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Child care counselor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Grace Palmisano,

Kacie Blalock Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical child care counselor skills. We ranked the top skills for child care counselors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 20.8% of child care counselor resumes contained cpr as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a child care counselor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 child care counselor skills for your resume and career

1. CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a medical procedure that involves chest compression to help a patient breathe. This artificial ventilation helps in keeping the brain function in place and regulates blood throughout the body. CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is used in emergencies.

Here's how child care counselors use cpr:

Participated in professional development training which includes CPR and First Aid training.
Administered CPR and FIRST AID Prepared and Administered medication.

2. Child Care

Child care means the care, supervision, or guidance of a child by a person other than the child's parent, guardian, or custodian for periods of less than 24 hours. Childcare could be either center-based such as a daycare or a nursery or home-based care such as nannies or family daycare.

Here's how child care counselors use child care:

Interviewed potential clients to obtain necessary information to process applications for child care assistance.
Created and developed positive learning environment between child care counselor and children.

3. Behavioral Issues

Behavioral issues are the tendencies of individuals displaying unpleasant behavior as a result of sickness or addiction.

Here's how child care counselors use behavioral issues:

Maintained documentation for emotional and behavioral issues and tracked progress toward treatment goals.
Worked in therapeutic residential program with children who were victims of violence and displayed resulting behavioral issues.

4. Crisis Intervention Techniques

Here's how child care counselors use crisis intervention techniques:

Practiced crisis intervention techniques and reported client behavior to management and specific social service agencies.
Utilize de-escalation and crisis intervention techniques including physical holds to ensure resident and staff safety.

5. Direct Supervision

Direct supervision is a term used to indicate that a person is supervising a certain task or a certain person while being physically present or in close proximity. It refers to the presence of a person and the availability of their supervision in something if it is needed.

Here's how child care counselors use direct supervision:

Distributed medication to children under my direct supervision.
Provided direct supervision to children on a one to one level as well as to small and large groups.

6. Mental Health

Mental health is the state of wellbeing in which an individual can cope with the regular stresses and tensions of life, and can work productively without having any emotional or psychological breakdown. Mental health is essential for a person of any age and helps them make the right decisions in their life.

Here's how child care counselors use mental health:

Provide supervision and intervention to individuals with behavioral challenges and mental health diagnosis.
Administered medication to ensure proper management of mental health and medical symptoms.

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7. STARS

Here's how child care counselors use stars:

Assist the children with attaining their goals, per therapeutic system STARS Program.

8. Behavior Management

Here's how child care counselors use behavior management:

Observe camper behavior, assess appropriateness, enforce appropriate safety regulations and emergency procedures, and apply appropriate behavior management techniques.
Provided and Utilize techniques of behavior management and crisis intervention as taught in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention.

9. Direct Care

Direct care is the act of identifying people with special needs and offering the necessary care for them.

Here's how child care counselors use direct care:

Provided therapeutic intervention in an intensive residential treatment facility to adolescent females as a direct care staff.
Provided direct care to 24 juvenile sex-offenders at inpatient treatment program

10. Independent Living

Here's how child care counselors use independent living:

Worked in residential facility * Administered medication prescribed by physician * Taught independent living skills, budgeting
Designed and implemented several youth programs, targeting independent living skills and self-sufficiency.

11. Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is an often necessary skill in business, employed for processes such as contract negotiations, legal matters, and even personal, emotional situations and conflicts. It is the ability to find and create an appropriate and peaceful solution to some sort of dilemma or argument in which two or more parties are involved. The resolution itself must benefit and satisfy all parties and this is what makes it so difficult to reach a peaceful point sometimes.

Here's how child care counselors use conflict resolution:

Enforced conflict resolution techniques and other forms of behavioral interventions to teach alternatives to violence.
Provided crisis intervention and conflict resolution within the milieu.

12. Crisis Management

Here's how child care counselors use crisis management:

Participated in crisis management and physical intervention training provided by the Company.
Utilized specific crisis management techniques to deescalate high magnitude aggressive teenagers.

13. Role Model

A role model is a person with desirable qualities who inspires other people to emulate their example.

Here's how child care counselors use role model:

Provided crisis and long-term individual and group counseling while acting as a role model and motivator to emotionally disturbed adolescents.
Promoted a professional and positive work environment through role modeling and mentoring.

14. Therapeutic Crisis

Here's how child care counselors use therapeutic crisis:

Contributed to the prevention and management of challenging behaviors by demonstrating use of behavior management and therapeutic crisis techniques.
Provided supervision and assistance during crisis situations to include therapeutic crisis intervention and prevention.

15. Therapeutic Environment

Here's how child care counselors use therapeutic environment:

Used positive discipline, appropriate behavior modification techniques and crisis intervention skills to provide a therapeutic environment.
Maintained a therapeutic environment for children working towards their personal daily living goals.

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What skills help Child Care Counselors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on child care counselor resumes?

Grace Palmisano

Lancaster Bible College

For those seeking mental health fields, skills that stand out on resumes: possess strong self-awareness and emotional stability, critical thinking, interpersonal/relational skills, communication skills, problem-solving, creativity, and genuine interest and concern for humanity. Some of these skills can be developed, but other skills are a "must-have" even before entering into the field of mental health as one is working with all kinds of people. Carl Rogers shares that counselors ought to possess and demonstrate qualities of unconditional positive regard, empathy, and congruency. These are essential ingredients that make a therapist effective in the field and helps build therapeutic alliance. More importantly what clients innately want in therapy is not just a "clinical expert" but a human being who relates and understands them as a human person.

What soft skills should all child care counselors possess?

Kacie Blalock Ph.D.

Associate Professor; Director, Master of Counseling, Louisiana State University at Shreveport

Soft skills that are essential for counselors include emotional intelligence, empathy, multicultural competency, interpersonal abilities, and authenticity.

What hard/technical skills are most important for child care counselors?

Kacie Blalock Ph.D.

Associate Professor; Director, Master of Counseling, Louisiana State University at Shreveport

It is important that counselors are able to effectively take notes and summarize progress, interpret assessments, memorize and recall information, and keep clear yet concise records.

What child care counselor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Melissa Boas

Director of Professional School Counseling, Assistant Professor, Lancaster Bible College

I believe the most important skill to enhance if taking a gap year is self-awareness. Understanding oneself and why and how self-awareness directly relates to future career decision making is instrumental in ensuring the right decisions are made. Self-awareness is extremely beneficial in all areas of life not just in choosing a career pathway.

What type of skills will young child care counselors need?

Chris Hennington Ph.D.

School Counseling Program Coordinator, Lubbock Christian University

School counselors will be tasked with the usual school counseling responsibilities while also encountering trauma that students experience outside of school and in school. Being well versed in trauma response is going to be a vital aspect of being a school counselor. Kids are experiencing more trauma, but we are getting better at recognizing and treating trauma as well.

Do you want to know more?

List of child care counselor skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a child care counselor resume and required skills for a child care counselor to have include:

CPR
Child Care
Behavioral Issues
Crisis Intervention Techniques
Direct Supervision
Mental Health
STARS
Behavior Management
Direct Care
Independent Living
Conflict Resolution
Crisis Management
Role Model
Therapeutic Crisis

Therapeutic Environment
at-Risk Youth
Medication Administration
Group Therapy Sessions
Medical Appointments
Behavior Modification Techniques
Residential Treatment Facility
Residential Program
Crisis Situations
Social Development
Anger Management
Emotional Support
Individual Problems
Behavioral Problems

Medical Care
DCFS
Core Values
Group Homes
Behavioral Disorders
Adolescent Girls
Healthy Environment
Homework Assignments
Court Hearings
Doctor Appointments
Adolescent Females
Adolescent Males

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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