Southwestern College
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK & CAREER GUIDANCE FOR MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS
The field of Mental Health Counseling is one of the few fields in the nation that is predicted to grow at almost 3 times the rate of other forms of employment. Employment in the aggregate is projected to rise by 11%; the field of Mental Counseling by 29%.
This rise in demand for Mental Health Counselors advantageously is not because mental illness is skyrocketing at a phenomenal rate, but rather because those who suffer from mental illness are now able to receive counseling they previously could not afford. New health laws require that under a medical policy which offers mental health aspects, an insurer must provide the same amount of visits to a Mental Health Counselor as they provide for medical visits (referred to as “parity” policies). Under the Affordable Care Act, if the policy says the patient has 35 visits to a medical physician, the patient will also have 35 visits to a mental health specialist.
Converting the 29% percentage increase into numbers: The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of Mental Health Counseling jobs in 2012 was 128,400. The Bureau predicts that the number of counselors in 2022 will be 165,100. That’s an additional 36,700 jobs
Southwestern College offers the best Master’s Degree in Counseling on the entire planet.
About the Moderator
Jim Nolan has been the President of Southwestern College since 2006. He holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, and has a private practice in Santa Fe. He went to graduate school in Irish and English literature, too, and reads a lot of books, takes a lot of photos and plays guitar. Sort of. His best friend of all times, a Wire Haired Fox Terrier named Barney, recently passed into non-physical. Barney was a true guru. Jim is the opposite of a guru, whatever that is called. He doesn't know anything, and he knows that. It seems to work out...
