Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors
On the Job
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors counsel people, families, or groups. They help people overcome problems, especially those due to alcohol or drug addiction.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments.
- Collaborate with other professionals to develop education or assistance programs.
- Maintain client records.
- Write reports or evaluations.
- Interview clients to gather information about their backgrounds, needs, or progress.
- Refer clients to community or social service programs.
- Maintain professional social services knowledge.
- Counsel clients or patients with substance abuse issues.
- Counsel family members of clients or patients.
- Intervene in crisis situations to assist clients.
Typical Working Conditions
- Having face-to-face discussions.
- Working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions.
- Working with a group or team.
- Freedom to make decisions without supervision.
- Meeting strict deadlines.
- Sitting.
- The freedom to determine tasks, priorities, and goals.
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people.
- Exposure to disease or infections.
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.