Rehabilitation Counselor Career Guide

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that there are about 90,000 rehabilitation counselors working in the US as of 2021.¹ Rehabilitation counselors help their clients adapt to disabilities in order to live as independently as possible. Their work touches on the physical, social, and mental health aspects of living with disabilities. Rehabilitation counselors most frequently work in community and vocational rehabilitation services facilities, with 32% of counselors reporting that their work environment fits in this category.² Other common work settings include individual and family services (17%), state government (16%), nursing and residential care facilities (14%), and self-employment (1%).²

In this guide, you will learn more about rehabilitation counseling careers including how to become a rehabilitation counselor, typical requirements, and the career and salary outlook for rehabilitation counselors.

What Does a Rehabilitation Counselor Do?

Rehabilitation counselors work with individuals who have physical, social, emotional, mental health, and related disabilities or challenges in order to assist those individuals in living a full life with the greatest degree of independence possible. The types of disabilities and adaptations that rehab counselors encounter in their daily work are broad. They may work with clients who have physical or motor challenges, mental health challenges, or developmental disabilities, including social or emotional regulation challenges. In many cases, rehabilitation counselors provide services to individuals across a range of disabilities, and the individual clients a rehabilitation counselor sees may have challenges from more than one of these categories.

Some rehabilitation counselors may focus more on advocacy on behalf of the disabled and the community resources and programs available to their clients. Often, rehabilitation counselors work in the area of job placement assistance or vocational rehabilitation services more generally. Depending on their scope of practice, a rehabilitation counselor might not provide direct counseling services other than career and vocational counseling.

Rehabilitation counselors and vocational rehabilitation counselors perform many of the same duties and the terms are often used interchangeably. However, vocational rehabilitation counseling is a very specific sub-category of rehabilitation counseling. Vocational rehabilitation counselors specifically work with individuals with disabilities who need help obtaining and maintaining suitable employment. They often provide on-the-job support through personalized job coaching, serve as a liaison between the individual and the employer, and identify and request reasonable accommodations to promote independence. These are just a few examples of the services a vocational rehabilitation counselor may provide. Rehabilitation counselors also work with adaptations beyond the work environment.

Rehabilitation Counselor Requirements and Common Tasks

Rehabilitation counselors must earn the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) credential through the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC), which requires a master’s degree. In order to expand the scope of practice to provide mental health counseling, counselors are additionally required to be licensed. Certain support roles, such as job coach or employment specialist, may only require an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. There are many rehabilitation counseling programs that offer specific preparation for this career path. Be sure to check with your state’s counselor licensing board for exact requirements.

In order to determine which type(s) of counseling and rehabilitation services are required, rehab counselors must assess their clients’ abilities, challenges, and interests both at intake and on an ongoing basis in order to adjust the counseling provided. Documenting client outcomes is a significant responsibility in rehabilitation counseling. Rehabilitation counselors typically spend much of their time working one-on-one with clients, but may also provide group counseling. Because they must be available when their clients are available, rehabilitation counselors may work evenings and/or weekends. Rehabilitation counselors also work in collaboration with other providers, such as psychologists and medical doctors.

As allied health professionals, rehabilitation counselors will also devote part of their time to continuing education. To maintain their national certification, rehabilitation counselors are required to renew their certification every five years by obtaining 100 hours of continuing education credits. Ongoing professional development helps counselors stay up-to-date on best practices, new technology, and other important aspects of counseling care.

How to Become a Rehabilitation Counselor

Rehabilitation counselors work in a position of trust, which carries great responsibility. At a minimum, you will need to earn a master’s degree and become nationally certified through the CRCC in order to work as a rehabilitation counselor. To become a rehabilitation counselor, you will therefore need to:

1. Earn a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP)-accredited master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling or a closely-related field such as mental health counseling that will meet CRCC requirements.
2. Complete 600 hours of supervised experience (typically paid), in accordance with CRCC guidelines.
3. Take the CRCC Certified Rehabilitation Counselor Examination (CRCE).
4. Receive your CRC certificate.
5. Begin applying for rehabilitation counseling jobs.

Rehabilitation counselors may work under various titles. Rehabilitation counselor (RC) is a common job title. You may also see such license and job titles as Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC), Licensed Professional Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (LPVRC), and Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC). All 50 states and Washington DC have licensing guidelines for mental health professionals, if you wish to add mental health counseling or therapy to your scope of practice; these credentials carry different requirements.

Rehabilitation Counselor Education and Job Training

A master’s degree is the minimum educational requirement to work as a rehabilitation counselor. Some, but not all, states may allow you to provide vocational rehabilitation services in a support role with a lower-level degree.

There are numerous counseling programs that include an emphasis on rehabilitation counseling. You may begin your path to this career with an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation counseling or a related field, such as human services, psychology, or social work. Earning your undergraduate degree can qualify you for support roles in rehabilitation counseling as well as prepare you for the work required to earn a master’s degree in counseling. In addition to traditional campus-based programs, there are online master’s in rehabilitation counseling programs that can make it easier to continue working while you study. Be sure to research programs, their counseling concentrations, and their accreditation status before committing to a program.

Rehabilitation Counseling Careers by Degree Level

To help you understand opportunities with different degrees, we compiled the following table of common jobs for each rehabilitation counselor degree level. Understand that licensing rules vary widely by state and rehabilitation counseling role, and a given state may have different expectations for counselor licensure. In addition to differences between states, there are also differences in how employers may define a particular role. Keeping these factors in mind, this table is a general outline of common degree requirements associated with each role.