Great Interview Questions You Should Prepare for as a Mental Health Counselor
When it comes to the interview, there is almost a limitless volume of questions one can potentially be asked when seeking a mental health counseling job. Many of these questions will be typical questions seen in many other types of job interviews, but some of them will be unique to counseling itself. What are some of the questions one might prepare for in this kind of interview? Here are five of the most common queries faced by candidates in mental health counselor job interviews today.
“Why do you want to be a mental health counselor as opposed to pursuing some other job?”
This question is one that is aimed at understanding the candidate’s internal drives and motivations for getting into this line of work. Some of the best responses here are those demonstrating interest derived from wanting to help some struggling family member or friend, but truly any motivation aimed at sincere interest in helping others is a winning reply here. An overall desire to help society with a rising mental health issue is yet another, great drive that the interviewer will like to hear.
“Why are you seeking a position specifically with our clinic?”
While it may be true that factors like convenience and closeness to home brings the candidate to apply at some particular location, the interviewee should never let these factors be known as their main reasons for applying. These are not at all representative of the deep reasons for interest that the interviewer is looking for. Instead, candidates should always come prepared through prior research and demonstrate a specific set of interests related to the company’s history, mission, practicing experts, or some other attribute of genuine interest.
“Which are your favorite therapy methods?”
This question is more of one used to gauge technical knowledge as opposed to a true opinion on therapy approach. As such, the interviewer is best served here by mindfully demonstrating their knowledge of therapy method. Knowing which method to employ in which circumstances and being able to express this is key here.
“What part of mental health counseling brings you the most satisfaction?”
This is another question aimed at understanding exactly what it is that motivates the candidate’s interests in the job. Again, with this type of question, it’s best to relate some genuine, personal driver such as that of wanting to make people feel better or to help society as a whole. This is also a great time for the interviewee to relay a story in which they felt a great sense of accomplishment in helping someone who really needed it at some point in the past.
“What have you found best helps clients to set appropriate goals?”
This is another question designed to expose the interviewee’s knowledge levels in counseling. Here, it’s imperative that the interviewee demonstrate the knowledge of how to approach goal-setting in clients. For those in the know, this involves a step-by-step process of assessment, problem identification, and subsequent, positive envisioning.
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Doing well at interview time and then scoring that job as a mental health counselor can be an incredibly rewarding hallmark in any career for years to come. To do well at the interview, however, it’s always best to be prepared beforehand, and this includes being aware of some of the potential questions one may encounter. In conclusion, for those seeking additional information regarding the interview or getting a job as a mental health counselor, the American Mental Health Counselors Association is a leading organization across the industry with which further inquiry is highly recommended.