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Counselor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted Experts
Kim Jones Ph.D.,
Kacie Blalock Ph.D.
Counselor Example Skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical counselor skills. We ranked the top skills for counselors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 12.9% of counselor resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a counselor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 counselor skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how counselors use patients:
  • Dedicated personalized coordination minimizing escalations with inter-department associates to obtain appropriate records as they relate to reimbursement of the patients case.
  • Remained non-denominational, open, flexible and ecumenical in service to patients while also providing additional resources from local spiritual communities.

2. Crisis Intervention

Here's how counselors use crisis intervention:
  • Provided crisis intervention, treatment and resource referrals, supervised consultations and managed care clinical assessments for Employee Assistance Programs nationwide.
  • Coordinated intake/crisis intervention services for adolescents in residential care, including conducting daily group sessions Volunteer coordinator and supervisor of student interns

3. Substance Abuse

Here's how counselors use substance abuse:
  • Utilized collaborative, narrative, and cognitive-behavioral therapeutic interventions toward providing clients with insight regarding substance abuse issues.
  • Served on interdisciplinary team of counselors to provide case management and substance abuse prevention services for women.

4. Social Work

Here's how counselors use social work:
  • Coordinated, developed, and maintained psychological treatment plan by communicating with primary therapist, social worker/probation officer and school administration.
  • Assisted license clinical social worker as a co-counselor in providing therapeutic interventions to individuals, couples and families.

5. Community Resources

Community resources are a set of resources that are used in the day to day life of people which improves their lifestyle in some way. People, sites or houses, and population assistance can come under the services offered by community resources.

Here's how counselors use community resources:
  • Utilized professional and community resources to greater independence and overall enhance quality of life of individuals.
  • Advised patients on community resources, made referrals and determined eligibility for the Medicaid program.

6. 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 counselors use cpr:
  • Earned certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
  • Certified in Mediation Management and CPR

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7. Family Therapy

Here's how counselors use family therapy:
  • Provided therapy to chemically dependent persons and their families in individual family therapy sessions and in a multiple family group format.
  • Provided therapeutic support to families towards reunification and return home where appropriate; providing brief family therapy and intervention when needed.

8. Mental Health Issues

Here's how counselors use mental health issues:
  • Implemented treatment strategies for children/adolescents in residential treatment for various mental health issues.
  • Developed relationships with children suffering from behavioral and mental health issues.

9. Intake Assessments

Here's how counselors use intake assessments:
  • Conduct intake assessments and orientation of consumers to determine appropriate interventions, and update ongoing assessments and individual treatment plans.
  • Completed intake assessments for residential substance abuse clients, provided case management services and offered alternative services when appropriate.

10. Social Services

Here's how counselors use social services:
  • Interviewed applicants to determine needed social services; asked applicants questions needed to complete budget forms related to their eligibility status.
  • Developed support and solicited funds and donations from local businesses and organizations to support Social Services Food Assistance Program.

11. Support Services

Support services are services that support the organization internally and are usually non-revenue generating. Examples include, IT, admin, HR, etc.

Here's how counselors use support services:
  • Counseled and empowered low income disabled participants with successful training programs community outreach and support services with high success ratings
  • Referred clients to other support services, counseled individuals and provided group educational and vocational guidance and services.

12. Mental Illness

Here's how counselors use mental illness:
  • Provided crisis intervention and advocacy services to adults with developmental disabilities and mental illness who needed gynecological services.
  • Gained valuable exposure to severe mental illness such as schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, and severe personality pathology.

13. Direct Care

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

Here's how counselors use direct care:
  • Provide direct caregiver supervision, including one-on-one supervision as necessary; schedule and help provide adequate coverage; approve overtime.
  • Provide substance abuse educational counseling services and mental health monitoring under direct care of psychiatrist via individual sessions.

14. Developmental Disabilities

Here's how counselors use developmental disabilities:
  • Supported adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities
  • Provided individual and group therapy to individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities for the purpose of building skills and fulfilling established goals.

15. Individual Therapy

Here's how counselors use individual therapy:
  • Provided group and individual therapy to adolescents in a residential treatment setting utilizing principles of Positive Peer Culture.
  • Developed counseling skills in a professional therapeutic setting by providing individual therapy to a wide variety of clientele.
top-skills

What skills help Counselors find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on Counselor resumes?

Kim Jones Ph.D.

Professor, Chair of Clinical Concentration, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

The necessary skills for today's market include the ability to implement evidence-informed mental health approaches, the ability to display empathy, knowledge of crisis intervention models, organizational skills, good work ethic, both verbal and written communication skills, cultural competence, and the ability to adapt to changing technology.

What soft skills should all 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 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 Counselor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Emily Goodman-Scott Ph.D.Dr. Emily Goodman-Scott Ph.D. LinkedIn Profile

Associate Professor, Assistant Chair, Graduate Program Director, and School Counseling Coordinator, Old Dominion University

Getting experience working/volunteering in schools, and other capacities working/volunteering with youth: learn the culture of education, build rapport and be in relationship with youth and their families.

What type of skills will young Counselors need?

Chris Hennington Ph.D.Chris Hennington Ph.D. LinkedIn Profile

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.

What technical skills for a Counselor stand out to employers?

Madeline Lee Ph.D.

Associate Professor, California State University San Marcos

There are technical skills that may stand out to employers, but as social workers, I think those technical skills together with "soft skills," can make an applicant really stand out to employers; social workers can combine their research skills with evidence-informed care and organizational quality improvement efforts, while being able to lead, build relationships, and think critically. In the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, our graduates will need to be able to fluidly navigate between employing telehealth methods to performing their work safely in-person when engaging and helping clients. To be effective, social workers will also need to understand the reverberating effects of the deep-seated roots of racism in our country and be willing to honestly confront and address those issues in whatever role they assume. Social workers are needed now more than ever.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about Counselor

List of counselor skills to add to your resume

Counselor Skills

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

  • Patients
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Substance Abuse
  • Social Work
  • Community Resources
  • CPR
  • Family Therapy
  • Mental Health Issues
  • Intake Assessments
  • Social Services
  • Support Services
  • Mental Illness
  • Direct Care
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Individual Therapy
  • Develop Trust
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Group Therapy Sessions
  • Incident Reports
  • Crisis Management
  • Discharge Planning
  • Behavioral Issues
  • Community Agencies
  • Independent Living
  • PowerPoint
  • Role Model
  • Individual Sessions
  • Relapse Prevention
  • Psychosocial Assessments
  • Anger Management
  • Discharge Summaries
  • Financial Aid
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Crisis Situations
  • Stress Management
  • Eating Disorders
  • Domestic Violence
  • Emotional Support
  • at-Risk Youth
  • Behavioral Problems
  • Leadership
  • HIV
  • IEP
  • Medical Appointments
  • ADHD

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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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