A degree in school counseling, or any number of related fields that qualify an individual to offer counseling services to students, is actually quite broad. Most academic programs in this area include general psychology and therapy courses, as well as information on providing counseling in settings far outside the reach of the typical elementary school or high school advising office. For those graduates who have had a change of heart, and believe that their services might be best suited for those outside academia, there are several options worth considering.
Career Counseling Services
It has become apparent over time that some jobs just aren’t suited to people with certain backgrounds, temperaments, or other issues. At the same time, those very same people are perfectly qualified for opportunities in different industries. It takes a very perceptive person to understand these qualities and identify someone who might have success in a given field. Often, those with a degree in school counseling can easily transition their set of skills to this field.
As a career counselor, individuals assess their clients’ background information, personal needs, temperament, and previous workplace experience to help them choose a promising career. Counselors can even point clients in the right direction for much-needed training and certification for a given field, blending the best part of school counseling with the engaging aspects of career guidance.
Marriage Counseling
Counselors who are looking to work with people more their age might consider offering their guidance and counseling services to those couples who feel their marriage is on the verge of reaching its end. Because counselors are trained in conflict resolution techniques and the methods of mediation among students, it takes only a slight adaptation to offer these same services and insights to couples that have hit a rocky patch in recent weeks or months.
Best of all, counselors get the rewarding benefit of watching couples repair their marriage, eliminate the option of divorce, and proceed more confidently into the future with new tools for managing their differences and working out any arguments that might come up later in the marriage.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Professions
Perhaps two of the most insurmountable obstacles faced in today’s world come from mental health struggles and substance abuse problems. Both of these harsh realities can benefit from the guidance and attention of a counselor who knows how to turn struggle into opportunity. Perhaps best of all, this is a far more engaged and involved field that often takes counselors away from the office and into real-world setting where their help and empathetic insight is most valuable.
Counselors can translate their broad skills for guiding students toward the right class, college, or degree, into one that guides these struggling individuals toward the right support groups, the right physicians, and the right relationships with friends and family members who so badly want to help them recover.
Great Opportunities Outside the School Zone
Though school counseling degrees might sound narrow, the skills learned by students in these programs translate very well to a broad array of other counseling pursuits. From substance abuse to career guidance and marriage help, skilled counselors have limitless opportunities to put their skills to work.