Educational psychologist to educational counsellor
An educational psychologist already meets 63% of what the educational counsellor role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
43.2/ 100
1 How much of what an educational counsellor is expected to do is already part of an educational psychologist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the educational counsellor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An educational counsellor role treats 14 of its required skills as things an educational psychologist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adolescent psychological development
- communicate about youth's well-being
- communicate with youth
- consult student's support system
- counsel students
- crisis intervention
What stands in the way is 6 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 28 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An educational counsellor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an educational psychologist background worth leading with.
- already held perform educational testing management skills
- already held use psychoeducation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held school psychology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held communicate about youth's well-being communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held counsel students communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held developmental psychology social sciences, journalism and information
All 28 carried skills, including the 14 the educational counsellor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 21 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn client-centred counselling required
- still to learn counselling methods required
- still to learn liaise with educational institutions required
- optional, not held advise on learning methods optional
- optional, not held conduct educational activities optional
- optional, not held establish educational network optional
- optional, not held provide information on education financing optional
- optional, not held work in vocational school optional
- optional, not held assist students in their learning optional
- optional, not held cooperate with education professionals optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with children's parents optional
- optional, not held provide career counselling optional
- still to learn tackle issues that block academic progress required
- optional, not held provide information on study programmes optional
- still to learn monitor educational developments required
- optional, not held inspect education institutions optional
- still to learn identify education needs required
- optional, not held post-secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held adult education optional
- optional, not held community education optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an educational counsellor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 client-centred counselling study this
- 02 counselling methods study this
- 03 identify education needs practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 28 skills that carry over
- already held adolescent psychological development knowledge
- already held communicate about youth's well-being skill
- already held communicate with youth skill
- already held consult student's support system skill
- already held counsel students skill
- already held crisis intervention knowledge
- already held learning difficulties knowledge
- already held learning needs analysis knowledge
- already held liaise with educational staff skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held monitor student's behaviour skill
- already held perform educational testing skill
- already held support children's wellbeing skill
- already held use psychoeducation skill
- already held apply crisis intervention skill
- already held assessment processes knowledge
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held behavioural disorders knowledge
- already held developmental psychology knowledge
- already held education law knowledge
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held liaise with educational support staff skill
- already held oversee extra-curricular activities skill
- already held psychological counselling methods knowledge
- already held psychology knowledge
- already held school psychology knowledge
- already held secondary school procedures knowledge
- already held show consideration for student's situation skill
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on learning methods optional
- optional, not held conduct educational activities optional
- optional, not held establish educational network optional
- optional, not held post-secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held provide information on education financing optional
- optional, not held work in vocational school optional
- optional, not held adult education optional
- optional, not held assist students in their learning optional
- optional, not held community education optional
- optional, not held cooperate with education professionals optional
- optional, not held inspect education institutions optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with children's parents optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
- optional, not held provide career counselling optional
- optional, not held provide information on study programmes optional
17 held skills the educational counsellor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role action research knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out psychiatric assessment of child skill
- not needed by the target role communication disorders knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct psychological research skill
- not needed by the target role consultation knowledge
- not needed by the target role diagnose education problems skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose psychiatric symptoms skill
- not needed by the target role interpret psychological tests skill
- not needed by the target role keep up-to-date with training subjects skill
- not needed by the target role monitor therapeutic progress skill
- not needed by the target role psychiatric disorders knowledge
- not needed by the target role publish academic research skill
- not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
- not needed by the target role social development knowledge
- not needed by the target role test for behavioural patterns skill
- not needed by the target role test for emotional patterns skill
- not needed by the target role write research proposals skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn client-centred counselling required
- still to learn counselling methods required
- optional, not held post-secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held adult education optional
- optional, not held community education optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
Other moves recorded from educational psychologist
Common questions about this move
Can an educational psychologist become an educational counsellor?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An educational psychologist already covers 63% of what an educational counsellor is expected to do: 28 skills carry over, 14 of which the educational counsellor role treats as required.
What skills does an educational psychologist need to become an educational counsellor?
6 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by health and welfare. The single most important is client-centred counselling.
How hard is the move from educational psychologist to educational counsellor?
Its learning distance is 43.2 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.