Work & Career
What is a Vocational Counselor?
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Vocational Counselors may be found in several different environments: school, work, the government or private practice. Many Vocational Counselors are also Rehabilitation Counselors. Rehabilitation Counselors may provide services in vocational areas but also may serve their clients in educational, psychological, medical and social arenas. A Vocational Counselor may or may not have special expertise in working with people with disabilities. A Rehabilitation Counselor should know vocational areas and have knowledge and skills in providing effective services to persons with physical, mental, developmental, cognitive and emotional disabilities.
School Counselors are generally the first type of counselors with which the general population has contact. In elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools, Counselors help students evaluate their abilities, interests, talents and personality characteristics in order to develop realistic academic and career goals. School Counselors use interviews, counseling sessions, tests or other methods when evaluating and advising students. School Counselors may have limited experience in working with students with brain injury.
Career development for persons having acquired brain injury may demand special skills of the Vocational Counselor. Knowledge of medical, emotional, and behavioral sequelae to brain injury demand of the Vocational Counselor special evaluative tools. Career assessment in sheltered workshops, career development centers, supported employment and on-the-job may be within the scope of practice for the Rehabilitation Counselor. While Rehabilitation Counselors have specific training in vocational development, not all Vocational Counselors have experience in working with people with disabilities. For return to work after acquired brain injury, the important first step may be contacting a Rehabilitation Counselor with your state Agency for Vocational Rehabilitation. These departments may come under Human Resources, the Department of Labor, or may be stand alone departments within the state government. Most counties or regions within the state will have a Rehabilitation Counselor or an Office of Rehabilitation. Making an application for services with a State Rehab Counselor may include an evaluation of the “client’s” potential to benefit from rehabilitative services. Medical, psychological and vocational evaluations may be required. The general goal is to determine if the individual has potential for return to work.
Vocational Counselors within the community may provide vocational counseling to individuals considering a job change or lacking vocational direction. Their clients may or may not have physical, mental, developmental, cognitive or emotional disabilities. Perspective clients of such Vocational Counselors may want to question the extent of services available and credentials of the Vocational Counselor. Determining whether vocational evaluations, job placement, job coaching, or supported services are available may affect the outcome of the service delivery. Additionally, it should be noted that the cost of services may vary. Many state supported services are available without charge to the consumer. A sliding scale or state supported program may be available for vocational counseling within non-profit agencies such as the Easter Seal Society and Goodwill.
Most Rehabilitation Counselors have a master’s degree from an accredited college or university. Their master’s degree may be through schools of education or through schools of psychology. They function in rehabilitation settings. They are skilled in helping people with the psychological, social, medical and vocational effects of disability. In addition to helping a person with disability obtain and maintain employment, the emphasis for the Rehabilitation Counselor is on increasing the client’s capacity to live and work independently. Achieving these goals may require an interdisciplinary team of physicians, psychologists, vocational evaluators, job placement specialists, job coaches, and behavior modification specialists. Services provided by this team would be managed by the Rehabilitation Counselor.
An accreditation frequently held by such Rehab Counselors would be through the Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Counselors. Rehabilitation Counselors who have earned a credential from this national body would be called Certified Rehabilitation Counselors (CRC). Additional certifications may include a Certified Vocational Evaluator (CVE) and a Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS). Licensed Professional Counselors are available in some states and they may or may not have experience in vocationally counseling individuals with brain injury.
Vocational counseling for individuals with brain injury demands that the counselor have unique skills and understanding of the disability. Determining the degree of experience that a Vocational Counselor has with clients who have brain injury may demand interviewing the counselor on the types of clients he or she has served and the degree or severity of brain injury that their clients have demonstrated. The availability of programs and technology to assist in a return to work may be information that the Vocational Counselor with experience can provide.
Counselors providing vocational assistance may be found in educational settings, personnel offices, mental health facilities, and private and publicly supported rehabilitation offices. Individuals with brain injury may first want to contact their State Office for Vocational Rehabilitation to determine the availability of all programs providing vocational counseling in their area. Information about both private and public programs as well as charity-supported facilities may be of benefit.
Most states have vocational rehabilitation websites. In Georgia, the website is www.vocrehab.ga.org/ The website for the Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Counselors is www.CRCCertification.com
Ms. Willard is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC), Certified Vocational Expert (VE), Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and Certified Case Manager (CCM). She serves as a vocational expert for the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Social Security Administration. Her company, Willard Rehabilitation, Inc. provides rehabilitation evaluations to assist individuals in developing life goals, rehabilitation plans and vocational options compatible with physical, cognitive, and or psychological abilities.