Independently Licensed Counselors’ Work Values

Prospective clinical mental health counseling students need to know if their work values align with those of independently licensed counselors before investing their time and accumulating debt. Analyzing the work values of 463 independently licensed counselors in the United States, we found 89% expressing social (altruistic) work values and 22% expressing intrinsic work values. Independently licensed counselors want to help clients become fully functioning and self-actualized by maintaining unconditional positive regard, being congruent, and providing empathy. Clarifying these work values and their interaction can help prospective and current clinical mental health counseling students determine their future job role.