Counselors counsel and empower individuals with substance abuse problems versus treat the substance abuse problem. This digest focuses on identification of counseling outcome research implications for counseling individuals with substance abuse problems. The following conclusions regarding counseling individuals with substance abuse problems have been highlighted. Successful treatment is more likely when you have strong relationships with family and friends. From the nature of the work, it would seem that there is a high burnout rate for those entering the profession. But while the work can be quite emotionally and physically taxing, most counselors find that their passion for helping others far outweighs any negatives.

• If the legal system is involved with any client, the counselor may report on progress to a judge.
• Use the review summary to help determine what else you need to submit for review.
• Unlike therapy, which takes some time to explore what a particular client might want or need to do, substance abuse counseling usually hits the ground running and starts helping you solve practical problems right away.
• For example, holding a master’s degree will generally provide more job prospects, including private practice.

Addiction studies courses cover case management, addiction counseling, and psychology. Clinical psychologists need an advanced degree, usually a doctorate, to get licensed in their state. Nevertheless, a bachelor’s in psychology provides a challenging curriculum that surveys human thinking processes and social influences.

How Is Substance Abuse Counseling Different from Therapy?

It represents what you would earn if you were paid more money than half the workers in an occupation, and less than half the workers in an occupation. It may give you a basis to estimate what you might earn at some point if you enter this career. You may also wish to compare median salaries if you are considering more than one career path. The BS in Addiction Counseling degree at GCU requires 120 credits to completion. The on-campus degree courses are 15 weeks and the online courses are seven weeks.

• If you work specifically as a drug counselor, you’ll have the same types of tasks, but you’ll work strictly with clients suffering from drug abuse issues rather than eating disorders or gambling addictions.
• To be licensed to work as a substance abuse counselor, a therapist must hold a master’s degree and have 2,000 to 4,000 hours of supervised clinical experience.
• Whether you’re looking to advance your current career or are looking for an opportunity to learn to treat one of America’s most harmful disorders, our BS in Substance Abuse Counseling can help you get there.
• Instead, you can just focus on the present-moment connection between certain thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and work on changing the thinking that leads to negative experiences.
• Individual substance abuse counseling is not always a high enough level of care in early stages of recovery from a substance use disorder, but it can be in some cases.

As a licensed addiction and mental health counselor, you can also open your own private counseling practice. While any counseling therapy for drug abuse treatment is better than none, group therapy is generally preferred over individual therapy. In group therapy, you’re more likely to be both challenged and supported by peers who are also going through rehab. The right treatment plan will be tailored to your addiction and individual needs. “Because of the need in this specialty, we designed the program for professionals who need to pick up enough education credits to get certified in substance abuse therapy,” says Dr. Posson. The program meets and exceeds Ohio’s minimum educational hours required for chemical dependency counseling licensure.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

And with more experience and education, many move into other types of counseling over the course of their careers. With classes starting monthly, students can enter the program at any time https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/addiction-vs-dependence-what-is-the-difference/ and take as long as they need to complete it. Classes do not have to be taken sequentially; students can start in the middle and loop back to earlier courses as scheduling allows.

• Simply reviewing degrees will be insufficient within projects seeking to examine the development of the workforce and their use of EBPs.
• Confirmed final results will be transmitted via U.S. mail approximately four weeks after your exam.
• This information can be used to advance the quality of care and the types of services offered for clients with addictive disorders.
• Often a counselor or social worker can provide assistance to parents in this area and help them find the best way to bring up the subject of substance abuse and addiction with their child.
• Keep in mind that what you should look for (and the questions you should ask) should be different if you’re not primarily wanting to address substance use but are primarily wanting to address an underlying mental health condition or symptoms.

Your CASAC Trainee certificate will be effective from the date it is issued by OASAS until the end of the five-year period that your application is active. When you are eligible to take the exam, you will be notified and given the registration information. If you are unable to complete all the requirements for a CASAC by the end of the five-year application period, your application (and CASAC-T if issued) will expire. You may submit a new application, with a new fee, but you will not be issued a second CASAC-T.

Getting the Undergraduate Certificate for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling

Residential treatment settings tended to have the lowest percentage of staff with professional licensure, while outpatient centers had the highest percent of licensed providers. These are general guidelines, and the specific arrangements between a counselor and client
will vary according to a number of circumstances. Although the counselor will not conduct therapy, he should make
sure the client doesn’t leave the office and drive a motor vehicle. Also, for some clients,
telephone contact outside the therapy session is necessary and fosters a working alliance
between client and counselor. Some clients may need ongoing support for dealing with
difficulties with their children or suicidal feelings.

Counselor training varies from personal experience in recovery and on-the-job training to clinicians with extensive addictions training and academic backgrounds that include doctoral and master’s degrees (8, 9). Gallon et al. (9) surveyed counselors in the Pacific Northwest, finding that 71% had a bachelor’s degree or higher. Overall, workforce analysis suggests that the majority of treatment professionals are white, middle-aged, women (8, 10).

General Education Requirements

An individual’s specific educational background and experience will determine the type of services they can provide. Rather than seeing addiction as a personal failing, experts now view addiction as a brain-based condition that involves a complex interaction between genetics, brain circuits, the environment, and individual experiences. Approaches to treating substance misuse and addiction have undergone many changes over time.

Many are well-meaning and assume their knowledge and skills are transferable to any behavioral health condition or issue. Substance abuse counselors work with individuals and groups to provide counseling, education, and support to those struggling with substance use disorders. They may also provide case management services and refer clients to other resources, such as support groups or 12-step programs. Counselors work those who struggle with addiction, listen to their problems, and often use methods like the 12-step program to help these people towards recovery.

How to become an addiction counselor

You may also complete practicum hours that let you work with industry experts. The addictions counseling workforce is estimated to include 200,000 individuals (8) working in diverse settings and a variety of professions including social workers, bachelor’s level counselors, certified counselors, physicians, and nurses. This workforce diversity generates a provider network with a wide range of experience, education, training, and theoretical perspectives.

Most states require 415 academic hours of substance abuse counseling to qualify for work in the field, as well as a specific number of practicum hours. Each state has different requirements, so it’s important to find out how many hours you need based on the location where you plan to work. Along with academics and experience, most states also require that you pass an exam. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 20 million Americans were diagnosed with a substance use disorder between 2019 and 2020. If you want to be the person to offer support to people with addictions and provide life-saving help, an online bachelor’s in addiction/substance misuse counseling is a good place to start. If you work specifically as a drug counselor, you’ll have the same types of tasks, but you’ll work strictly with clients suffering from drug abuse issues rather than eating disorders or gambling addictions.

Chemical Dependency Counseling

The counselor must recognize when she is unable to work with a specific client. She cannot benefit clients who are abuse survivors if their issues cause her personal difficulties to the point where her own effectiveness is compromised. Any counselor working with adult survivors should seek support and some form of supervision to review her feelings about substance abuse counseling the issues brought up by her clients. At the same time, it is the agency’s responsibility to ensure that clients are receiving adequate, professional care. From an ethical standpoint, it is better for counselors not to work with abuse survivors at all than for them to take on such challenges if they are not yet equipped to deal with these issues.

• Counselors working in residential settings tended to have fewer years of experience.
• You can also pursue a concentration in addictions and substance use, childhood development, or criminal justice.
• With defined goals and objectives, you and your counselor can begin working on the psychological and emotional issues that influence your substance use disorder.