Rehabilitation Counselor

The human body is remarkable. It doesn’t matter if you cut it, bruise it, burn it, bump it, or even break it. Like an inflatable punching bag, it pops right back up — recuperating, rebounding, and regenerating — no matter how many times you knock it down.

As resilient as it is, however, the human body — and the human spirit, too — can use a little help every now and then. As a Rehabilitation Counselor, you’re that help.

Employed by rehabilitation centers, medical facilities, and schools, the Rehabilitation Counselor rehabilitates patients who have disabilities, injuries, and illnesses — including emotional, mental, and physical conditions — that typically are the result of physical or emotional trauma. When those conditions hold your patients back, it’s your job as a Rehabilitation Counselor to move them forward, physically, socially, and vocationally.

To accomplish that, you help people overcome and obliterate obstacles. Usually, that means evaluating patients, then developing and executing long-term treatment plans that may include medical care, physical therapy, emotional counseling, and occupational training, among other things.

In collaboration with Doctors, Psychologists, and Therapists — Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech Therapists — you create and manage plans that are designed to help hurt patients heal so they can lead happy, productive, and independent lives — at work, as part of the workforce, and at home, as individuals and family members. In addition to counseling, your services therefore include education, advocacy, vocational training, and job placement.

Think of your patients like wilted and withering plants. You’re a watering can, in charge of hydrating them so they can grow again.