Counseling Services is a type of consultation that provides counseling as a service to individuals, couples, families, groups, or organisations dealing with various issues such as mental health, emotional distress, relationship challenges, and personal growth.
They are trained to offer different types of assistance; most frequently talk-based styles of therapy. It is also called therapy/psychotherapy or counseling which is the process of meeting with a therapist to resolve problematic behaviors, beliefs, feelings, relationship issues, and/or somatic responses (sensations in the body).
Requirements To Become Counsellor
To possess the skills and expertise to practice, and to position oneself as a person of repute, this involves some form of organized training and certification while the individual possess and displays professionalism at all times.
There are two routes to become a career professional in the counseling field .The first is to get a degree in Guidance and counseling, psychology or psychiatry from any higher institution; and the second is to take professional courses physically or online.
Speaking with an HR manager and certified counselor, Afe Ajibade asserts that education plays an important role in this profession as it comes with a sense of accomplishment to have some certifications.
“Normally, it takes four years to become a certified counselor because Guidance and Counseling was my first degree, but if it were to be the psychiatry route, it might take 7 years.
“Courses like psychology, social work, counseling, or a related field, and a master’s or doctoral degree in counseling in related field will be a perfect certicates to possess” he states.
He, however, says, for licensing and certification in this field, there are two major associations for counselors, which are, the Counselling Association of Nigeria (CASSON) and the Association of Professional Counsellors in Nigeria (APROCON) while obtaining clinical experience through an internship, practicum, or supervised counseling experience before becoming a licensed counselor.
Profitability
Counseling services can be lucrative for anyone practicing it full-time, as long as they possess the ability to identify a common problem people are facing being an expert in this field they will be sought after by individuals and organizations.
Hence, the professional can hold physical or virtual meetings or even prepare a course that provides the solution because people will see that they have that problem and the expert have the solution to it.
Findings reveal that, a session with a certified counselor could fetch you between N50,000 to N100,000 and above, depending on professional rates, clientele, and other factors.
To be a successful counselor, you need to possess soft skills like excellent communication and listening skills, empathy, patience, and a non-judgmental attitude, as well as the ability to build rapport and trust with clients.
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