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Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Counsel and advise individuals with alcohol, tobacco, drug, or other problems, such as gambling and eating disorders. May counsel individuals, families, or groups or engage in prevention programs.

Related: Clinical & Counseling Psychologists Marriage & Family Therapists Mental Health & Substance Abuse Social Workers Mental Health Counselors Rehabilitation Counselors

Industries: Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Confer with family members or others close to clients to keep them informed of treatment planning and progress.
Coordinate activities with courts, probation officers, community services, or other post-treatment agencies.
Develop client treatment plans based on research, clinical experience, and client histories.
Participate in case conferences or staff meetings.
Review and evaluate clients' progress in relation to measurable goals described in treatment and care plans.
Coordinate counseling efforts with mental health professionals or other health professionals, such as doctors, nurses, or social workers.
Instruct others in program methods, procedures, or functions.
Counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, and supporting clients or patients.
Follow progress of discharged patients to determine effectiveness of treatments.
Modify treatment plans to comply with changes in client status.
Attend training sessions to increase knowledge and skills.
Assess individuals' degree of drug dependency by collecting and analyzing urine samples.
Provide clients or family members with information about addiction issues and about available services or programs, making appropriate referrals when necessary.
Interview clients, review records, and confer with other professionals to evaluate individuals' mental and physical condition and to determine their suitability for participation in a specific program.
Train or supervise student interns or new staff members.
Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
Develop, implement, or evaluate public education, prevention, or health promotion programs, working in collaboration with organizations, institutions, or communities.
Interview clients, review records, and confer with other professionals to evaluate individuals' mental and physical condition and to determine their suitability for participation in a specific program.
Provide clients or family members with information about addiction issues and about available services or programs, making appropriate referrals when necessary.
Act as liaisons between clients and medical staff.
Complete and maintain accurate records or reports regarding the patients' histories and progress, services provided, or other required information.
Complete and maintain accurate records or reports regarding the patients' histories and progress, services provided, or other required information.
Train or supervise student interns or new staff members.
Conduct chemical dependency program orientation sessions.
Plan or implement follow-up or aftercare programs for clients to be discharged from treatment programs.
Develop, implement, or evaluate public education, prevention, or health promotion programs, working in collaboration with organizations, institutions, or communities.
Develop, implement, or evaluate public education, prevention, or health promotion programs, working in collaboration with organizations, institutions, or communities.
Supervise or direct other workers providing services to clients or patients.
Intervene as an advocate for clients or patients to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.

Speaking
- Talking to others.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.

Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Education

Master's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Internship/residency

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

64220/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

30.88/hr

Currently Employed

564,600

Yearly Projected Openings

48300

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

Sincerity
Optimism
Adaptability
Empathy
Stress Tolerance
Self-Control

Alcohol analyzers
Desktop computers
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers

Analytical or scientific software
Calendar and scheduling software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Internet browser software
Medical software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Project management software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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