Abuse/Crisis Counselor

I would love to do this job because of all the wonderful aspects it takes to complete it. I like all of the things that you would do in this job such as working with people looking at their physical or emotional problems and dealing with them. I love talking to people and everyone tells me I’m good at it so for these reasons I think I would be good at this job. I also would like other things that this job takes like explaining ideas and information to people, being responsible for peoples well being, asking questions or interviewing people, motivating others, keeping accurate records or reports, being interested in law and coping with uncooperative and difficult people.

To do this job it takes a lot of work and I can do a lot of the things it requires. I can work for long periods of time and short periods of time and I can also work in many different environments. I am a very good speaker and this job takes a lot of time communicating and collaborating with other agencies and people. They need to talk to these other agencies to find things out like what space is available in shelters, to inform the police about forms of abuse and to talk to social service workers to see if the victim is eligible to receive emergency financial assistance. This being so as an abuse and crisis counselor these workers does not just work by themselves they work as a team consisting of others who are in a position to help the victim leave the abusive environment. This is another reason I would be good at this job I am very good at working in teams and I get along with many different kinds of people. Some other reasons I would be good at this job is because I love people and kids and I am very interested in working with the law. Many people at one time are another deal with a hardship in their life that is very difficult to do this. This job lets you help those people and make sure those hard times in their life are easier to get through.

There are many different environments that you could be in depending on where you are working. You could work in hospitals, shelters, schools, colleges, universities and various non-profit organizations. The hours they work vary depending on where the workers are working. Most of them working in government agencies will work a shorter day usually 9am to 5pm. Others who work in a shelter due shift work time and others will work a 24 hour hotline. This may cause the worker to work evenings, overnight, or weekends. If you don’t work on a hotline you may spend a lot of time on a phone anyway because of all the different agencies you have to make phone calls too. This may cause a lot of stress working with these different places and all of these different people. Doing this job would be very rewarding but it would also be very stressful, take a lot of emotional energy and you would have to be able distance yourself from your work at the end of the day.

The environments that you would work in are the same as the businesses that would employ you. These places would consist of hospitals, shelters, schools, colleges, universities and various non-profit groups. These counselors have different wages depending on what type of job they are doing. Generally earnings are between $20,000 and $60,000 a year. The ones who work on a part time bases earn $10 to $28 an hour. Factors effecting income include level of responsibility, education, the geographical, the type of organization and the hour worked in a day. For example, counselors who work in a small agency may only earn $12 to $14 an hour as one who works in a large agency may earn up to $25 a hour. Full time counselors make about $60,000 a year. Apart from the salary that the workers are earning most counselors that work in hospitals or government agencies usually receive health and dental benefits and contributions to retirement plans.

The education requirements for a counselor vary depending on the employer. The employer is more likely to get a job in that field though if they have completed a degree or diploma in the areas such as social services, social work or psychology. Bachelor’s degrees in social work are offered in schools in Canada. Community colleges across the country offer diploma degrees in some social services and other will allow you to apply credits earned in diploma program to a bachelor’s degree in social work. However some employers will hire these graduates of related programs an example, psychology. You also have to complete a counseling certificate program these cover many areas such as domestic violence and crisis intervention. Courses in these programs include family violence and risk assessment. If you would like to become a supervisor are be in a higher paying condition you will most likely need a master’s degree.

Classes you will most likely need to take throughout high school vary depending on the grade. In grade nine you need English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Creative Arts, Health & Physical education, French and Family& Consumer Sciences. In grade ten you need English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Personal & Career Development and Family & Consumer Sciences. In grade nine you need English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Family & Consumer Sciences and Human Services. In grade twelve you need English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Law and Family & Consumer Sciences. As you can see you have to do a lot of the same subjects throughout your teen years to do this job.

The things that you need, earn and do at this job all depend on what level of the job you are at. All of the levels have different needs. In level one you are an intake worker. You make $20,000 to $30,000 a year and you need to have your Bachelor’s Degree or your Diploma in social work a related field. To do this job you also need to be able to complete a lot of things such as interviewing potential clients whether you are on the phone or in person; researching issues and programs; doing limited counseling of clients.

In level two the things that you need, earn and do get harder and there is a lot more. You have no worked your way up to actually being an Abuse/ Crisis Counselor. You now would make $30,000 to $40.00 a year. You are dealing with victims of abuse and it may be very depressing. To complete this level and get up to the highest level you can you have to complete these tasks day after day. Interviewing potential clients on phone and in person; researching issues and programs; counseling clients; supervising other counselors.

When you finally get to the highest level you can this means you are doing good. The highest and last level is three. You are now officially a Senior Abuse/ Crisis Counselor and you make $45,000 to $60,000 a year. You have got all the other education you need and now you are getting the finishing touches like the several years of experiencing dealing with clients and a Master’s of Social Work degree. To do this level you have to do things like interview potential clients on phone and in person; researching issues and programs; counseling clients; supervising other counselors; planning; directing; and evaluating agency’s programs and policies.

A career that is somewhat related to an Abuse/ Crisis Counselor is an Addictions counselor. Both of them are helping people overcome something whether it is drugs, alcohol or abusive relationships and family violence. Both of these counselors work with people so they can overcome a hardship in their life. Usually the counselors only meet with them once a week. In these weeks for a addictions counselor usually they make a twelve step program to lift up the addicts self confidence especially their looks and how they dress. The addictions counselor prepare written notes about the addict and they determine when the client no longer needs counseling. Another thing they do at their jobs is help prevent addictions. They will go around to high schools to teach kids the bad affects and why it is bad to use addictive substances. There are also fields to specialize in. Some addiction counselors work with new clients while others work only in referral services, outpatient counseling, day treatment centers or detoxification programs.