Marriage counsellor to social counsellor
A marriage counsellor already meets 76% of what the social counsellor role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
41.8/ 100
1 How much of what a social counsellor is expected to do is already part of a marriage counsellor’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 social counsellor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A social counsellor role treats 42 of its required skills as things a marriage counsellor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- apply quality standards in social services
- apply socially just working principles
- assess social service users' situation
- behavioural therapy
- build helping relationship with social service users
What stands in the way is 3 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 58 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A social counsellor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a marriage counsellor background worth leading with.
- already held counsel patient on family concerns communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held family therapy health and welfare
- already held types of psychotherapy sessions social sciences, journalism and information
- already held provide education on family life communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held dependency on drugs health and welfare
- already held maintain a non-emotional involvement assisting and caring
All 58 carried skills, including the 42 the social counsellor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 37 missing skills fall into 10 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 use psychoeducation required
- optional, not held address gender-related issues in family planning counselling optional
- optional, not held advise on family planning optional
- optional, not held advise on pregnancy optional
- optional, not held communicate by use of interpretation services optional
- optional, not held cooperate with professionals optional
- optional, not held inform on the risks of substance and alcohol abuse optional
- optional, not held provide counselling on abortion optional
- optional, not held apply foreign languages in social services optional
- optional, not held communicate with youth optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held promote the safeguarding of young people optional
- still to learn determine child welfare required
- optional, not held provide anger management counselling optional
- optional, not held facilitate the healing process related to sexual assault optional
- optional, not held practice gestalt therapy optional
- optional, not held support traumatised children optional
- optional, not held support young victims of sexual assault optional
- optional, not held use motivational incentives in addiction counselling optional
- optional, not held work on the effects of abuse optional
- still to learn sexual disorders required
- optional, not held reproductive health optional
- optional, not held social development optional
- optional, not held sophrology optional
- optional, not held movement techniques optional
- optional, not held assess the development of youth optional
- optional, not held plan youth activities optional
- optional, not held administer appointments optional
- optional, not held strategies for handling cases of sexual assault optional
- optional, not held peer group methods optional
- optional, not held psychological counselling methods optional
- optional, not held anger management optional
- optional, not held relaxation techniques optional
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a social counsellor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 determine child welfare practise this
- 02 sexual disorders study this
- 03 use psychoeducation 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 58 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held apply quality standards in social services skill
- already held apply socially just working principles skill
- already held assess social service users' situation skill
- already held behavioural therapy knowledge
- already held build helping relationship with social service users skill
- already held client-centred counselling knowledge
- already held clinical social work knowledge
- already held cognitive behavioural therapy knowledge
- already held communicate professionally with colleagues in other fields skill
- already held communicate with social service users skill
- already held cooperate at inter-professional level skill
- already held counselling methods knowledge
- already held deliver social services in diverse cultural communities skill
- already held demonstrate leadership in social service cases skill
- already held encourage counselled clients to examine themselves skill
- already held follow health and safety precautions in social care practices skill
- already held have emotional intelligence skill
- already held help clients make decisions during counselling sessions skill
- already held human psychological development knowledge
- already held legal requirements in the social sector knowledge
- already held listen actively skill
- already held maintain a non-emotional involvement skill
- already held maintain records of work with service users skill
- already held maintain the trust of service users skill
- already held manage social crisis skill
- already held manage stress in the work place skill
- already held organise relapse prevention skill
- already held perform therapy sessions skill
- already held promote human rights skill
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held promote social change skill
- already held provide social counselling skill
- already held refer social service users skill
- already held reflexion knowledge
- already held relate empathetically skill
- already held report on social development skill
- already held respond to individuals' extreme emotions skill
- already held social justice knowledge
- already held social sciences knowledge
- already held supervision of persons knowledge
- already held undertake continuous professional development in social work skill
- already held adolescent psychological development knowledge
- already held advise on mental health skill
- already held assess clients' drug and alcohol addictions skill
- already held counsel patient on family concerns skill
- already held dependency on drugs knowledge
- already held develop patient treatment strategies skill
- already held empower individuals, families and groups skill
- already held family therapy knowledge
- already held help clients cope with grief skill
- already held identify mental health issues skill
- already held provide education on family life skill
- already held psychological theories knowledge
- already held psychology knowledge
- already held stages of bereavement knowledge
- already held support the positiveness of youths skill
- already held types of psychotherapy sessions knowledge
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held sex education optional
- optional, not held carry out psychiatric assessment of child optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
34 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held anger management optional
- optional, not held provide anger management counselling optional
- optional, not held address gender-related issues in family planning counselling optional
- optional, not held advise on family planning optional
- optional, not held advise on pregnancy optional
- optional, not held assess the development of youth optional
- optional, not held carry out psychiatric assessment of child optional
- optional, not held communicate by use of interpretation services optional
- optional, not held cooperate with professionals optional
- optional, not held facilitate the healing process related to sexual assault optional
- optional, not held inform on the risks of substance and alcohol abuse optional
- optional, not held plan youth activities optional
- optional, not held practice gestalt therapy optional
- optional, not held provide counselling on abortion optional
- optional, not held reproductive health optional
- optional, not held social development optional
- optional, not held sophrology optional
- optional, not held strategies for handling cases of sexual assault optional
- optional, not held support traumatised children optional
- optional, not held support young victims of sexual assault optional
- optional, not held use motivational incentives in addiction counselling optional
- optional, not held work on the effects of abuse optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held administer appointments optional
- optional, not held apply foreign languages in social services optional
- optional, not held communicate with youth optional
- optional, not held movement techniques optional
- optional, not held peer group methods optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held promote the safeguarding of young people optional
- optional, not held psychological counselling methods optional
- optional, not held relaxation techniques optional
- optional, not held sex education optional
0 held skills the social counsellor role does not ask for
13 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 sexual disorders required
- optional, not held anger management optional
- optional, not held reproductive health optional
- optional, not held social development optional
- optional, not held sophrology optional
- optional, not held strategies for handling cases of sexual assault optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held movement techniques optional
- optional, not held peer group methods optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
- optional, not held psychological counselling methods optional
- optional, not held relaxation techniques optional
- optional, not held sex education optional
Common questions about this move
Can a marriage counsellor become a social counsellor?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A marriage counsellor already covers 76% of what a social counsellor is expected to do: 58 skills carry over, 42 of which the social counsellor role treats as required.
What skills does a marriage counsellor need to become a social counsellor?
3 required skills are missing, plus 34 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is determine child welfare.
How hard is the move from marriage counsellor to social counsellor?
Its learning distance is 41.8 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.