Substance Abuse Counselor: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
Substance Abuse Counselors counsel and advise individuals with alcohol, tobacco, drug, or other problems, such as gambling and eating disorders.
- Preparation
- Job Zone 5 of 5
- extensive preparation
Data Government data groups this job as Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors (O*NET-SOC 21-1011.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.
Every page for Substance Abuse Counselors
What substance abuse counselors do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
- Attend training sessions to increase knowledge and skills.
- Develop client treatment plans based on research, clinical experience, and client histories.
- Complete and maintain accurate records or reports regarding the patients' histories and progress, services provided, or other required information.
- Review and evaluate clients' progress in relation to measurable goals described in treatment and care plans.
- Plan or implement follow-up or aftercare programs for clients to be discharged from treatment programs.
- Intervene as an advocate for clients or patients to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.
- Coordinate counseling efforts with mental health professionals or other health professionals, such as doctors, nurses, or social workers.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Therapy and Counseling, Psychology, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Sociology and Anthropology, Education and Training.
Software substance abuse counselors use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- ACMS Casewatch MilleniumMedical software
- Addison Health Systems WritePad EHRMedical software
- Allscripts CanopyMedical software
- Anasazi Software Assessment and Treatment Plan SystemsMedical software
- Athena Software Penelope Case ManagementMedical software
- Cadence Solutions extendedReachMedical software
- Case management softwareMedical software
- CaseManagement.com E-ReportsMedical software
- Client SystemMedical software
- IMA Technologies CaseTrakkerMedical software
- Libera System7Medical software
- STI Computer Services ChartMakerMedical software
Also called: Addictions Counselor, CADC (Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor), Case Manager, Chemical Dependency Counselor (CD Counselor), Chemical Dependency Professional, Counselor.
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.