Rehabilitation Counselors
People classed as Rehabilitation Counselors counsel individuals to maximize the independence and employability of persons coping with personal, social, and vocational difficulties that result from birth defects, illness, disease, accidents, aging, or the stress of daily life. The skills rated most useful are speaking, social perceptiveness, and monitoring. A regular part of the work is to develop rehabilitation plans that fit clients' aptitudes, education levels, physical abilities, and career goals. On the six-type interest model it reads SEI, meaning helping, teaching or caring for people comes first, followed by leading, persuading and making business decisions. Getting in usually takes graduate school and often five years or more of related experience, a level O*NET calls extensive preparation. People who want helping, teaching or caring for people usually fit better here than those who need hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world.
What they do
Counsel individuals to maximize the independence and employability of persons coping with personal, social, and vocational difficulties that result from birth defects, illness, disease, accidents, aging, or the stress of daily life. Coordinate activities for residents of care and treatment facilities. Assess client needs and design and implement rehabilitation programs that may include personal and vocational counseling, training, and job placement.
Main tasks
- Develop rehabilitation plans that fit clients' aptitudes, education levels, physical abilities, and career goals.
- Confer with clients to discuss their options and goals so that rehabilitation programs and plans for accessing needed services can be developed.
- Prepare and maintain records and case files, including documentation, such as clients' personal and eligibility information, services provided, narratives of client contacts, or relevant correspondence.
- Locate barriers to client employment, such as inaccessible work sites, inflexible schedules, or transportation problems, and work with clients to develop strategies for overcoming these barriers.
- Analyze information from interviews, educational and medical records, consultation with other professionals, and diagnostic evaluations to assess clients' abilities, needs, and eligibility for services.
- Monitor and record clients' progress to ensure that goals and objectives are met.
Skills
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Service Orientation
- Coordination
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You get energy from helping other people move forward.
- You like taking the lead and making the call.
- You are prepared for graduate-level study and a long training path.
- You are comfortable relying on speaking and social perceptiveness.
May not suit you if
- You find a full day of dealing with people draining.
- You want to work with your hands for most of the day. Realistic rates 1.2 out of 7 here.
- You want to be working in the field within the next few years.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code SEI takes the three highest, and Social comes first here.
Preparation
Extensive preparation. Many jobs here need graduate study, and people often spend five years or more building specialist experience.
Also called
- Classification Counselor
- CRC (Certified Rehabilitation Counselor)
- Employment Advisor
- Job Coach
- Rehabilitation Specialist
Related careers
Is this your direction?
See how your interests line up with SEI and 906 other careers.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.