FAMILY COUNSELOR SKILLS, EXPERIENCE, AND JOB REQUIREMENTS
Updated: Jun 13, 2025 - The Family Counselor with fluency in both Spanish and English possesses strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects and tasks simultaneously. This position's expertise in trauma-informed care and Conflict Resolution enhances the capacity to document outcomes clearly and resolve conflicts effectively, maintaining professional standards and a respectful demeanor across diverse cultural backgrounds. Demonstrated ability to establish empowering partnerships with families, encouraging problem-solving and independent decision-making with a professional yet personable approach.
Essential Hard and Soft Skills for a Standout Family Counselor Resume
- Case Documentation
- Client Assessment
- Documentation
- Transport Coordination
- Treatment Planning
- Risk Assessment
- Data Collection
- Resource Coordination
- Treatment Monitoring
- Therapy Provision
- Family Counseling
- Behavior Modification
- Conflict Resolution
- Grief Counseling
- Emotional Support
- Team Collaboration
- Counseling
- Group Facilitation
- Supervision
- Crisis Management
Summary of Family Counselor Knowledge and Qualifications on Resume
1. BA in Psychology with 3 years of Experience
- Experience must be with at-risk youth, i.e., youth with one or more of the following behaviors Truancy, Alcohol/Substance Abuse, Homicidal/Suicidal Ideations, Problem Sexual Behavior, Verbal/Physical Aggression, Runaway, Antisocial Behaviors
- Experience should include clinical case management or practice of therapeutic interventions
- Excellent written, verbal, and oral skills
- Exceptional time-management skills
- Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Experience doing family therapy or providing MST services
- Analytical ability necessary to solve complex administrative and clinical problems.
- Ability to evaluate the needs of patient populations and develop programs to meet those needs.
- Interpersonal skills necessary to motivate and provide direction as well as represent the RIC outside of the Institute to community groups and officials of health and welfare agencies.
- Ability to communicate effectively with all levels of management within the Institute.
2. BS in Marriage and Family Therapy with 4 years of Experience
- Ability to outreach to the North-Western Statistical Area of NSW
- Proven ability to be accepted by Aboriginal families and communities in the development and delivery of culturally sensitive interventions.
- Competence in working with issues of violence.
- Understanding of Child Protection issues.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as be able to contribute to the functioning of a team.
- Excellent communication, organisation and report-writing skills.
- Computer skills including word processing, accessing emails and the internet and the willingness to be trained in a data collection system
- Understanding, sensitivity and empathy for service members and families
- Ability to develop trusting, helping relationships
- Ability to work with individuals and families from diverse racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
- Capacity to develop a professional orientation to child care.
3. BA in Social Work with 3 years of Experience
- Ability to provide advocacy in the areas of health, education, vocation, legal and family/foster family intervention
- Ability to develop and maintain supportive client relationships, assist clients to attain treatment goals
- Ability to facilitate individual client and/or family counseling, mediation, and support.
- Ability to coordinate clinical services with clinic staff
- Ability to locate, evaluate, and utilize community resources for clients and families
- Ability to establish aftercare plans and develop community resources for terminating clients and families
- Experience working with families and youth in one on one and group settings
- Familiarity and experience in client interviewing, assessment, and service plan development
- Familiarity and experience with target populations.
- Familiarity and experience working in or with First 5, DCYF, HAS and community-based agencies.
4. BS in Clinical Counseling with 4 years of Experience
- Fluency in Spanish and English
- Excellent organizational skills and demonstrated follow through on tasks, multi-project/multi-task orientation.
- Ability to clearly document outcome and data per program protocols
- Conflict resolution skills.
- Ability to work with people from a variety of different ethnic, socioeconomic, educational, religious, sexual, and generational backgrounds.
- Ability to exercise discretion and independent judgment.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Professional demeanor, pleasant personality, and a sense of humor
- Experience with Trauma Informed Care and Conflict Resolution
- Ability to establish a mutually respectful relationship, in which the family is a full partner, empowered to solve problems
5. BA in Counseling with 2 years of Experience
- Bilingual and able to read, write, and speak Spanish proficiently strongly preferred
- Ability to internalize and work within the FFT philosophy and model
- Ability to work with children, adolescents, and families
- Flexibility to work when the families are available to meet
- Ability to work independently as well as contribute to a team
- Very good interpersonal/communication skills
- Strong clinical, crisis management, de-escalation and critical thinking skills
- Ability to work with respect for cultural diversity
- Ability to intervene decisively, when necessary, to protect family members Ability to engage families who may not want the service
- Ability to adapt and individualize program interventions to utilize family strengths and skills
- Commitment to empowering families to solve problems
6. BS in Human Services with 4 years of Experience
- Proficiency in the use of computer skills, including multiple software formats, email and storage of digital files.
- Ability to perform crisis intervention and counseling services.
- Ability to establish effective and productive casework relationships with youth, families, and individuals.
- Ability to establish cooperative working relationships with police officers in the handling of crisis calls.
- Ability to establish cooperative working relationships with educators and school site personnel.
- Ability to work independently, make sound decisions and set priorities under stressful conditions.
- Ability to work collaboratively in the highly structured environment of a police department while maintaining accepted professional standards of clinical practice.
- Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
- Ability to maintain records, including statistics, and to prepare reports.
- Ability to manage time, meet deadlines and prioritize workload.
- Ability to relate to children with warmth and understanding
- Ability to identify the needs and problems of children.
- Ability to work cooperatively with other professionals on behalf of youth and families.
7. BA in Behavioral Science with 3 years of Experience
- Strong, demonstrated knowledge, skills and experience in assessment, formulation, diagnosis and treatment skills and independent use and application of DSM-V diagnoses.
- Ability to provide evidence-informed treatment within a brief, episodic model of care.
- Effective case management skills.
- Experience proving trauma-informed care.
- Ability to work effectively with the team as well as independently.
- Ability to take initiative and demonstrate reliability and flexibility.
- Excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.
- Adherence to AHS policies.
- Experience working with diverse populations.
- Proficient in using Windows, E-mail, Microsoft Office (including Excel) and typing.
- Experience providing group therapy.
- Experience with e-scheduler.
- Understanding the use of ACEs.
- Experience providing supervision to students.
- Experience and training in Collaborative Problem Solving.