Rehabilitation counselling (accident/injury)
Your role as a rehabilitation counsellor will involve helping clients with severe injuries return to optimal health.
Your future role
As a rehabilitation counsellor your tasks may include:
- proactively managing a portfolio of severely injured clients within a specialist team to achieve optimal client outcomes
- identifying barriers for clients to return to health and/or return to work and implementing strategies to overcome these
- developing holistic individualised plans and setting expectations
- presenting at various forums (e.g. court proceedings, conferences, seminars) to provide information, community education and specialist knowledge
- communicating effectively with key stakeholders
- visiting and meeting with clients, their families and treatment teams.
Skills and experience
The skills and experience that will help get you started in this role include:
- an understanding of the Victorian Workers Compensation and ComCare legislation
- ability to conduct vocational assessments and develop return-to-work plans
- excellent written and negotiation skills
- strong time-management skills
- strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build long-lasting, profitable business relationships.
Qualifications and requirements
For this role you'll need qualifications and requirements that include:
- registered psychologist or rehabilitation counsellor with accreditation
- counselling course or undergraduate units in counselling, including HPY210
- experience with the occupational rehabilitation sector
- experience in case management of injured workers and performing assessments
- experience volunteering with a community organisation
- Police Check.
Employers
There's a range of possible employers in this field both in the public and private sectors. One of the largest organisations is the Transport Accident Commission (TAC).
Telephone/digital counselling
Connecting with your clients by phone, you’ll provide support for a range of psychological and personal challenges.
Your future role
As a telephone/digital counsellor your tasks may include:
- providing client-centred telephone counselling to individuals on a range of issues, including:
- grief/trauma
- depression/mental illness
- alcohol and substance abuse
- gambling/financial support
- child protection
- family/domestic violence
- sexual assault
- men's issues
- issues relating to people who are gender/sexually diverse
- providing telephone counselling in crisis situations, for example, suicide intervention
- helping individuals access services
- assessing and referring callers
- working closely with other services to provide a holistic service to individuals
- participating in occupational health and safety processes
- working in a team environment.
Skills and experience
The skills and experience that will help get you started in this role include:
- interpersonal skills such as active listening
- skills in referral – ascertaining what services a person needs and how they might get them
- ability to follow the policies, procedures and programs of the organisation
- excellent communication skills, including the ability to build relationships and gain trust
- high level of resilience and self-awareness.
Qualifications and requirements
For this role you'll need qualifications and requirements that include:
- qualifications in counselling, social work, psychology or relevant experience in the field
- Certificate IV in Telephone Counselling
- counselling course or undergraduate units in counselling, including HPY210
- experience volunteering with a community organisation
- Police Check.
Employers
For a list of useful links to services/possible employers, see Lifeworks.