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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.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Arrange for on-site job coaching or assistive devices, such as specially equipped wheelchairs, to help clients adapt to work or school environments.
    • Confer with clients to discuss their options and goals so that rehabilitation programs and plans for accessing needed services can be developed.
    • Arrange for physical, mental, academic, vocational, and other evaluations to obtain information for assessing clients' needs and developing rehabilitation plans.
    • Develop diagnostic procedures to determine clients' needs.
    • Maintain close contact with clients during job training and placements to resolve problems and evaluate placement adequacy.
    • Participate in job development and placement programs, contacting prospective employers, placing clients in jobs, and evaluating the success of placements.
    • Develop rehabilitation plans that fit clients' aptitudes, education levels, physical abilities, and career goals.
    • Supervise rehabilitation counselors and staff.
    • Monitor and record clients' progress to ensure that goals and objectives are met.
    • Monitor and record clients' progress to ensure that goals and objectives are met.
    • 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.
    • Analyze information from interviews, educational and medical records, consultation with other professionals, and diagnostic evaluations to assess clients' abilities, needs, and eligibility for services.
    • Participate in job development and placement programs, contacting prospective employers, placing clients in jobs, and evaluating the success of placements.
    • Collaborate with community agencies to establish facilities and programs for persons with disabilities.
    • Collaborate with clients' families to implement rehabilitation plans, such as behavioral, residential, social, or employment goals.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Manage budgets and direct case service allocations, authorizing expenditures and payments.
    • 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.

    Skills

    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    Abilities

    • 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.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    Knowledge

    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • 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.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • 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.

    Education

    Education
    Master's degree
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    No on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    58620/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    28.18/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    4,780
    Yearly Projected Openings
    400

    Personality

    Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Concern for Others
    • Integrity
    • Dependability
    • Initiative
    • Persistence
    • Cooperation

    Tools

    • Computer mouse
    • Desktop computers
    • Digital telephones
    • Global positioning system GPS receiver
    • Intercom systems
    • Keyboards
    • Laser fax machine
    • Laser printers
    • Lasers
    • Liquid crystal display projector
    • Mobile phones
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Photocopiers
    • Pocket calculator
    • Scanners
    • Special purpose telephones
    • Tablet computers
    • Voice synthesizers for the physically challenged

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Internet browser software
    • Medical software
    • Mobile location based services software
    • Mobile operator specific application software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Transaction security and virus protection software
    • Voice recognition software
    • Word processing software