Counselor

Counseling Psychology is a specialty within professional psychology that maintains a focus on facilitating personal and interpersonal functioning across the life span. The specialty pays particular attention to emotional, social, vocational, educational, health-related, developmental and organizational concerns.
The requirements to become a licensed psychologist are:
Clear the 10+2 exam preferably with psychology as one of the subjects.
Complete a Bachelor (BA or BS) in Psychology degree (the curriculum of which focuses on personality development, psychotherapy, stress management and neuro-psychology).
Specialization at the postgraduate level, where one can get an MA or MSc in psychology, social work or counseling.
Further specialization at the doctoral level is available as well via PhD or M.Phil.

Counselling is: The process that occurs when a client and counsellor set aside time in order to explore difficulties which may include the stressful or emotional feelings of the client.
There is a big difference between a professional counsellor and a person who uses some counselling skills as part of their role, for example their role as a friend or colleague.
Counselling is Not:
1) Giving advice.
2) Judgemental.
3) Attempting to sort out the problems of the client.
4) Expecting or encouraging a client to behave in a way in which the counsellor may have behaved when confronted with a similar problem in their own life.
5) Getting emotionally involved with the client.
Looking at a client's problems from your own perspective, based on your own value system.
So, if you have these skills - Go for it. All the best.

Plenty of job opportunities are available for career counsellors as most students and adults seek help from these professionals to enable them to make good career choices. Career counselings involves exploring the students/ client's aptitude, preferences and skills for a given career by evaluating their academic or other performance. A career counsellor has to be a teacher, confidant and adviser to the clients. The major task and duty of a counsellor depends on the individual they serve and the settings in which they work. A counselling session begins with a detailed examination of a student's profile with special focus on his/ her academic background, strengths and weaknesses. Students come with a range of issues. Some may have an idea about what they want to do while others may not have any idea about the career pathway that they want to follow. Counsellors guide students based on their grades, aptitude, other eligibility criteria and finances. By listening attentively and without passing judgement, they give students the opportunity to explore, discover and clarify how and why they feel as they do.
A career counsellor can work in different kinds of settings like schools, colleges, universities, career guidance and counselling centres as well as do private practice. Career counsellors can work with career information centres and conduct career education programmes. Counsellors offer services in the areas of aptitude and psychometric testing, higher-education consultations and financial aid. They provide students the details of courses available in different institutes in and outside India, their entrance tests and the course fees. They can also specialise in employment and placement counselling to assist students with career development, in locating and applying for jobs. Internet has also opened new vistas for counsellors, with features which facilities online chat with the counsellor.