Mental Health Counselor in Charlotte, Matthews NC

Counseling specialists perform a wide variety of roles and can be employed by many different types of organizations or institutions, or they go into private practice.  A counseling specialist provides therapy in an individual, family or group setting, helping people who are dealing with mental health illness or are struggling with their mental well-being. They typically deal with issues related to relationships, stress, depression, self-image, careers, bullying, substance abuse, anger management, and LGBTQ issues and offer debt counseling, grief counseling, child development counseling, eating disorder therapy, and art and music therapy. They are trained to identify and promote the client’s strengths and to encourage them to share experiences and emotions. 

Counseling specialists can work for a college or university, counseling both students and faculty and offering guidance on career, personal, or academic concerns. They can also be employed by senior living communities, rehabilitation facilities, hospitals, mental health facilities, or similar organizations providing grief counseling, marriage and relationship counseling, substance abuse counseling, and more.

A counselor can choose to specialize in:

Mental Health – a specialty that focuses on people with mental health disorders and diseases such as personality disorders, anorexia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia.

• Marriage – involves providing guidance and therapy to married couples, couples who are about to be married or couples who are considering divorce. Marriage counseling often deals with difficult marital issues, such as infidelity, financial problems, parenting or family relationship disputes.

• Substance Abuse Disorders – these counselors often work in clinics, hospitals or addiction treatment centers with people who have an addiction to alcohol, prescription drugs or illegal drugs.

• Rehabilitation – these counselors work with people who have a disability resulting from a recent illness or injury; they may also work with people who have mental or cognitive disabilities.  They help people with their physical limitations and coordinate services to help them with their daily needs and social lives.

• School and Careers – these counselors help students in grade school with individualized education plans and the disruptive behavior of students; in college they often focus on helping students plan for vocational school, college, employment or military service.

Each of these five areas of specialty has some overlap. For example, marriage counselors might also help people with mental health issues, and school counselors might need to help and support children with mental illness or substance abuse disorders.

The terms “therapist” and “counselor” both refer to mental health professionals who offer therapy or counseling and are often used interchangeably, but they are not technically the same. The main differences are:

• Education
Counselors need a bachelor’s degree followed by a master’s degree in counseling.  It can take a minimum of three to five years beyond a bachelor’s degree to become a licensed counselor.
Therapists typically have more education than counselors with a minimum of a master’s degree in psychology (many with a PhD in psychology) and it can take between three and seven years beyond a bachelor’s degree to become a licensed therapist.

• Requirements and certifications
As in many other states, licensed counselors in North Carolina are known as Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs).
A therapist must obtain a master’s degree in a specific field, and that field will dictate which license and certification they will need. Therapists will have to complete supervised experience via internships or residencies.

• Client care
Counselors approach client care in various ways as counseling is such a broad field; they usually stay within their fields of expertise.
Therapists need licenses to practice in a certain field, so they will only see clients that fall under their area of expertise.

Ultimately, both counselors and therapists help their clients work through their mental health and life challenges and both possess excellent communication, listening and interpersonal skills.

Seeking help from a counselor can help individuals struggling with life issues to learn more about themselves, acquire new skills and understand more about the condition with which they are suffering. Some other some examples of what can be gained from personal counseling are:

• improved communication and interpersonal skills
• increase in self-acceptance and self-esteem
• ability to change self-defeating behaviors/habits
• better ability to express and manage emotions, including anger
• relief from mental health conditions such as depression and/or anxiety
• increased confidence and decision-making skills
• being able to manage stress effectively
• improved problem-solving and conflict resolution abilities
• greater sense of self and purpose

If you would like to know more about counseling and how it can help you contact Reaching Resolution today! call us today or book an appointment online. We are conveniently located 9719 Northeast Parkway, Suite 100 Matthews NC 28105. We serve clients from Matthews NC, Charlotte NC, Mint Hill NC, Indian Trail NC, and Stallings NC.