Even though rehabilitation counseling is one of the 50 highest paying master’s degrees, many students have never even heard of the field. With 120,200 Americans working as rehabilitation counselors, this occupation is far from the smallest professions in the country, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, the rehabilitation counselor profession is only about a third of the size of the substance abuse and mental health counseling occupation and less than one-fifth the size of the social worker occupation. Rehabilitation counseling is a unique career in the community and social services occupations that emphasizes the services that help individuals with disabilities and chronic medical conditions improve their lives.
A Focus on Disabilities of All Kinds and on Rehabilitation and Improvement
Disabilities come in plenty of different forms. They can be physical, emotional, mental and developmental. Each different kind of disability can bring with it unique symptoms and challenges, but one thing that is common across different types of disabilities is that they can prevent the individuals who have them from living the life they want.
Rehabilitation counselors work with these individuals to help them improve their lives. That can mean helping the client find access to rehabilitative therapies to help them live more independently, explore vocational opportunities that allow them to pursue a career or identify resources and programs that can help provide assistive devices.
Students of rehabilitation counseling programs often complete coursework in the effects of a disability and the foundations of rehabilitation processes and practices.
A Community and Social Service Role
Above all, rehabilitation counseling is a community and social services occupation, or a helping role. Most rehabilitation counselors are compassionate and patient individuals who want to make a difference in their communities. They may see individuals with disabilities and the family members who take care of them as among the populations of people who are most in need of, and most able to benefit from, community resources, social service programs, job placement assistance and counseling interventions.
Rehabilitation counselors can work in a variety of settings, but it’s no surprise that some of the top employing industries for this occupation include community and vocational rehabilitation services, individual and family services and state government agencies.
An Occupation That Combines Counseling Techniques With Holistic Approaches to Service
As the job title suggests, some rehabilitation counselors utilize the concepts and techniques of counseling interventions in their work with clients who have disabilities. Rehabilitation counselors may provide direct counseling services in individual or group settings, in private practice or in rehabilitation centers and agencies.
However, implementing counseling interventions isn’t all rehabilitation counselors do. Instead, they perform a broader array of job functions that may include anything from case management and consultation services to vocational assessment and help with job placement. A rehabilitation counselor may help disabled individuals and employers of disabled people understand laws related to disability, but they may also serve the role of helping a client come to terms with the limitations imposed by their disability and identify the strengths they can rely on in spite of those limitations.
A big part of rehabilitation counseling is looking at the whole picture of the client’s life, also known as taking an approach or perspective of serving individuals with disabilities. A successful rehabilitation counselor understands the challenges, goals, resources, support systems and limitations and abilities of each client.
For every client, even those with the same disability, these factors will be unique. A disability can exist at different levels of severity and affect individuals in different ways. The resources – including health insurance coverage, availability of caretakers and more – that are available to one client may be different from what’s available to another client. Depending on the situation, a person may have developed relevant skills, work experience and a professional network prior to becoming disabled that can prove useful when looking for work after the disability, or they may have no work history and be in need of job training that is appropriate for their strengths and limitations.
By looking at the whole person, rather than purely the medical aspects of their disability, the effects of the disability on their emotional health or their vocational qualifications, rehabilitation counselors can help improve clients’ lives in many meaningful ways.
Additional Resources
What Are the Qualities of a Good Rehabilitation Counselor?
What Is the Difference Between a Rehabilitation Counselor and Mental Health Counselor?
What Are Some Typical Courses I Will Take in a Master’s Program for Rehabilitation Counseling?