Description of a Drug & Alcohol Counselor

A drug and alcohol counselor helps drug addicts and alcoholics recover from their addictions. To become a counselor, you have to have a master's degree. A license is also generally required. Drug and alcohol counselors often gets involved with educating their communities, and can be employed in a variety of settings.

Job Duties

• A drug and alcohol counselor gives, scores and records initial screening tests for drug addicts and alcoholics. A counselor records client history and creates treatment plans. Her main job is to help addicts understand why they became addicted to drugs and alcohol, help them discover what triggers their addiction and teach them new coping skills to replace it. A counselor facilitates group and individual therapy and follow-up groups for addicts. She prepares progress reports for courts, attorneys and probation department officers.

Education

• You need at least a bachelor's degree to serve as a drug and alcohol counselor. Most states also require a license. To qualify to take the licensure test, you must have a master's degree (in the arts, science or social work).

Personal Characteristics

• A drug and alcohol counselor should have a strong desire to serve others. You need to be able to earn people's trust, respect and confidence. A counselor must be able to work alone or as part of a team. He needs to be emotionally stable, as there is a danger of counter transference involved in the work. Counter transference is when a counselor responds emotionally to what an addict is going through. It is important for you to be empathetic to clients without getting personally involved, for the sake of both yourself and your client.

Community Involvement

• A drug and alcohol counselor provides accurate and pertinent information about drug and alcohol abuse to community members, schools, or other organization she serves. Sometimes a drug and alcohol counselor may visit schools, universities and other places to teach people about the physical and emotional dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

Employment

• A drug and alcohol counselor can work in an outpatient clinic, treatment center, school, non-profit organization or hospital. He could work for a halfway house where addicts live as they try to recover from drug or alcohol abuse. A drug and alcohol counselor in a correctional facility interviews inmates with alcohol and drug problems and coordinates groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous in jails and prisons. When inmates are paroled, a counselor decides if treatment is recommended after release.