Counseling services industry
The counseling services industry is a vital sector within the health care landscape that focuses on nonmedical interventions to support individuals facing personal challenges. Unlike traditional medical treatments, counseling emphasizes understanding and empowering clients to enhance their well-being through communication and behavioral strategies. This industry encompasses a variety of specialized professions, such as mental health and substance abuse counselors, marriage and family therapists, and clinical psychologists, which are present in both public and private sectors.
Historically, the field has evolved significantly, influenced by early psychological pioneers like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, who emphasized the importance of interpersonal connections in therapy. Post-World War II, the demand for counseling services surged, prompting government initiatives to enhance mental health support. Presently, the industry is experiencing growth due to rising awareness of mental health issues and societal acceptance of counseling, with projections indicating increased employment opportunities, particularly as the aging population and substance abuse challenges continue to escalate.
Counselors work in diverse settings, including hospitals, schools, and private practices, offering rich opportunities for direct client interaction. With competitive job security and the ability to specialize in various areas, the counseling services industry holds promise for those passionate about helping others navigate their mental health journeys.
Counseling services industry
Industry Snapshot
GENERAL INDUSTRY: Personal Services
CAREER CLUSTERS: Health Science; Human Services
SUBCATEGORY INDUSTRIES: Individual and Family Services; Offices of Mental Health Physicians; Offices of Nonphysician Mental Health Practitioners; Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers; Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals
RELATED INDUSTRIES: Medicine and Health Care Industry; Personal Services; Pharmaceuticals and Medications Industry; Residential Medical Care Industry
ANNUAL DOMESTIC REVENUES:US$33.9 billion (psychiatric hospitals; IBISWorld, 2024); US$60 billion (family counseling and crisis intervention; IBISWorld, 2024); US$31.3 billion (psychologists, social workers, and marriage counselors; IBISWorld, 2024); US$32.6 billion (mental health and substance abuse clinics; IBISWorld, 2024)
NAICS NUMBERS: 6222, 6241, 62133, 621112, 621420
Summary
Counseling services are health care services that are essentially nonmedical, compared to physician-driven medical treatment. In contrast to historical Western medical practice, which treats patients through medical, procedural, and pharmaceutical means, counseling services typically assess and treat by helping clients understand their own challenges and find opportunities to help themselves to wellness. The fundamental goal of the industry is to enable people to function at their highest level of capability and desire. There are many areas of specialization in counseling. Some professions that fall under the umbrella of counseling include mental health and substance abuse counselors, behavioral disorder counselors, family counselors, marriage counselors, rehabilitation counselors, social workers, clinical psychologists, and grief counselors. All counseling professions exist in both the private and the public sectors, and some counselors are employed by corporations and universities to serve their populations’ counseling needs.
History of the Industry
Early in the twentieth century, Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud helped found psychoanalytic psychology, believing that behavior therapy was a means to interpersonal connectedness between counselor and patient. Talking and listening were primary modalities of psychoanalysis, and Freud documented much success in this noninvasive communication-based form of therapy.
In the early 1940s, psychiatrist Carl Jung founded analytical psychology, which focuses on the exploration of the human unconscious as a means of understanding behavior. Closer in design to the modern-day dominant treatment models, Jung’s inclusive, patient-centered approach was successful because it pulled deep emotion from patients and appeared to lead to recovery more rapidly than had earlier practices based on long, drawn-out counseling sessions.
Following World War II, veterans faced an unprecedented need for personal mental health services to deal with the psychological stress of combat. The need to bring the US workforce back to optimal productivity presented a challenge to the business sector, while society’s understanding of veterans’ postwar mental health needs was lacking. President Harry Truman signed the Mental Health Act in 1946, which provided funding for psychiatric research and education in the United States. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) was founded in 1949. By the 1950s, in recognition of the growing counseling industry, many organizations dedicated to research, education, and standards in applied psychology had been created. These included the American Psychological Association (APA), the American Association of Applied Psychology, and the American Association of Clinical Psychologists (AACP).
Because the postwar need for psychology and mental health support was so great, the federal government, through its Veterans Administration hospitals and clinics, began to fund training for clinical counselors to better serve the needs of veterans, as well as to reduce costs. It was clear that quality behavioral rehabilitation needed to be available for veterans so that they could return to being productive contributors to society and the economy. In the 1950s, the terms “counselor” and “psychologist” became more closely linked. The roles and parameters of each were increasingly formalized, and people seeking those positions required and received greater professional training than they had earlier. Moreover, the formalization and professionalization of counseling occupations enhanced counselors’ abilities to leverage resources and operate cost-effectively, while simultaneously increasing access to counseling for the people who needed it.
In 1963, the Community Mental Health Act was passed. This law provided funding for community mental health centers. It also provided training programs to encourage and support the counseling profession, as well as financial support for those interested in pursuing postgraduate counseling degrees.
The Industry Today
When managed care insurance companies joined traditional payers such as Medicare and Medicaid, focus was placed on cost-conscious, expeditious care. As this managed model of care grew in popularity, so did its focus on cost and time. This model continues to be favored. Counselors commonly provide several sessions, limited to an hour or less, that constitute a baseline therapy that generally incorporates plans for closure and discharge from the practice.
Counseling has become socially accepted; most employed workers with health insurance have mental health coverage, which they value alongside medical coverage. As social acceptance of counseling has increased, so has the amount of money spent on it. The road to recovery is not necessarily mechanical or pharmaceutical but behavioral, cost-effective, and delivered by caring professionals.
Industry Outlook
Overview
The outlook for the counseling services industry shows it to be on the rise. Researchers have projected long-term growth in the demand for counseling professions, including mental health and substance abuse counselors, behavioral disorder counselors, rehabilitation counselors, and marriage and family counselors. According to Mental Health America, in 2022, about 50 million Americans had a mental illness. Of those, 4.91 percent had a serious mental illness. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment for family and marriage counselors was projected to grow 15 percent, which is must faster than average, from 2022 to 2032.
There are many indications that the counseling services industry will continue to grow. As the baby-boomer population ages, demand for counselors is likely to increase. Aged populations face issues such as disease, pain, and loss of independence, and the counseling services industry will grow to meet the rising mental health needs of this group. Another key client base of the counseling industry is people struggling with substance abuse and addiction. The opioid epidemic, which was officially declared a public health emergency by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2017, has led to an even greater need for support services for the many people in the United States battling the addiction. According to the HHS, 9.2 million people misused opioids in 2021 alone.
Employment Advantages
Health care services professions are vast and disparate. In an industry of increasing federal oversight and legal compliance regulations, specialization in counseling careers is inevitable. In fact, counselors are increasingly focusing on specific patient populations, strengthening fields such as geriatric counseling, adolescent counseling, substance abuse counseling, and marriage counseling. Despite such specialization, the fundamental basis of counseling services remains the same: helping people. Professional evaluations, teaching, and professional research in academic settings are all intriguing opportunities that counselors can explore and enjoy in most any area of specialization.
People who are strong communicators, who like helping others, and who are emotionally competent enough to offer quality counsel are ideally suited for counseling careers. Counselors may work in a variety of settings, such as medical facilities and hospitals, elementary and high schools, colleges and universities, and private practices. This career path provides great satisfaction to professionals who enjoy working face-to-face with customers. The pleasures of working with adults, children, couples, and groups are but a few of the advantages to this vocation. Counselors also find work within the academic realm, performing research and publishing on topics of interest to them.
Annual Earnings
According to IBISWorld, in 2024 it was estimated that the psychiatric hosptials industry had a revenue of $33.9 billion while the industry of psychologists, social workers, and marriage counselors had a revenue of $31.3 billion. Generally, health care and social assistance industries are experiencing growth. Parsing out earnings in the counseling field, nationally or globally, is difficult since counseling is delivered in so many settings. Because billing data are the primary means by which revenue data are collected, it is best to look at the health care industry in aggregate. In part because of relatively low salaries in general, there is no glut of providers and demand from clients has historically exceeded supply. That trend, combined with the growth of populations who will seek out counseling services, ensures job security in the counseling field.
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