What does a counselor/case manager do?
A Counselor provides advice for coping with everyday situations, relationships, health challenges, or disabilities of patients. Case Managers develop, monitor, and evaluate treatment plans and the progress of patients within the social service departments, healthcare companies, hospital networks, etc.
Counselor/case manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real counselor/case manager resumes:
- Manage the care of patients with tuberculosis (TB) during their hospitalization and their discharge follow-up care.
- Provide individual therapy for addict patients with depression, bipolar, anxiety, attention deficit, antisocial/borderline/obsessive compulsive/narcissistic tendencies.
- Collaborate with patients to develop individualize treatment plans and assist patients with updating their goals according to their progress.
- Perform concurrent review to assure appropriateness of admission, inpatient/acute care, rehabilitation/SNF status, and discharge using establish InterQual guidelines.
- Prepare documentation for HOPWA applications.
Counselor/case manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Counselor/Case Managers are proficient in Crisis Intervention, Patients, and Social Work. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Time-management skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Counselor/Case Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Crisis Intervention, 13%
Collaborated with counselor team to provide milieu management with severely abused youth by utilizing crisis intervention and counseling skills.
- Patients, 9%
Provide individual therapy for addicted patients with depression, bipolar, anxiety, attention deficit, antisocial/borderline/obsessive compulsive/narcissistic tendencies.
- Social Work, 8%
Contacted parole officers and social workers and updated about any progress/impediments displayed by clients.
- Mental Health, 7%
Provided in-home support and rehabilitation to Department of Mental Health clients with various behavioral health issues to reach predetermined individualized goals.
- Intake Assessments, 6%
Evaluate psychological and medical records to assess eligibility; conduct evaluations and intake assessments; and devise appropriate treatment strategies.
- Substance Abuse Issues, 6%
Created a curriculum that addressed substance abuse issues for adolescents.
"crisis intervention," "patients," and "social work" are among the most common skills that counselor/case managers use at work. You can find even more counselor/case manager responsibilities below, including:
Compassion. The most essential soft skill for a counselor/case manager to carry out their responsibilities is compassion. This skill is important for the role because "social and human service assistants often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." Additionally, a counselor/case manager resume shows how their duties depend on compassion: "provided caring and compassionate services to individuals who are homeless and have persistent mental illness. "
Time-management skills. Another essential skill to perform counselor/case manager duties is time-management skills. Counselor/case managers responsibilities require that "social and human service assistants often work with many clients." Counselor/case managers also use time-management skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "assist attorney's with appeals process and document filings according to established deadlines by the social security administration. "
Communication skills. counselor/case managers are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to counselor/case manager responsibilities, because "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." A counselor/case manager resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "facilitate relapse prevention, communication skills, harm reduction, behavior modification, hiv/hcv educational and support groups. "
Interpersonal skills. A big part of what counselor/case managers do relies on "interpersonal skills." You can see how essential it is to counselor/case manager responsibilities because "social and human service assistants must make their clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical counselor/case manager tasks: "facilitate weekly psychoeducational, biblio-therapy, and experiential therapy groups for patients that incorporate act, mindfulness, and interpersonal skills/principles. "
Organizational skills. A commonly-found skill in counselor/case manager job descriptions, "organizational skills" is essential to what counselor/case managers do. Counselor/case manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." You can also see how counselor/case manager duties rely on organizational skills in this resume example: "developed organizational tools to promote efficient quality patient care coordination. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill commonly found on counselor/case manager job descriptions is "problem-solving skills." It can come up quite often in counselor/case manager duties, since "social and human service assistants help clients find solutions to their problems." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day counselor/case manager responsibilities: "conducted group counseling sessions including relapse prevention, conflict resolution/anger management, and individual counseling sessions on a weekly basis. "
The three companies that hire the most counselor/case managers are:
- Seafield Services8 counselor/case managers jobs
- Children's Home Society of Florida4 counselor/case managers jobs
- Maximus3 counselor/case managers jobs
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Compare different counselor/case managers
Counselor/case manager vs. Substance abuse counselor
Substance abuse counselors act as a support system for people with drug and alcohol problems and other behavioral issues. They help the patients control their behavior until they achieve a full recovery. The mental health counselors aid patients to overcome their chemical dependencies and become self-sufficient individuals. Part of their duty includes meeting clients to evaluate their health and substance issues while creating goals and treatment plans. They teach clients coping mechanisms, refer them to support groups, and engage them in group therapy sessions. Once the patient is stable, they help them re-establish their careers and give updates and reports of progress to the courts. Requirements for the job include a master's degree in counseling and social work.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a counselor/case manager are more likely to require skills like "mental health," "financial assistance," "support services," and "social services." On the other hand, a job as a substance abuse counselor requires skills like "substance abuse treatment," "rehabilitation," "excellent interpersonal," and "criminal justice." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Substance abuse counselors earn the highest salaries when working in the non profits industry, with an average yearly salary of $41,273. On the other hand, counselor/case managers are paid more in the education industry with an average salary of $43,302.substance abuse counselors tend to reach similar levels of education than counselor/case managers. In fact, substance abuse counselors are 3.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Counselor/case manager vs. Addictions counselor
An Addictions Counselor helps patients overcome personal addiction problems, such as dependence on drugs, alcohol, and other substances. They evaluate the condition of their client through examining, asking questions, and recommending the proper treatment options.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that counselor/case manager responsibilities requires skills like "mental health," "mental illness," "financial assistance," and "individual therapy." But an addictions counselor might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "substance abuse treatment," "rehabilitation," "patient care," and "treatment services."
On average, addictions counselors earn a higher salary than counselor/case managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, addictions counselors earn the most pay in the non profits industry with an average salary of $47,326. Whereas counselor/case managers have higher pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $43,302.In general, addictions counselors achieve higher levels of education than counselor/case managers. They're 6.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for counselor/case managers in the next 3-5 years?
Virginia Schwindt
MSW Field Director/Associate Professor, Union University
Counselor/case manager vs. Clinical counselor
A Clinical Counselor interviews clients to assess their mental health and behavioral problems. They examine issues such as substance abuse, depression, stress, aging and self-image.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from counselor/case manager resumes include skills like "financial assistance," "support services," "social services," and "chemical dependency," whereas a clinical counselor is more likely to list skills in "foster care," "child abuse," "clinical services," and "clinical supervision. "
Clinical counselors earn the highest salary when working in the professional industry, where they receive an average salary of $53,306. Comparatively, counselor/case managers have the highest earning potential in the education industry, with an average salary of $43,302.Most clinical counselors achieve a higher degree level compared to counselor/case managers. For example, they're 15.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Counselor/case manager vs. Case manager/program manager
Types of counselor/case manager
Updated January 8, 2025
