A counseling psychologist works with patients as a mental health professional to improve their emotional, social, and cognitive health. Your job duties are to meet regularly with patients for therapy sessions and teach your patients coping strategies for behavioral issues and mental health disorders. This includes anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. You need strong active-listening skills and good communication skills to be effective in this career. In addition to your counseling duties, you may conduct research in clinical or laboratory settings.