How To Become A Counseling Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a counseling director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A counseling director is a qualified individual who uses counselling techniques to help people accomplish and defeat mental and emotional issues. Their duties include listening to patients, producing treatment plans, and creating coping strategies. They work in mental health facilities, hospitals, and schools.

You will actively help patients build coping mechanisms to guide them through stressful circumstances. Your duties will also include listening to clients, asking critical questions, and developing effective strategies to improve their lives.

You probably need exceptional verbal and written communication skills for the job, along with the ability to organize with support networks, government support, and community resources that are also working with your patients.

You can expect to earn $80,769 at large-cap companies, whereas if you find yourself at a small-cap company, you can expect to earn an average of $65,340.

ScoreCounseling DirectorUS Average

Salary

6.3

Avg. Salary $80,811

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.1

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.67%

Asian 5.04%

Black or African American 12.64%

Hispanic or Latino 14.86%

Unknown 5.57%

White 61.22%

Gender

female 52.93%

male 47.07%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a counseling director

Explore counseling director education requirements

Most common counseling director degrees

Bachelor's

53.7 %

Master's

25.2 %

Doctorate

10.1 %

Start to develop specific counseling director skills

Skills	Percentages
Human Resources	20.34%
Litigation	10.16%
Legal Advice	10.02%
Legal Issues	8.10%
Business Development	5.53%

Complete relevant counseling director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New counseling directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a counseling director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real counseling director resumes.

Gain additional counseling director certifications

Counseling director certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific counseling director certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for counseling directors include Pastoral Counseling Certification and Certified Professional Counselor.

More About Certifications

Research counseling director duties and responsibilities

Manage the dispute resolution/litigation process; responding to and resolving threaten litigation; responding to subpoenas and regulatory inquiries and investigations.
Advise companies and employers on legislative and regulatory issues and business matters including contracts, transactions, property acquisitions and litigation.
Train on first aid and CPR.
Maintain guidelines set by HIPAA.

Get counseling director experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a counseling director. The most common roles before becoming a counseling director include counselor, internship team lead and school counselor.

Prepare your counseling director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your counseling director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a counseling director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable counseling director resume templates

Build a professional counseling director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your counseling director resume.