Are you thinking of becoming a counsellor or exploring a career in counselling?
But, but, but…. you just don’t have a clue how to go about it?
Fear not! You are in the right place. A career in counselling is one of the most satisfying and rewarding jobs out there. However, being a career counsellor makes you responsible for filling the gap between students and their career goals with your knowledge and art of counselling.
Before starting off, here are a few questions that may help you understand if you are heading in the right direction or not:
Do you enjoy helping people?
Do you want to have a positive impact on people’s lives?
Do you enjoy spending time with people and helping them talk about their feelings?
If you answered ‘yes’ to all three questions, then counselling may just be your true calling. Let’s dive into the comprehensive guide on how to make a career in counselling.
List of Content
- Who is a Counsellor?
- Different Types of Counsellors
- How to Become a Counsellor in India?
- Essential skills for a career in counselling
- How to Become a Career Counsellor in India?
- Scope of Counselling in India
- Summing Up
- FAQs
Who is a Counsellor?
A counsellor is someone who helps people in need by supporting them when they experience emotional difficulties and guiding them on personal, career, lifestyle, and relationship issues.
A counsellor:
- Works with individuals and groups to improve their mental health and well-being.
- Helps clients define goals, plan actions and gain insights.
- Develop pathways to the goal with different alternatives.
- Acts as a facilitator to reach goals.
- Take care of holistic (mind and body) health.
Recommended Read: Exhaustive Guide to Becoming a Psychologist and its Scope in India
Different Types of Counsellors
Every time we hear ‘counselling’, we start imagining career counselling in school; that is what is most popular in India. However, there are many types of counsellors skilled in dealing with other problems.
Here are the 4 most common types of careers in counselling:
-
School Counsellor
School counsellors are the most widely chosen career in counselling. They work at the school level (usually as an in-house counsellor) and help students deal with social, behavioural, personal, and academic problems that arise at this crucial stage of their lives. You will have the opportunity to work in schools with children. The counsellor plays an important role in identifying the students’ needs and imparting the appropriate behaviour that is most acceptable in school and society.
-
Rehabilitation Counsellor
Rehabilitation counsellors help people deal with the personal, social, and vocational effects of disabilities. They help people with both physical and emotional disabilities caused by birth defects, illness or disease, accidents, and other causes. As a rehabilitation counsellor, you will be working in hospitals, clinics, and NGOs.
-
Mental Health Counsellor
Mental health counsellors address the mental and emotional disorders and help you to deal with them by using therapeutic techniques and more. As a therapist, you will be working with multiple age groups of people coming from different regions, helping them overcome their inner challenges. Well, mental health counselling is not an overnight task, it takes years for a person to become mentally healthy.
-
Career Counsellor
Career counsellors help high school students, college students, and working professionals find direction in their careers and resolve career-related issues. They help people know and understand themselves so they can make career, educational, and life decisions. Career counsellors play a vital role in students’ lives by shaping their career decisions for great success.
Recommended Read: Psychologists & Psychiatrists Are Not The Same! 5 Differences You Didn’t Know About
How to Become a Counsellor in India?
If your interests lie in the counselling field and you want to see yourself helping people in life, Then let me take you through the most essential steps to making your career in counselling.
Step 1: Opt for any Stream with Psychology in Class 12th
You can hail from any stream in class 12th, however, you should keep Psychology in your list of subjects (not mandatory). The PCB stream may also give you some advantages when dealing with the physiological and neurological aspects of Psychology.
Step 2: Pursue B.A/B.Sc in Psychology or Applied Psychology for 3 years
There are many career counselling courses for you. So, the next step in your journey is to take up Psychology for your undergraduate degree.
Knowledge of areas like general psychology, abnormal psychology, counselling psychology, personality psychology and statistics is useful for a career in counselling.
You should also aim to do as many internships in the domain of counselling to get hands-on experience while witnessing the daily job roles of a counsellor. It will additionally demonstrate dedication to the profession and potentially put you in contact with professionals who can help you gain skills.
Some leading colleges to pursue B.A /B.Sc. in Psychology/Applied Psychology in India:
- Delhi University, New Delhi
- Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
- Ambedkar University, New Delhi
- Panjab University, Chandigarh
- Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
- Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
- Fergusson College, Pune
- Christ University, Bengaluru
Recommended Read: 5 Myths About Psychology We Believe (Which are Far From the Truth)
Step 3: Pursue M.A/M.Sc in Counselling Psychology/Psychology/Applied Psychology/Clinical Psychology for 2 years
To gain practical knowledge of your field, and to specialize in counselling, you’ll need a master’s degree. You will study counselling theories, social and cultural diversity issues in counselling, career development and counselling, research methods and much more. You’ll also complete internships and dissertation work to meet the criteria to receive the degree.
Admission to the various colleges will be through entrance exams or your marks in graduation along with the interview. Many institutes let you take up psychology for your master’s even if you have not studied it at the undergraduate level.
Some leading colleges to pursue M.A / M.Sc. in Psychology/Counselling Psychology in India:
- Delhi University, New Delhi
- Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
- Ambedkar University, New Delhi
- Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
- Christ University, Bengaluru
- Ashoka University, Sonepat
- Panjab University, Chandigarh
- Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
- Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
- Fergusson College, Pune
Step 4. Pursue a PG Diploma in Guidance and Counselling for 1 year (Optional Step)
An additional step you can take to double down on your counselling skills is to do a 1-year diploma in guidance and counselling. Numerous institutes offer this course, to help you hone your counselling skills and gain practical knowledge and certification in career counselling.
Such diploma courses are particularly relevant for people who do not hold a master’s in psychology, yet want to build their career in counselling. Try to ensure that the course you pursue is recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI).
A few institutes offering PG Diploma in Guidance and Counselling include:
- Delhi University, Delhi
- Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
- National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi
- National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development, New Delhi
- CVM Institute of Human Resource Development, Gujarat
- Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak
- SGT University, Gurgaon
Note – We are discussing the most recommended path to becoming a counsellor. You may choose not to go this way. For example, many people alternatively pursue a Master’s in Social Work to enter the field of counselling (esp. by following it up with a PG diploma in counselling).
However, at least one degree in Psychology is highly recommended, since it helps you understand the intricacies of the human mind, and enables you to better face the challenges of the field.
Recommended Read: No Scope, No More: 14 Exciting Career Options for Humanities Students
Essential skills for a career in counselling
Pursuing tons of degrees might not be fruitful for becoming a successful counsellor. To become a successful counsellor, you need to gain some relevant skills of a counsellor that you must have to understand the hidden factors and deliver the best-personalised solution.
Now, take a deeper look at what skills a counsellor needs to enhance while considering a career in counselling.
- Active Listener
Active listening is one of the most important skills for providing effective counselling. It is essential to listen to what your students or clients try to communicate. Being a good listener is crucial for a career counsellor. Actively listening with patience and understanding shows your positive attitude towards the client. It takes effort, but it’s worth it in both personal and professional lives. Avoid interrupting or asking them to repeat themselves, as it shows you’re not paying attention. Active listening helps you understand things better and is a counsellor job: to listen and grasp the client’s problems thoroughly.
- Rapport Building Skills
Rapport building is an art that allows others to trust and express their feelings and emotions. It is important for careers in counselling to learn how to build rapport with new people. This technique helps to form a strong connection and trust with clients by having good interpersonal communication.
- Confidentiality
Confidentiality is an important skill for counsellors. It means keeping clients’ personal information private and respecting their wishes. As a counsellor, it’s your responsibility to maintain this privacy and not share your details with others.
While discussing general cases with colleagues is fine, revealing clients’ personal information is not allowed. By maintaining confidentiality, you build trust with clients and create a positive environment where they feel comfortable sharing their problems.
- Patience
Counsellors’ job can be intense and demanding. Supporting clients through emotional issues every day can lead to burnout if stress and overwork are not managed properly. It’s essential to handle the pressure and take care of oneself to maintain a healthy work-life balance and be patient every time.
- Empathy
Compassion, understanding, and being genuine are crucial in the counselling profession. Empathy gives hope during counselling sessions and can lead to positive changes in clients’ lives.
How to Become Career Counsellor in India OR Start a Career in Counselling?
Career counselling is something other than simply settling on a major and what work you need to get after graduation. Since careers keep developing over one’s lifetime, career counselling too is a multi-step, deep-rooted process, helping people make career and life choices.
The objective of career counselling is not just to enable one to settle on the choices they have to make presently but to give them the information and abilities to settle on future career and life choices as well.
To start practising as a career counsellor, you’ll need to follow the same pathway as I mentioned above and get as much practical exposure to career counselling as possible, through relevant internships. Additionally, you can get career counselling certification courses to enhance your skills, such as the International Certified Career Coach (ICCC) program by Mindler and the Career Development Alliance (CDA).
Recommended Read: 5 Reasons Why Career Counselling Can Steer Your Career in the Right Direction
Scope of Counselling in India
Gone are the days when people used to approach their elders for guidance in each phase of life. Due to changes in our lifestyle, society and families, individuals are increasingly facing the need to get guidance and support at different phases in their lives. As a result, the scope of counselling in India is also increasing exponentially.
After completing your post-graduation, a few of the areas you can work in include:
- Schools, colleges, and other educational institutes
- Psychological counselling centres
- Marriage and relationship counselling agencies
- Organizations and workplaces
Summing Up
A career in counselling offers a deeply satisfying and rewarding opportunity to help individuals navigate through life’s challenges and find fulfillment in their personal and professional lives. In addition to the basic degree requirements, you’ll also need to possess certain personal qualities such as empathy, interpersonal skills, patience, resilience, good listening and communication skills, and above all, immense passion to do good for others.
As the demand for counselling services continues to grow in India, aspiring counsellors can embark on a fulfilling journey of making a meaningful difference in the lives of others. So if you have decided that you want to build your career in this field, step forward and be the person people can turn to in times of trouble. All the best!
Frequently Asked Questions:
How do I become a career counsellor after the 12th?
If you want to become a career counsellor then you should start pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology, counselling, or a related field. Furthermore, it adds more value to your career if you pursue a master’s degree in counselling or career guidance. Expand your skills through Mindler ICCC Program, it is a three levels of Career Counselling training program including Foundation, Advanced and Master level. Free to start with, and easy to level up as you develop greater expertise.
However, it is also very important to gain practical experience, which can be gained through internships or volunteer opportunities. Some states may require a counselling license, so checking and obtaining one if necessary is important.
You can expect continuous professional development through many workshops and seminars to keep counsellors updated with the latest trends in the field. Finally, you can seek employment opportunities in many sectors like education, hospitals, clinics, and NGOs, or you can set up your firm or clinic.
What is the qualification of a counsellor?
The qualifications of a counsellor typically include a minimum of a masters degree in psychology, counselling, social work, or a related field. There are many diploma and certificate programs available that help foster a deeper understanding of your patients or clients. If you come from a different academic background, then a certification career counselling course may be a good choice for you.
What are the benefits of career counselling?
Being a career counsellor brings numerous benefits and rewards. One of the most gratifying aspects is the opportunity to help others and make a positive impact on their lives. Guiding them towards fulfilling careers and personal growth can be incredibly satisfying.
Additionally, career counsellors have diverse opportunities to work in various settings, such as schools, universities, private practices, or corporate organizations, allowing them to choose a career path that aligns with their interests and expertise.
The role also fosters personal growth, as counsellors continuously engage with clients and their unique challenges. Ultimately, career counsellors make a positive impact on society by helping people make informed career choices and contributing to overall productivity and well-being.
What is the role of counselling?
Counsellors help people explore their feelings, thoughts, and experiences in a safe and non-judgmental environment. The primary goal is to help clients gain insight, develop coping strategies, and find solutions to their problems. Whether dealing with personal issues, relationships, career decisions, or mental health concerns, counselling aims to promote self-awareness, resilience, and positive change.
Are counsellors in demand in India?
Yes, counsellors are in demand in India. With the changing socio-economic landscape and increased awareness about mental health, the demand for counselling services has grown significantly. Educational institutions, corporate organizations, and mental health centres are increasingly recognizing the importance of counselling in promoting personal and professional growth, mental well-being, and stress management.
Did you enjoy reading this post? Share with us in the comments!