CRC – Certified Rehabilitation Counselor

Rehabilitation counselors help people with disabilities develop strategies to live with their disability and transition to employment. Rehabilitation counselors work with clients to overcome or manage the personal, social, or psychological effects of disabilities on employment or independent living.

Rehabilitation counselors are the only professional counselors educated and trained specifically to serve individuals with disabilities. They assist individuals with physical, mental, developmental, cognitive, and emotional disabilities to achieve their personal, career, and independent living goals by engaging in a complete counseling process.

Certified rehabilitation counselors may specialize within many areas of rehabilitation counseling for people with disabilities, including: Employee assistance programming, Expert testimony, Job development/job placement, Life care planning, Marriage and family counseling, Mental health counseling, Return-to-work, coordination, School, education, and career counseling, Substance abuse and addiction counseling, Teaching and education, Vocational evaluation, and Vocational rehabilitation.

To be certified, there are certain requirements.

They include the following:

• A master’s or doctorate degree in

1. Rehabilitation counseling
2. Counseling, or a
3. Qualifying counseling-related major plus a post-graduate advanced certificate or degree with specific coursework

• Requisite rehabilitation counseling experience including

1. acceptable internship under a certified rehabilitation counselor's supervision, and/or
2. acceptable employment under certified rehabilitation counselor's supervision

• A passing score on the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor Exam

Certification is voluntary and not required for supervised or independent practice, although it may be a hiring requirement of certain employers. It identifies rehabilitation counselors who have voluntarily sought and met established standards. It is not a substitute for state-mandated licensure. Many states use the certification exam as part of their licensing requirements, which may provide license portability for rehabilitation counselors who wish to practice in more than one state.

Certified rehabilitation counselors are employed in a variety of work settings including: Forensics, Government agencies, Independent living centers, Hospitals, Insurance companies, Mental health centers, Private practice, Rehabilitation facilities, Schools and universities, and Other organizations where individuals with disabilities are being counseled with the goal of going or returning to work.

You can learn more from the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification: https://crccertification.com/