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Behavioral HealthTop JobColorado Talent Pipeline Report-aligned occupation with strong annual openings, growth, and wage signals.

Licensed Professional Counselor

Counsel with emphasis on prevention. Work with individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health. Help individuals deal with issues associated with family, parenting, and marital problems; stress management; self-esteem; and aging. A Licensed Professional Counselor can assume clinical supervision duties.

Annual openings

1,676

BLS median wage

n/a

Typical education

A Master’s or Doctoral degree in Counseling from a CACREP-approved program or its equivalent is required.

10-year growth

+26%

Career requirements

What does this career require?

The education, credentials, and on-the-job competencies Colorado employers expect for this role.

Typical education

A Master’s or Doctoral degree in Counseling from a CACREP-approved program or its equivalent is required.

Credential requirement

A LPC license is required. A LPC must also pass Colorado’s Mental Health Professions Jurisprudence Exam, the National Counselor Exam and complete the required supervised work experience.

Work experience

To become an LPC, 2,000 hours of post-degree experience is required over a minimum of 24 months; to include 100 hours of supervision, 70 hours of which must be face-to-face individual supervision.

Employer competency information

Feedback from employers identifies the following critical competencies and how they apply for this job

  • Customer Focus — Focusing on and understanding the client is the foundation for this job; for instance, planning group counseling sessions to address the different needs of each patient and adjusting treatments based on an individual’s needs.
  • Psychology, Therapy and Counseling — The knowledge and ability to understand a patient’s behavior, identify possible causes, and develop appropriate treatments and interventions.
  • Communication — The ability to quickly and concisely summarize and articulate the most pertinent patient-related information.
  • Interpersonal Skills and Teamwork — Examples are understanding a patient’s culture/background and how it impacts the treatment and the ability to an effectively run a group consisting of diverse backgrounds. In addition, treatment in a hospital setting is always a team effort.
  • Critical & Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving & Decision Making — The ability to look at multiple aspects of a patient objectively and subjectively and assessing, implementing and adjusting treatments.
  • Integrity — Ethical behavior to protect your patients and maintain appropriate boundaries are two key aspects of this job.
You can specialize on the job, such as becoming a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.

Is this work a fit?

What the work actually feels like

How people in this career tend to spend their time, the interests it draws on, and a look at a typical day.

A typical day

  1. Maintain confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.
  2. Encourage clients to express their feelings and discuss what is happening in their lives, helping them to develop insight into themselves or their relationships.
  3. Perform crisis interventions to help ensure the safety of the patients and others.
  4. Fill out and maintain client-related paperwork, including federal- and state-mandated forms, client diagnostic records, and progress notes.
  5. Assess patients for risk of suicide attempts.
  6. Perform crisis interventions with clients.