The Hows and Whys of Volunteering

Showing commitment to your counseling career path

Before you can transform the lives of others while on payroll, you can make an impact and gain experience in your field as an intern or a volunteer. The coursework in our Post-Baccalaureate Program for Counseling and Psychology Professions gives you an academic baseline in psychology that you can augment with on-the-job training that puts that knowledge and theory into action.

Paid or not, real-world experience can prepare you for a health, mental health or social services career and, depending on your goals, a volunteer opportunity can be just what you need. Is your goal professional enrichment or application to a competitive graduate, medical or other professional school? Is your immediate professional goal to work with a particular population or in a particular setting? Or is it to gain experience doing research for an agency?

"In 2012, 64.5 million Americans—26.5 percent of the population—contributed 7.9 billion volunteer hours, worth an estimated $175 billion in service." learnhowtobecome.org

Why You Might Want to Volunteer

On-the-job training can provide answers to questions you might have and help you decide on other things that will affect your future. A universal question for anyone entering behavioral health might ask themselves may be, “Am I good fit for the human services field?” A volunteer experience can highlight your strengths and point out any areas you might want to better develop for your career.

.

  • Will I get enough real-world knowledge to be accepted into graduate or professional school? Demonstrating that you are serious about your interest in the field improves your résumé and your chances of acceptance into your choice school. It also provides a clearer understanding of the type of graduate or professional school you want to apply to and the role you want to play in your future career.
  • Will I get enough real-world knowledge to be accepted into graduate or professional school? Demonstrating that you are serious about your interest in the field improves your résumé and your chances of acceptance into your choice school. It also provides a clearer understanding of the type of graduate or professional school you want to apply to and the role you want to play in your future career.
  • How does it improve my application? Working with others provides you with constructive feedback on your skill level and aptitude for direct (or indirect) services work. Your passion for work in the human services field will show. As a result, the ability you display on the job may lead to a strong reference letter by your immediate supervisor.
  • Is where I volunteer important? You should focus more on gaining experience in research projects or with community-based agencies. Your experience should be long enough to show your persistence and performance in the field and for your supervisor to take note of your ability.

.

  • Will I get enough real-world knowledge in research? Volunteering helps you to gain some knowledge of the scientific process, funding and administrative issues, as well as how it all applies to counseling, social work or psychology.
  • How does it improve my skillset? Internships provide you with the opportunity to practice a range of skills, including rapport-building, showing empathy for those facing major social or psychological challenges, and developing both your analytical and interpersonal talents.
  • Is where I volunteer important if I want to conduct psychological research? If your career goal is to pursue a policy, administration or research-oriented position, where you gain real-world experience should directly relate to your topic of interest. Research where your instructors have worked if you are interested in similar topics. Contact the appropriate instructors at other universities and colleges to find out if they need help in the lab.

.

  • Will the community trust that I can help? Volunteering with the same community that you want to work shows your commitment to serving this population, which inevitably leads to an increase in trust. If you are working with at-risk individuals or families in your community, familiarity can aid in the progress you make on the job.
  • How does it improve my skillset? For those who are interested in pursuing a “clinically oriented” program (i.e., programs that focus more on working directly with and/or treating a specific population), applied, “direct service” settings will provide the most benefit. However, you will not be expected to become an expert in treating people with major psychological problems in your volunteer role. Instead, you will more likely be asked to serve as advocates, mentors or tutors, or simply spend time with clients who are suffering from mental illness or facing other educational or physical challenges.
  • Is where I volunteer important if I want to work directly with patients? If you want to work with specific populations in your community (such as special-needs children, at-risk individuals, school-aged children, the elderly, etc.), then you might choose to volunteer with an organization geared toward helping them.

More Than Just Giving Back to the Community

Many behavioral health volunteers enjoy the experience of giving back to their community, but you also can ignite your passion for work in the human services field. Other benefits of volunteering include:

  • Flexibility to set a schedule that works for you, such as one evening per week, every Tuesday afternoon or Saturday morning).
  • Greater availability than with paid positions and generally time-limited (by school year, for example). Opportunities are usually posted on community websites, bulletin boards, local papers, etc.
  • Greater range of opportunities, which can include tutoring/mentoring positions, crisis and suicide-prevention hotlines, local inpatient and outpatient treatment centers, social service and mental health agencies, research institutes (at a local university or college campus or at a research institute)

Where Should You Volunteer?

Determine your career goal. Every community in the United States has people in need and, hopefully, programs or agencies in place to respond to those needs. But finding an agency that welcomes volunteers and that will provide basic supervision and support for those who work there can be a daunting task. Doing your research, developing a résumé to show why you would be an asset, and refining basic interviewing skills all help you to find the right volunteer opportunity that fits your needs and to succeed.

Maybe most importantly, ask yourself, How “intense” do I want my level of volunteer work to be? The intensity of your experience can range widely, from the severely mentally ill, crisis/suicide hotline, and chronically homeless populations to tutoring, mentoring, child care and support services. Know your limits on what you are ready for emotionally—and in terms of time commitment—and that your supervisor knows what those limits are. Make sure you are not just given clerical tasks if you are seeking direct patient or client contact. Remember, volunteering should be a “win-win” for you, the agency and the population you are working with!