What Does It Mean To Be An Addiction Counselor

Exactly What Does a dependancy Counselor Do?

Two kinds of advisors cope with destructive addictions: mental health advisors and drug abuse advisors. Mental health advisors usually help people or groups with a greater variety of issues including depression, stress, and often addiction or drug abuse.

Drug abuse advisors focus all of their practice on individuals with destructive addictions. Their customers may experience drugs, alcohol, gambling, or perhaps seating disorder for you. Lots of occasions they hold group periods for addicts or their own families, or run programs devoted to stopping destructive addictions.

Where Do Addiction Advisors Work?

A multitude of facilities employ addiction advisors. Individuals that employ probably the most include:

Outpatient Care Centers

Residential Mental Retardation, Mental Health insurance and Drug Abuse Facilities

Individual and Family Services

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals

Other industries employ far less professionals, but offer greater salaries:

Insurance Service providers

Elementary and Secondary Schools

Niche Hospitals (except Psychological and Drug Abuse Hospitals)

Schools, Colleges, and Professional Schools

Municipality may be the one industry which makes the top five list both in groups.

Working hrs may also vary broadly based on in which you work. Some advisors work evening and weekend hrs to support individuals with full-time jobs, others may go classical hrs.

How Can You Become a dependancy Counselor?

Both education and certification needs vary by condition, especially if you wish to be a drug abuse counselor. In many states, another agency or board governs them than the one which governs other advisors. For example, drug abuse advisors may require a senior high school diploma plus counselor certification. By comparison, other advisors require a masters degree, as much as 2-many years of supervised clinical experience, along with a passing score on the condition-recognized exam to acquire a license.

In almost any counseling area, you may choose to consider a test to get national certification with the National Board for Licensed Advisors (NBCC). It isn't mandatory, however it does indicate to companies a particular degree of proficiency.

The Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC) offers other optional certifications particularly for addiction advisors. You will find certificate programs concentrating on alcohol and drugs, tobacco, and adolescent destructive addictions. Finally, the actual Addiction Counselor certification is perfect for individuals advisors who've a masters degree plus 3 years of supervised experience. Again, none of those are needed for certification however they can advance your job.

Job Prospects and Salaries for Addiction Advisors

While job prospects are fantastic and growing quickly, individuals don't enter this profession to create immeasureable money. The median earnings for addiction advisors in the year 2006 were $34,040, substantially less than individuals of researchers. Addiction counseling is definitely an simpler area to go in, however, with generally lower education needs. Salaries are greater at the very top companies, with mean annual wages at $42,430 for municipality and mean salaries over $49,000 for individuals employed at elementary and secondary schools or with insurance service providers.

Individuals who enter this profession can are proud of the work they do, helping people and family members cope with the down sides of destructive addictions and hopefully overcome them.

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