What is mental health counseling?

What is mental health counseling? It's a health care service where mental health counselors help people reflect and express themselves to discover personal insights, boundaries, and solutions to their real-life problems. Counselors provide people tools to navigate daily challenges through open conversation where their clients feel safe.

As more people understand the importance of mental health, more seek relationships with mental health counselors. Feeling routinely stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious can harm physical health, and having a secure space to openly discuss and problem-solve helps people feel more confident.¹

Defining mental health counseling

The mental health counseling definition is psychological treatment that helps clients grow and heal. Counseling gives them the opportunity to identify patterns in their psychological behavior, better understand their boundaries and needs, and manage emotional distress.

The goal is to help clients lead a satisfying, stable life. Mental health counselors often encourage holistic well-being, not just offering remedies to symptoms, but helping people develop lifestyles that fulfill them.²

Unlike psychiatrists, mental health nurse practitioners, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and psychiatric pharmacists, counselors cannot prescribe mental health medications. Mental health counselors hold a master’s degree, while psychologists hold a doctorate. A counselor can also be referred to as a therapist or clinician, depending on the setting.³

Core principles of mental health counseling

Mental health counseling must be client-centered, meaning the counselor adjusts their approach depending on what the client needs. Counselors work to create a space that feels safe enough for the client to open up when and if they’re ever ready. These are the core principles of mental health counseling:

Empathy: Counselors need to listen to, validate, and accept the client’s emotions without judgment

Confidentiality: Counselors must keep their information and experiences private

Empowerment: Mental health counselors aim to uplift and empower clients to lead their lives with confidence⁴

Counselors offer evidence-based strategies to help people cope with personal challenges. Both assessment and treatment techniques are rooted in theory for client betterment, such as skill-based dialogues that encourage sharing.⁵

Common issues addressed in counseling

Issues addressed in mental health counseling include:

• Chronic anxiety
• Depression
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Trauma
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Phobias
• Bipolar disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Eating disorders
• Grief
• Addiction
• Relationship challenges
• Professional challenges

Mental health counseling can go hand in hand with prescription medications and rehabilitation programs. These mental health problems often require multipronged treatment approaches.⁶

But mental health counseling can also be a form of preventative care, helping people prepare for life’s challenges before they even happen. Regular mental health counseling sessions help people maintain or adjust their perspective to live a more fulfilling, happier life.

Techniques and approaches used

Mental health counselors can use a variety of evidence-based techniques for assessment and treatment, such as:⁵

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
• Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT)
• Exposure therapy
• Motivational interviewing (MI)
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
• Mindfulness
• Individual therapy
• Group therapy
• Family therapy 
  

Many of these approaches involve open conversations and self-reflection guided by the counselor. Counselors may also follow one of the five counseling theories:

• Psychoanalytical counseling
• Behavioral counseling
• Cognitive counseling
• Humanistic counseling
• Holistic counseling (integrative therapy)

Education and training requirements

Education and training requirements for mental health counselors can vary by state, but some degrees, licenses, and certifications counselors can hold include:

• Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC)
• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
• Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)
• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
• Licensed Clinical Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselor (LCADAC)
• National Certified Counselor (NCC)
  

All of these require supervised clinical experience, which is crucial in bridging the gap between psychology theory and real-world counseling.³

Where mental health counselors work

Mental health counselors can work in a wide range of settings. While many still have traditional offices that clients can visit, there are many other environments where you can practice mental health counseling:⁷

• Private practices
• Schools
• Hospitals
• Community centers
• Rehabilitation centers
• Residential treatment centers
• Outpatient treatment centers
• Prisons
• Probation or parole agencies
• Juvenile detention facilities
• Telehealth platforms

Skills and qualities of effective counselors

Mental health counselors should display the following skills and traits:

• Active listening and empathy: Counselors should give clients their full attention and validate their emotions
• Emotional intelligence: They must be able to assess a client’s mental state based on verbal and nonverbal cues and respond in a supportive manner
• Cultural competence: Counselors must be sensitive and aware of cultural differences that impact a client’s personal experience
• Ethical decision-making: Every statement or decision a counselor makes should aim to help, protect, and empower their client
• Professional boundaries: Counselors must maintain a professional boundary, which means keeping client information confidential and only interacting with clients within a professional context⁸

The impact of mental health counseling

Effective mental health counseling can be highly beneficial to clients, helping them navigate the world with more self-assurance and positivity. Those who embrace counseling may:²

• Improve emotional well-being
• Better relationships
• Enhance social skills
• Learn effective stress management
• Practice daily coping mechanisms

Counseling goes beyond individual clients to also help whole communities. Mental health counselors help reduce the stigma around mental health services, encouraging more people within a community to seek a form of therapy. This fosters a more open-minded, accepting, and emotionally stable community.

Be the support someone needs

Mental health counselors give people the space to reflect and process, so they can head out into the world feeling fulfilled and empowered. From daily stressors to severe mental disorders, these counselors give people the psychological tools and support they need to function and flourish.

Earn an online Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and be the difference for someone who needs support to be the best version of themselves. Through this curriculum, you’ll learn to show up for people at their most vulnerable moments and help them reclaim hope, dignity, and direction. You’ll study the foundations of counseling, human development, multicultural care, ethics, and theory so you can walk with others as they work toward healing and growth.

Make an appointment with one of our admissions outreach advisors and apply today.