The counselor has a number of duties upon a starship. This is a list of the more important ones:
 
A.  Provide Crew Member Counseling
B.  Evaluate Crew Members (with the XO)
C.  Orientation of new Crew Members
D.  Participate in First Contact Procedures
E.  Participate on Away Missions (as needed)
F.  Morale Officer
G.  Middle Person Role (negotiator as needed)
H.  Advisory Positions (as needed)
 

Crew Member Counseling

The primary role of the Counselor is of course, Counseling! If you are to counsel a character that is played by a person you should always check with them first, or wait until they come to you. Taking control of another person's character and giving them psychological problems is not allowed. In this situation you should discuss the details with the other person first, what they want the problem to be, what has caused the problems etc. You can use this duty at anytime and can be anything from marital problems and family counseling to childhood and deep emotional trauma, and everything in between.
 

Crew Member Evaluation

The First Officer and the Counselor normally do this, but of course out of game you would have no real say in who gets promoted, that is the Commanding Officer's duty, but it is an IN GAME plot line you could use. To do this effectively you should coordinate the story with the XO. You should *not* mention any promotions unless the CO has already announced them - stick with NPC's, or just give "suggestions" pointing toward some good work by crewmembers. In the Counselor's evaluation you should describe the crewmember's behavior, etc...
 

First Contact Procedures

When your ship encounters a new species for the first time, first contact procedures should be observed. First contact procedures are as follows:

1- If the other culture initiates FC: The CO, XO, Diplomatic Officer (if available), Security, Counselor and Chief Medical Officer should greet the representitive in full dress uniform; an official greeting on behalf of the Federation should be offered. The DO (if available) and counselor will advising the CO after observing the behavioral patterns of the species. Afterwards a full report must be submitted by the DO or Counselor, and CO.

2- If hostile contact: If a new culture is met, and attacks on sight, the DO (if available) and counselor should be on the bridge to help the CO interpret the actions of the species, if possible. This should be used rarely, and only when the CO states that the procedures are being followed.

3- If Tachyon initatiates First Contact: *used only after covert investigation* A small team consisting of the XO, DO, Counselor, and Chief of Security will initiate contact with a selected member of the culture. The reactions of the cultural representative MUST be noted and all care must be used to prevent disruption in the general population. For contact to proceed the team must arrange to meet the top government officials for the planet, and inform them of their options: a] remain "off limits" to offworlders; b] accept limited contact; c] join the galactic community.

It is the primary role of the Diplomatic Officer to make a full report about all First Contact Procedures, but if a DO is not available it falls to the Counselor together with the XO and the CMO to complete the report. The report should describe: The behavior patterns of the species, the appearance of the species and all special abilities they species might have (Telepathy etc..) The report must be sent to the CO who will submit it to Star Fleet Command.
AWAY MISSIONS In non-hostile away missions a counselor is often invited to join the team. There could be any number of reasons for this: cultural exchange; interaction with other or new cultures (See above about writing reports for this); advising the Officer in command of the team of your opinions and the cultural peculiarities; etc.
 

Morale Officer

This is pretty self-explanatory. A morale officer is responsible for keeping the spirits of the crew up during times of duress. Things you could do to lift their spirits could range from personal attention to arranging a party. Keeping an eye on crew morale is a good reason to be in places such as sickbay or anywhere on the ship, the counselor can be where the action is when it happens. This can be used on a number of scales: a single person could be feeling depressed and you could you could arrange a party or something along those lines; to anywhere in between.
 

Advisory Position

There are many roles that a Counselor can fulfill on a ship, and one of them is the advisory role. Whether it is for individual crewmembers in their own pursuits, or on Away missions to other species' planet, an important part of your duties, is to help solve problems.