What the work involves, what it pays, and real lines you can start from. Answer a few small questions and leave with a resume.
Also called behavioral health counselor, bereavement counselor, clinical counselor and clinical mental health counselor.
$60,320
Median pay a year
1,035,300
People do this work
6
Resume lines ready for you
Pay and headcount are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lines are written from what the US Department of Labor records about this work.
An example
A Mental Health Counselor resume, filled in
Every line below comes from the same public record as the rest of this page. The greyed parts are the ones only you can answer.
Mental Health Counselor
1 certification
Summary
Mental health counselor advising individuals and groups on mental and emotional health, focusing on prevention and treatment of issues such as addiction, family dynamics, and stress management
Experience
Mental Health Counselor
Where you worked
Month Year to Month Year
Counseled clients individually and in group sessions to assist in overcoming dependencies and making life changes
Performed crisis interventions to ensure the safety of clients and others in a therapeutic setting
Maintained confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment and filled out required paperwork
Developed and implemented treatment plans based on clinical experience and knowledge of clients' needs
Assessed patients for risk of suicide attempts and evaluated their physical or mental condition
Guided clients in developing skills or strategies for dealing with their problems and monitored medication use
Collaborated with mental health professionals to perform clinical assessments and discuss clients' post-therapy plans
Skills
Core Skills
Developing patient treatment plans, Completing required documentation, Intervening in crisis situations, Counseling clients on personal issues, Collecting medical professionals, Collecting client information, Collecting community health information, Interviewing for progress, Monitoring clients
Technical Skills
Maintaining client records
Education
Professional Degree (JD, MD, DDS) Your university, Year
Certifications & Licenses
State license for this work Your state board, Year
Yours will not say this. It will say what you did, in your own words, and Rung writes it with you one question at a time.
Nothing to write from scratch
What to put on a Mental Health Counselor resume
Real duties for this job, already written the way a resume reads. Inside Rung you choose the ones that were yours.
What did you do each day?
Choose what fits, or say your own.
Maintained confidentiality of client treatment recordsEncouraged clients to express their feelingsCounseled clients in individual and group sessionsPerformed crisis interventions for patient safetyFilled out and maintained client-related paperworkAssessed patients for risk of suicide attempts
becomes
On your resume
Maintained confidentiality of client treatment records to ensure privacy and trust.
Counseled clients in individual and group sessions, facilitating discussions to promote emotional expression and healing.
These are written the way a resume line reads. Rung asks which ones are actually yours, keeps your own words, and never claims work you did not do.
Then it asks for one more thing
The line that could show more, and the fact that lands it.
Make it stronger
A few lines could show more. Each one is asked, and answered by choosing.
Show what improved once the confidentiality was maintained.
The line
Maintained confidentiality of client treatment records, helping clients feel safer sharing their thoughts
Show what improved once the confidentiality was maintained.
Pick one that fits
Clients felt safer sharing their thoughtsTrust in the counseling process increasedMore clients engaged in their treatment
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Mention what changes occurred in clients after your sessions.
The line
Counseled clients in individual and group sessions, facilitating discussions to promote emotional expression and healing.
Mention what changes occurred in clients after your sessions.
Pick one that fits
Clients reported feeling more understoodGroup dynamics improved over time
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Every ready answer is in plain words, never a figure. Nothing is invented to fill a gap.
What it is made of
Skills for a Mental Health Counselor resume
What this work is made of. Rung offers these and keeps the ones you claim.
What are you good at?
Developing patient treatment plans
Maintaining client records
Completing required documentation
Intervening in crisis situations
Counseling clients on personal issues
Collecting medical professionals
Collecting client information
Collecting community health information
Interviewing for progress
Monitoring clients
Evaluating individual characteristics
Evaluating counseling effectiveness
The work itself
What a Mental Health Counselor does
The public record of what this job is, in one paragraph.
Counsel and advise individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health, with an emphasis on prevention. May help individuals deal with a broad range of mental health issues, such as those associated with addictions and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; stress management; self-esteem; or aging.
What it pays
How much does a Mental Health Counselor make?
Annual pay across the United States. The middle figure is the median: half earn less than that, and half earn more.
25th percentile
$47,560
Median
$60,320
75th percentile
$78,260
These figures cover this work together with Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor, which is how they are published.
About 1,035,300 people do this work and Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor in the United States, counted together.
Other names
Other names for this job
behavioral health counselor, bereavement counselor, clinical counselor, clinical mental health counselor, CMHC, counselor, direct care counselor, elder counselor, grief counselor, group counselor, group home counselor, licensed clinical mental health counselor.
More names for this work
LCMHC, licensed counselor, licensed mental health counselor, LMHC, licensed professional counselor, LPC, residential child care counselor, behavior analyst, behavior support specialist, BSS, behavioral health clinician, behavioral health consultant, behavioral health therapist, case manager, clinician, corrections caseworker, eap consultant, employee assistance program consultant, licensed mental health therapist, licensed therapist, mental health case manager, mental health clinician, mental health professional, mental health program specialist, mental health specialist, mental health therapist, outpatient mental health therapist, telehealth therapist, treatment coordinator.
Free resume help
Start with this job
Answer a few small questions and leave with a resume. Your answers stay on your own device.
A truly free resume that is yours to keep
You leave with a PDF and a Word file, and a cover letter if you want one.
Nothing to pay when you download, no account, and the resume saves to your own device.
Every question can be read aloud, and answered out loud.
Nothing to write from scratch: the lines are ready, and you choose the ones that were yours.
This page is about the occupation Mental Health Counselors. What this job involves and what it is made of come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupation database, refreshed July 2026; Rung writes those records into the plain sentences you see. Pay comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS release for 2025. Rung is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either agency. How Rung handles accuracy is on the accuracy page, and the full data credits are on the credits page.