles for counseling psychologists include:
- Private practice
- Government social work
- Private industry human services
- Mental health and substance abuse centers
- Government institutions working with at-risk individuals
- Hospitals and other medical institutions
- Sports psychology clinics
- Churches and ministries
- Schools and universities
- Holistic health centers
What Does a Counseling Psychologist Do?
Counseling psychologists are trained in techniques to teach others how to cope with life challenges. They help patients discover and tap into their innate strengths by directing their lives meaningfully toward greater joy and fulfillment. This involves learning highly attentive and introspective communication techniques proven to help patients achieve greater clarity over the issues that brought them to the counselor.
Because they will be faced with difficult topics, it’s important for counselors to seek the best psychology training possible. Many of the personal issues that patients need help coping with are so distressing to them that they can immobilize and limit their lives. Counseling psychologists must be able to handle emotionally charged situations while providing a safe and nurturing space for their patients to work through intensely difficult challenges.
While the field of counseling psychology may be broad, the training that goes into it is highly specialized. Faulkner University’s online counseling psychology courses are bolstered by robust, evidence-backed modalities that are clinically proven to lead to greater patient outcomes.
Do I Need a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology?
There are several career options available upon completion of a Bachelor of Science in counseling psychology. In fact, there are many industries that utilize graduates with counseling psychology degrees. Careers outside the psychology field frequently in need of counseling psychologists include:
- Communications
- Human resources
- Advertising and marketing
- Travel and hospitality
- Insurance sales
Depending on the level of experience required, a master’s degree may be required for more specialized jobs, such as at clinics requiring experts in youth, student, family, marriage, addictions, or sex counseling. Those with master’s degrees also are frequently preferred for positions such as school counseling, vocational counseling, and health and rehabilitation services. For those at the top of their field, counseling psychologists with a master’s degree may also be sought by law firms to serve as expert witnesses.
Find a Fulfilling Career with Faulkner University
Based in Montgomery, Alabama, Faulkner University offers a nationally leading Bachelor of Science in counseling psychology degree. For greater ease and flexibility, this program is offered online, meaning you’ll be able to study from anywhere that’s convenient for you. To start an exciting new career in counseling psychology, request more information or apply online. You’ll be making a lasting difference in many people’s lives – not least of all, your own.