How to Become a Veterans Counselor

By Juanita King

Returning home from a war zone and trying to resume a normal life may prove overwhelming for some veterans. As a result, they may disconnect emotionally, from their families, turn to drug or alcohol abuse, or other self-destructive behaviors. The Veterans Administration is charged with providing these troubled warriors with therapeutic help.

If you would like to counsel troubled veterans, first you must obtain a master's degree in counseling, human services, or social work, and a license to practice professionally as a counselor or social worker. During your studies, pay close attention to abnormal psychology courses, particularly the material focusing on depression and suicide. You will confront these issues in your work as a VA counselor. According to Interpress Service, on average 18 veterans commit suicide every day. Shockingly, almost a third of those who took their own lives were seeing a VA counselor at the time. In addition, you will need to learn about war-related physical disabilities, and their emotional impact on returning veterans.

Also study post-traumatic stress disorder, which afflicts many veterans. Learn its causes and symptoms. Those suffering from PTSD, for example, may experience waking or night terrors that distress them and their family. The more you learn about this battle-related disorder, its origins and effects, the more valuable you will become to your future patients.

You must also learn how to cope with "vicarious trauma," a term used to describe the unsettling emotions a therapist may feel during counseling sessions, as he listens to the shocking events experienced by the veteran.

Apply for a position to work at a VA center as a counselor. The federal government provides training to qualified graduates with a master's degree in counseling, a doctorate in clinical psychology or a related field. Upon successful completion of your training, you will become a VA counselor working with veterans from all branches of the US military.

Alternatively, you could become a VA counselor following your own military service. After mustering out, enroll at a college or university that offers a master's degree program in counseling, social work, or human services, or a PhD program in clinical psychology. If it so happens that you yourself have served in a war zone, obviously this would allow you to understand and empathize with a fellow veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress, on a level that is simply out of reach to a lay counselor who has not experienced combat.

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