Post job

Explore jobs

Find specific jobs

Explore careers

Explore professions

Best companies

Explore companies

OverviewJobsSalaryResume

Skills

What They DoEducationCertificationsDemographicsJob DescriptionHow To HireBest CompaniesBest StatesBest CitiesJob OutlookComparePart Time jobsEntry Level jobsFull Time jobs
zippia ai icon

Automatically apply for jobs with Zippi

Upload your resume to get started.

Rehabilitation counselor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted experts
Michael Kiener Ph.D.,
Dr. Robert Cantu
Rehabilitation counselor example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical rehabilitation counselor skills. We ranked the top skills for rehabilitation counselors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 23.2% of rehabilitation counselor resumes contained rehabilitation as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a rehabilitation counselor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 rehabilitation counselor skills for your resume and career

1. Rehabilitation

Here's how rehabilitation counselors use rehabilitation:
  • Organized and implemented individualized rehabilitation programs.
  • Coordinated physical and psychological rehabilitation.

2. Social Work

Here's how rehabilitation counselors use social work:
  • Served as counselor/social worker with assigned caseload for residential treatment/reintegration program.
  • Collaborate with psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses and support staff to encourage successful patient discharge.

3. 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 rehabilitation counselors use mental health:
  • Collaborate with other professional disciplines such as medical doctors, teachers and mental health personnel to secure supplementary information about clients.
  • Complete observational documentation necessary to provide mental health professionals with information necessary to develop treatment plans to reduce problematic behavior.

4. Patients

Here's how rehabilitation counselors use patients:
  • Provide group and individual counseling to patients receiving medication assisted therapy through comprehensive recovery-oriented and trauma informed treatment planning and implementation.
  • Provided individualized counseling to psychiatric patients, resulting in their social development.

5. Management System

A management system is a set of policies, processes, and procedures taken by an organization or a business to ensure it can fulfill its tasks and achieve its objectives. A management system makes sure that the company excels financially and improves the user experience. The management system also takes care of the worker's and employees' needs and manages their workload and oversees their performance. Apart from interior matters of the company, a management system also deals with exterior matters like legislations, tax matters, and law issues.

Here's how rehabilitation counselors use management system:
  • Planed for and authorized services in adherence with case management system and applicable state and federal regulations.
  • Participate in crisis management system, program activities and supervision Attend Team meetings and staff meetings.

6. Vocational Rehabilitation

Vocational rehabilitation stands for a set of services that aim to restore individuals with disabilities to their optimal mental, physical, vocational, economic, and social ability. Some of the programs include refresher courses, vocational assessment and evaluation, career counseling, on-the-job training, etc.

Here's how rehabilitation counselors use vocational rehabilitation:
  • Participate in training experiences designed to enhance professional competency in vocational rehabilitation.
  • Interviewed adult learners/clients to determine eligibility to participate in Vocational Rehabilitation Services.

Choose from 10+ customizable rehabilitation counselor resume templates

Build a professional rehabilitation counselor resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your rehabilitation counselor resume.

7. 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 rehabilitation counselors use community resources:
  • Developed individualized program schedule that included vocational units, groups, counseling, and referrals to community resources as needed.
  • Provide case management services for consumers including making housing referrals and assisting consumers in locating community resources.

8. Community Agencies

Community agencies stand for the organizations operated to provide human service in the community.

Here's how rehabilitation counselors use community agencies:
  • Work with medical providers, educational institutions and community agencies to provide services to consumers.
  • Collaborate with community agencies to establish facilitates and programs with disabilities.

9. Crisis Intervention

Here's how rehabilitation counselors use crisis intervention:
  • Performed first response crisis intervention while licensed or more experienced assistance was called.
  • Major duties included service plan implementation, client advocacy and crisis intervention.

10. Substance Abuse

Here's how rehabilitation counselors use substance abuse:
  • Provided supportive counseling skills, crisis management and intervention to individuals with diverse cultures, mental disorders and substance abuse history.
  • Administered group and individual personal adjustment and substance abuse counseling related to work and personal issues.

11. Persistent Mental Illness

Here's how rehabilitation counselors use persistent mental illness:
  • Supervised adults with severe and persistent mental illness in a long-term residential facility.
  • Interned at a day treatment program for adults with severe and persistent mental illness.

12. Developmental Disabilities

Here's how rehabilitation counselors use developmental disabilities:
  • Provided vocational guidance, therapeutic counseling and case management for adults with developmental disabilities and/or chronic mental illness.
  • Supervised group homes for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities within a non-profit organization serving the state college community.

13. Independent Living

Here's how rehabilitation counselors use independent living:
  • 21046Fostered independent living skills and provided intensive case management services to individuals with severe mental illness in a residential setting.
  • Evaluated the developmentally disabled and provided rehabilitation counseling to develop independent living skills and employment skills.

14. IPE

Here's how rehabilitation counselors use ipe:
  • Prepare and submit required individual plans for employment (IPE) designed to restore the client to suitable and gainful work.
  • Prepare Comprehensive Assessments, and Plan Development (IPE), and conduct annual reviews for the consumers.

15. Rehabilitation Process

Here's how rehabilitation counselors use rehabilitation process:
  • Assessed, taught, and provided rehabilitation techniques and/or equipment for parts of the rehabilitation process.
  • Provided individual counseling services to disabled individuals throughout the rehabilitation process.
top-skills

What skills help Rehabilitation Counselors find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on rehabilitation counselor resumes?

Michael Kiener Ph.D.Michael Kiener Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Professor of Rehabilitation Counseling, Maryville University

Regardless if you are counseling in person or virtually effective professionals will need to develop empathetic therapeutic relationships with their clients. Rehabilitation counselors that have experience working with post-traumatic stress and other forms of trauma will be highly valuable. The increased use of working remotely will require individuals to develop new technology skills and rehabilitation counselors who can work independently will be successful. Finally, volunteering, participation in professional organizations, and internships will help make individuals stand out when applying for jobs.

What soft skills should all rehabilitation counselors possess?

Dr. Robert Cantu

Associate Professor, Brenau University

People skills: For the workgroup: ability and willingness to work in groups and manage conflict. Flexibility: Willingness to occasionally work late or come in early to accommodate the patient load. Team player attitude. Willingness to play their assigned part on the team. Strong commitment and discipline for timely completion of tasks such as daily paperwork. This shows "discipline in the drudgery," which is critical for the smooth operation of the clinic and results in better customer service.

People skills: For patient management: Empathy, the warmth of personality, a caring demeanor, and express kindness. And absolutely, a willingness to always put the patient first. Good eye contact, firm but kind, reassuring handshake (or a kind elbow bump). The understanding is that even though they work for a company, ultimately, the clinician works for the patient.

What hard/technical skills are most important for rehabilitation counselors?

Dr. Robert Cantu

Associate Professor, Brenau University

During initial employment, clinical skills can be honed informally or through a formal residency program for a new grad. Affinity for technology is important. Examples: Willingness to do telehealth, able to adapt to changes in software such as EMR systems. Skills should closely match the clinic's needs, and if not, the candidate should express an interest in what the clinic is doing and exhibit a strong commitment to learning.

Ability to adapt to changes in insurance reimbursement policies while not compromising patient care.

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

Melissa BoasMelissa Boas LinkedIn profile

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 rehabilitation 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.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about rehabilitation counselor

List of rehabilitation counselor skills to add to your resume

Rehabilitation counselor skills

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

  • Rehabilitation
  • Social Work
  • Mental Health
  • Patients
  • Management System
  • Vocational Rehabilitation
  • Community Resources
  • Community Agencies
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Substance Abuse
  • Persistent Mental Illness
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Independent Living
  • IPE
  • Rehabilitation Process
  • Medical Care
  • Interpersonal Relationships
  • Behavior Management
  • Physical Disabilities
  • Oral Reports
  • Rehabilitation Plans
  • Rehabilitation Programs
  • Social Adjustment
  • Community Integration
  • Group Therapy Sessions
  • Vocational Assessments
  • Direct Care
  • Vocational Guidance
  • Vocational Training
  • Functional Limitations
  • Assistive Technology
  • Medication Management
  • CPR
  • Vocational Evaluations
  • Diagnostic Evaluations
  • Anger Management
  • Transferable
  • Mental Disabilities
  • Incident Reports
  • IRP
  • Assess Client
  • Symptom Management
  • ADL
  • Crisis Situations
  • Disciplinary Policies
  • DBT
  • CBT

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

Browse community and social services jobs