Rehabilitation Counselors
Counsel individuals to maximize the independence and employability of persons coping with personal, social, and vocational difficulties that result from birth defects, illness, disease, accidents, aging, or the stress of daily life. Coordinate activities for residents of care and treatment facilities. Assess client needs and design and implement rehabilitation programs that may include personal and vocational counseling, training, and job placement.
Also Known As:
Employment Advisor
Employment Services Case Manager
Employment Specialist
Human Services Care Specialist
Job Coach
Rehabilitation Counselor
Rehabilitation Specialist
Vocational Case Manager
Vocational Placement Specialist
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC)
Wages
Annual wages for Rehabilitation Counselors in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
93,200
1% Change From 2024
Explore Rehabilitation Counselors video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Locate barriers to client employment, such as inaccessible work sites, inflexible schedules, or transportation problems, and work with clients to develop strategies for overcoming these barriers.
- Collaborate with clients' families to implement rehabilitation plans, such as behavioral, residential, social, or employment goals.
- Maintain close contact with clients during job training and placements to resolve problems and evaluate placement adequacy.
- Collaborate with community agencies to establish facilities and programs for persons with disabilities.
- Arrange for on-site job coaching or assistive devices, such as specially equipped wheelchairs, to help clients adapt to work or school environments.
- Develop diagnostic procedures to determine clients' needs.
- Monitor and record clients' progress to ensure that goals and objectives are met.
- Arrange for physical, mental, academic, vocational, and other evaluations to obtain information for assessing clients' needs and developing rehabilitation plans.
- Manage budgets and direct case service allocations, authorizing expenditures and payments.
- Participate in job development and placement programs, contacting prospective employers, placing clients in jobs, and evaluating the success of placements.
- Confer with clients to discuss their options and goals so that rehabilitation programs and plans for accessing needed services can be developed.
- Participate in job development and placement programs, contacting prospective employers, placing clients in jobs, and evaluating the success of placements.
- Locate barriers to client employment, such as inaccessible work sites, inflexible schedules, or transportation problems, and work with clients to develop strategies for overcoming these barriers.
- Develop and maintain relationships with community referral sources, such as schools or community groups.
- Confer with physicians, psychologists, occupational therapists, and other professionals to develop and implement client rehabilitation programs.
- Supervise rehabilitation counselors and staff.
- Prepare and maintain records and case files, including documentation, such as clients' personal and eligibility information, services provided, narratives of client contacts, or relevant correspondence.
- Monitor and record clients' progress to ensure that goals and objectives are met.
- Develop rehabilitation plans that fit clients' aptitudes, education levels, physical abilities, and career goals.
- Analyze information from interviews, educational and medical records, consultation with other professionals, and diagnostic evaluations to assess clients' abilities, needs, and eligibility for services.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")