Mental Health Counseling/Counselor

Types of Degrees Mental Health Counseling/Counselor Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many mental health counseling/counselor graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	8,602
Graduate Certificate	670
Basic Certificate	101
Associate Degree	89
Bachelor’s Degree	46
Undergraduate Certificate	30
Doctor’s Degree	25

What Mental Health Counseling/Counselor Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to mental health counseling/counselor and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Mental Health Counseling/Counselor Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Mental Health Counseling/Counselor Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to mental health counseling/counselor:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Mental Health Counseling/Counselor Majors

As you progress with your mental health counseling/counselor degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Mental Health Counseling/Counselor Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with mental health counseling/counselor:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Mental Health Counselors	23.1%	NA

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling/Counselor?

This major is dominated by women with about 78% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of mental health counseling/counselor majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1
Black or African American	10
Hispanic or Latino	4
White	14
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	17

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Mental Health Counseling/Counselor

Some careers associated with mental health counseling/counselor require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to mental health counseling/counselor have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	34.8%
Master’s Degree	63.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.4%
Doctoral Degree	0.7%

Online Mental Health Counseling/Counselor Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	6	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	24	1
Bachelor’s Degree	31	8
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	269	46
Post-Master’s	36	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	12	2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Mental Health Counseling/Counselor

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to mental health counseling/counselor.

Major	Number of Grads
Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling	5,724
Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling	3,908
Other Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	3,475
Clinical/Medical Social Work	3,189
Psychiatric/Mental Health Services Technician	2,648
Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling	2,378
Genetic Counseling/Counselor	361
Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling	177
Trauma Counseling	108
Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy	12
Medical Family Therapy/Therapist	5
Hospice and Palliative Care	2

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.