What does a lead counselor do?

A Lead Counselor is responsible for the management of patients' mental health and rehabilitation services. Often, they help them to recover from a tragic or traumatic kind of situation. They also help the patient cope with family and job-related stress and other personal issues. They teach other staff and especially clients to educate them in dealing with stress management and eventually monitor their progress. This person should also have strong written and verbal communication skills.
Lead counselor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real lead counselor resumes:
- Monitor children at the pool, CPR certify.
- assist with reading writing mathematics social skills and everyday living skills.
- Maintain safety and ensure well being of children daily by implementing discipline procedures and using CPR training when necessary.
- Dispense medication and coordinate supervision of patients abusing behavior altering drugs.
- Implement a research-base treatment program for children with ADHD and other behavioraldeficiencies.
- Work towards empowering juveniles and their families to support a positive lifestyle by providing strength base intensive intervention and rehabilitation services.
- Adhere to HIPPA privacy policy all communications with in-house and outside medical staff.
- Maintain client's legal information by adhering to strict HIPPA laws and regulation.
- Provide deescalation techniques and skills for clients as well as used DBT skills.
- Authore proposed settlement memorandums for AF leadership approval of suits and provide input to negotiate consent decrees.
- Provide leadership to provide psychological, physical and cognitive rehabilitative services to individuals with intellectual disabilities and mental illnesses.
- Provide behavior modification and social skills training to children and adolescents with ADHD and other behavioral and emotional disorders.
Lead counselor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Lead Counselors are proficient in Legal Advice, Litigation, and Work Ethic. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Compassion, and Listening skills.
We break down the percentage of Lead Counselors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Legal Advice, 16%
Provided legal advice, interpreted applicable HIPAA regulations, and proposed HIPAA compliant policies, procedures, and business solutions.
- Litigation, 14%
Operated a full service litigation office that evolved from general litigation to criminal litigation to federal criminal trials.
- Work Ethic, 8%
Trained in clinical documentation and using social work ethics and principles to guide practice.
- Substance Abuse, 8%
Performed psycho-education regarding parenting skills, psychotropic medications, and basic mental health as well as offered substance abuse related interventions.
- Crisis Intervention, 7%
Managed crisis intervention, case management services, and coordinated/maintained the delivery of therapeutic services while concurrently managing the EAP program.
- Group Therapy, 6%
Facilitated group therapy both therapeutic and psycho-educational
Most lead counselors use their skills in "legal advice," "litigation," and "work ethic" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential lead counselor responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a lead counselor to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "school and career counselors and advisors interpret student records, schoolwide data, and assessments to match interests and abilities with potential careers. ." Additionally, a lead counselor resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "delivered individual and group therapy, including performing initial intake and assessment and bio-psychosocial analysis. "
Compassion. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling lead counselor duties is compassion. The role rewards competence in this skill because "school and career counselors and advisors often work with people who are dealing with stressful and difficult situations, so they must be able to empathize with their clients and students." According to a lead counselor resume, here's how lead counselors can utilize compassion in their job responsibilities: "maintain patience, compassion and strong desire to help those with disadvantages. "
Listening skills. lead counselors are also known for listening skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to lead counselor responsibilities, because "school and career counselors and advisors need to give full attention to students and clients in order to understand their problems." A lead counselor resume example shows how listening skills is used in the workplace: "communicated with parents regarding participant's experiences and reported concerns to camp leadership. "
Speaking skills. A big part of what lead counselors do relies on "speaking skills." You can see how essential it is to lead counselor responsibilities because "school and career counselors and advisors must communicate effectively with clients and students." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical lead counselor tasks: "represented homeowners in civil litigation matters involving construction defects claims against builders and developers. "
Interpersonal skills. A commonly-found skill in lead counselor job descriptions, "interpersonal skills" is essential to what lead counselors do. Lead counselor responsibilities rely on this skill because "school and career counselors and advisors must be able to work with people of all backgrounds and personalities." You can also see how lead counselor duties rely on interpersonal skills in this resume example: "provided counsel and support for issues ranging from minor interpersonal conflicts to eating disorders and depression. "
The three companies that hire the most lead counselors are:
- Meta1,274 lead counselors jobs
- Wells Fargo37 lead counselors jobs
- Opengate7 lead counselors jobs
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Lead counselor vs. Counselor/case manager
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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a lead counselor are more likely to require skills like "legal advice," "litigation," "work ethic," and "substance abuse." On the other hand, a job as a counselor/case manager requires skills like "patients," "social work," "mental health," and "intake assessments." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that counselor/case managers earn slightly differ from lead counselors. In particular, counselor/case managers are 5.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a lead counselor. Additionally, they're 4.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Lead counselor vs. Counselor internship
When it comes to Counselor Internship, among the primary responsibilities is to assist in dealing with various activities such as preparing and verifying necessary documentation, observing consultations and outreach programs, guide clients and help develop multiple helpful strategies, and provide assessments. Furthermore, one can conduct counseling and consultation only under supervision. It is also essential to track the information gathered and coordinate with assigned personnel to adhere to the company's regulations and policies.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that lead counselor responsibilities requires skills like "legal advice," "litigation," "work ethic," and "substance abuse." But a counselor internship might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "intake assessments," "substance abuse issues," "mental health issues," and "group therapy sessions."
In general, counselor interns achieve similar levels of education than lead counselors. They're 4.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 4.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for lead counselors in the next 3-5 years?
Juleen Buser Ph.D.
Professor and Director, School Counseling and Coaching Programs, Rider University
Lead counselor vs. Student support counselor
A student support counselor is responsible for identifying the students' strengths and challenges through one-on-one counseling and establishing solutions to help them overcome difficulties and achieve their educational goals and aspirations. Student support counselors assist the faculty in determining appropriate programs and activities to develop the students' capabilities, especially as a way of preparing them with their career objectives. They also coordinate with the students' families for extended guidance and support for their growth and development.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a lead counselor is likely to be skilled in "legal advice," "litigation," "work ethic," and "clinical supervision," while a typical student support counselor is skilled in "student support," "mental health," "financial aid," and "support services."
When it comes to education, student support counselors tend to earn similar degree levels compared to lead counselors. In fact, they're 1.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 4.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Lead counselor vs. Licensed professional counselor
A licensed professional counselor is a healthcare professional who specializes in providing therapy and counseling to patients with emotional and mental health issues. They listen to their patients and utilize various techniques to address concerns and help through the healing procedures. Their duties entail conducting interviews and evaluations, performing research and assessments, studying the patients' medical histories, providing consultations, and developing treatment plans that suit every patients' needs. Additionally, a licensed professional counselor monitors and records their patients' progress, adjusting treatments and medications as necessary.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between lead counselors and licensed professional counselors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a lead counselor might have more use for skills like "legal advice," "litigation," "work ethic," and "substance abuse." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of licensed professional counselors require skills like "patients," "social work," "lpc," and "real estate. "
In general, licensed professional counselors hold higher degree levels compared to lead counselors. Licensed professional counselors are 32.5% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 2.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of lead counselor
Updated January 8, 2025











