Depression is common to millions of people. Here are the numbers to prove it: 18.8 million, equivalent to 9.5 percent of adults in America from 18 years old and up live with depression. From this number, 12.4 million are women and 6.4 million are men.
Depression doesn’t just take the form of a tantrum or sulking all day. It is more than that. Many people have committed suicide or are severely debilitated due to a depressive state. This should be enough to make you want to help.
If you know someone who died from or is being treated for depression, then maybe this is enough to convince you to become a depression counselor. While you'll need the basic education required to become a mental health counselor—which you can now earn through an accredited online college—depression counseling jobs are unique to other counseling careers, so some specific training and education is required. If you want to help with depression, learn about what type of counseling services you will offer. Here are ways to become a depression counselor:
- Decide on the demographic you would like to counsel. You will find out that you can choose to work with a specific demographic and treatment facility dealing with the myriad symptoms of depression. Just to give you an idea, depression can be classified as atypical, major, dysthymia, postpartum and affective (seasonal). You can choose to work with adults, elderly, adolescents or children in your depression counseling career. Your education will vary depending on which group you choose to work with.
- Go to school. Most types of depression counseling jobs require at least a master’s degree. However, your undergraduate coursework will prepare you for your graduate education. Receiving a bachelor’s degree in a field such as psychology, sociology or social work will prepare you for becoming a depression counselor. Speak with your school’s academic counselor to get information about the coursework you need to take in preparation for offering depression treatment and getting a counseling degree. Psychology, sociology, therapy and counseling are the options that will most likely come up during your discussion with the academic counselor.
- Enroll in a graduate program. Most states require you to complete a graduate degree to become licensed and practice as a depression counselor. Look into the education and training requirements while you are still in school. Many states require a certain amount of volunteer work or clinical experience before becoming licensed in depression counseling.
- Work to get your license first prior to diving into professional work. Pursuing a license in counseling increases your chances of earning much more than someone who is fresh out of graduate school. Working for your license will most likely entail more hands-on training, an internship and passing an exam given by a regulating agency or a government agency. Most states require a counseling license after you complete your training. Each state sets their standard requirement and have different names for the license. Common names are Licensed Professional Counselor or Licensed Associate Counselor. Here is the licensing agency for each state. Find a mentor through school or at your internship to help prepare you for your licensing exam.
- Seek continuing education in your field. Continuing education includes seminars, conferences, training labs and other courses that will keep you up-to-date in the field of depression counseling. These continuing education credits are required to renew your license and will vary from state to state. Contact your state licensing agency to receive information about these requirements.
The counseling field in general is growing quite fast. The need for depression counselors is expanding as more people are becoming diagnosed with depressive disorders. The projected job growth for depression counselors is 20% by the year 2018. The average annual income for a depression counselor is about $40,000.
Depression counseling can be a rewarding career, but it can also be a field that one can burn out on easily. Counselors hear various situations with which their clients are dealing. Many of these situations are quite devastating. If you have always been a good listener and like to help others, this might be the career for you. Depression counselors must stay sharp and take care of themselves in order to take care of their patients and succeed in this career.