Washington Counselors

Counselors are licensed professionals who provide mental health and preventive behavioral health services. Counseling is a complex helping process in which the counselor establishes a trusting and confidential working relationship. The focus is on problem-solving, decision making, and discovering personal meaning related to learning and development. Practices of professional counseling include, but is not limited to:

• Mental health counseling involves screening and treatment of mental and emotional disorders such as depression, addictions, eating disorders, alcoholism, and anxiety disorders.
• Rehabilitation counseling services help persons with physical, mental, developmental, cognitive, and emotional disabilities.
• School counseling programs are designed to help students develop their educational, social, career, and personal strengths and to become responsible and productive citizens.
• Career counseling includes administering and interpreting tests and inventories to assess abilities and interests to identify career options. They teach job hunting strategies and skills, and provide support for persons experiencing job stress, job loss, or career transition.

Counselors can also help clients develop the personal tools to manage stress, deal with difficult people, break bad habits or addictions, balance work and family, develop assertiveness skills, improve self-image and self-esteem, plan for postsecondary educations or career development and advancement.