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Sexual assault counselor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Melissa McCardle Ph.D.,

Dr. Thomas Dearden Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical sexual assault counselor skills. We ranked the top skills for sexual assault counselors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 12.2% of sexual assault counselor resumes contained legal advocacy as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a sexual assault counselor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 sexual assault counselor skills for your resume and career

1. Legal Advocacy

Here's how sexual assault counselors use legal advocacy:

Provided medical and legal advocacy for survivors of sexual assault.
Assist with filing crime victim compensation claims and engage in emergency legal advocacy with victims to obtain personal protection orders.

2. Crisis Intervention

Here's how sexual assault counselors use crisis intervention:

Provided crisis intervention, support, and psycho-education to survivors who were undergoing sexual assault examinations in the hospital.
Provide hospital, police and justice proceeding accompaniments, crisis intervention and individual and group therapy.

3. Crisis Hotline

Here's how sexual assault counselors use crisis hotline:

Supervised on-call staff 24-hour Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Hotline and Hospital advocacy Program.
Coordinated volunteers and maintained crisis hotline schedule and hospital shift schedule.

4. Domestic Violence Victims

Here's how sexual assault counselors use domestic violence victims:

Facilitated support groups for domestic violence victims, incest survivors, and victims of sexual assault/abuse.
Find emergency housing for domestic violence victims and their children Counsel individuals on domestic violence cycles.

5. Law Enforcement

Law enforcement is the task of certain members of the community who work together to uphold the law by identifying, preventing, rehabilitating, or prosecuting others who break society's laws and norms. The phrase refers to the police, the judiciary, and the correctional system.

Here's how sexual assault counselors use law enforcement:

Provide survivors with information about law enforcement and medical issues involved in reporting a sexual assault.
Assist survivors, family/friends, and law enforcement via telephone and in person during time of crisis.

6. Referral Services

Here's how sexual assault counselors use referral services:

Worked in helping families and their child or children with early intervention programs that offered referral services towards their needs.
Provide support, information and referral services to Emergency Room victims.

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7. Safety Planning

Safety рlаnnіng іѕ a рrосеѕѕ оf evaluating the rіѕkѕ and bеnеfіtѕ of various орtіоnѕ аnd identifying ways tо rеduсе the rіѕkѕ should an adverse event arise. This іnсludеѕ planning fоr a futurе crisis, rеvіеwіng оnеѕ орtіоnѕ, аnd mаkіng dесіѕіоnѕ аbоut whаt to dо nеxt.

Here's how sexual assault counselors use safety planning:

Conducted intake, risk assessments and safety planning, evaluation, referral, and short term follow-up with to victims.
Perform crisis response and intervention in person and by phone Assessment, service planning, safety planning.

8. 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 sexual assault counselors use mental health:

Provided services related to the delivery of mental health care for victims and family members of individuals who were sexually assaulted.
Facilitated a support group for mental health clients in partnership with St. Francis Hospital of New Castle.

9. Community Outreach

Here's how sexual assault counselors use community outreach:

Participated in community outreach in an effort to eliminate sexual violence.
Conducted community outreach to inform consumers of available services.

10. Emergency Room

Here's how sexual assault counselors use emergency room:

Attended medical and legal exams at various locations including hospital emergency rooms, police stations, and juvenile detention centers.
Assisted clients to emergency rooms for safe exams and also scheduled Colposcopic exams for younger children.

11. Child Sexual Abuse

Here's how sexual assault counselors use child sexual abuse:

Instruct hotline volunteers on the topic of adult survivors of child sexual abuse and incest.

12. Group Therapy

Group psychotherapy or group therapy is the practice of treating a group of clients together in one sitting throughout multiple sessions. This practice allows people to receive encouragement and support from their peers who are taking the same group therapy.

Here's how sexual assault counselors use group therapy:

Provided individual and group therapy to adults, children, and families who have survived domestic and sexual violence.
Provided individual and group therapy for adult and young adult survivors of sexual assault and abuse.

13. Hotline Calls

Here's how sexual assault counselors use hotline calls:

Responded to emergency medical facilities in response to hotline calls.
Assist with answering hotline calls in the office and over the pager during on call hours.

14. Crisis Calls

Here's how sexual assault counselors use crisis calls:

Responded to 24 hour crisis calls to recent survivors of sexual assault.
Provided support counseling to women through sexual assault crisis calls.

15. 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 sexual assault counselors use community resources:

Connected victims with related community resources by processing referrals.
Collaborate with community resources to assist with empowering victims.

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What skills help Sexual Assault Counselors find jobs?

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

Melissa McCardle Ph.D.

Professor of Social Work, Molloy College

I would suggest graduates think carefully about their experiences in undergraduate and graduate school and think about how their training translates into specific skills that their potential employers would be looking for. It is particularly important to consider the types of internship training they have had and how their internships have contributed to their abilities to engage client systems (whether those be individuals, groups, families, communities, or organizations). Be sure to highlight the skills that they feel they are are strong in and also look for opportunities to continue building new skills. Social work requires an ability to evolve with a very changing and complex environment and so it is very important that new graduates recognize that to be effective in their work, there will always be new skills and new ways of practicing to better meet the needs of those we work with. Therefore, its important to prepare for a lifetime of learning and growing regardless of the specific field of practice that is chosen.

I also highly recommend finding peers mentors and other professional mentors early and continue to build that pool. Our profession centers relationship building and that applies to more than just the client- social worker relationship. This work requires complex and critical thinking skills and it is always important to have respected other professionals to process and provide feedback in how we approach a particular challenge. It is important to build that professional support system right from the start of one's career.

Finally, stay open! Social work is one of the most diverse professions as there are so many incredible ways we practice. There are so many ways to make a difference. The National Association of Social Workers provides a good overview of the many types of careers available to graduates of social work (https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Facts/Types-of-Social-Work). Therefore, I would suggest to a new graduate that it is essential they stay open to new experiences and possible new career paths. What may seem like a long shot or even something that is of little interest, may turn out to be the most rewarding experience of all. Remember to recognize every single encounter with a client, is a privilege and a very important learning opportunity. Find the value in each person and each opportunity that comes your way.

What type of skills will young sexual assault counselors need?

Dr. Thomas Dearden Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Sociology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Indeed, the way we work is changing. The skills that young graduates will need are diverse. Transferable skills and soft skills will certainly be marketable. These include traditional crafts such as communication, but I also think the world expects more empathy from its employees. Young graduates with an understanding of racism, sexism, and environmental responsibility will become increasingly important.

What soft skills should all sexual assault counselors possess?

Dr. Dianna Cooper

Associate Professor, Campbellsville University

The "change theory" used in social work practice follows several steps, including engaging, assessing, planning, intervening, evaluating, terminating, and following up. Soft skills are most likely to occur in engagement, intervention, and termination. Social workers are trained to "start wherever the client is," understanding that clients can be individuals, families, groups, communities, or organizations. Social workers are trained to respect the client as the expert in their needs, honor self-determination, use a strengths-based approach, and respect difference while using inclusion. The training turns into soft skills such as being empathetic, warm, genuine, and respectful. Social workers also develop skills in knowing when to listen and when to nudge the client toward action. Social workers are trained to intervene and, when change is completed, to terminate. Helping clients know when to end services also requires soft skills of talking about hard topics, seeing a brighter future and setting goals, recognizing when change is happening, and saying goodbye respectfully.

What hard/technical skills are most important for sexual assault counselors?

Sam Terrazas Ph.D.

Professor and Academic Chair Department of Social Work, The University of Texas Permian Basin

Social workers practice in various areas of practice and organizational auspices that may differ in the hard/technical skills that are most important. In general, the hard/technical skills most important can be categorized based on the level of education-BSW (Bachelors of Social Work) versus MSW (Masters of Social Work).

BSW's practice in a range of organizations providing various types of services; however, in general practice in the realm of case management that requires that ability to demonstrate cultural responsiveness, develop an alliance with clients, apply NASW and a state's ethics and professional standards of practice, conduct assessments, and to develop plans to meet a client's goals.

MSW's practice in many areas such as administration, clinical, public policy and advocacy, child welfare, public safety, and health care. Each of these practice areas requires specific technical skills; however, in general, MSW's are trained to assess individuals, families, groups, and communities. To that end, MSW's must understand the cultural context and how socio/economic local, state, federal policies impact social welfare problems such as poverty, intimate partner violence, and mental illness. MSW's must possess strong engagement skills/therapeutic alliance-building, diagnostic/evaluation skills, ethical application of interventions and therapeutic approaches, and advocacy skills.

Do you want to know more?

List of sexual assault counselor skills to add to your resume

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

Legal Advocacy
Crisis Intervention
Crisis Hotline
Domestic Violence Victims
Law Enforcement
Referral Services
Safety Planning
Mental Health
Community Outreach
Emergency Room
Child Sexual Abuse
Group Therapy
Hotline Calls
Crisis Calls

Community Resources
Sexual Assault Crisis
Sexual Assault Victims
Advocacy Services
Community Agencies
Emotional Support
Hot Line
Police Station
Support Services
Crisis Management
Group Sessions
Crisis Situations
Medical Exams
Training Sessions

Individual Therapy
Sexual Violence
Clinical Supervision
Medical Procedures
Sexual Harassment
Community Services
Sart
Anger Management
Community Events
Community Awareness
Crime Victims
Child Victims
DCFS
Protective Orders

Updated January 8, 2025

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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