Question by : How much do rehab counselors make ?
So i am starting to see what i am interested in when im older… and ever since a loss of a family member to drugs i have been interested in the career tittle of helping other with drugs and alcohol addictions .. So i been thinking about a Drug/Alcohol Counselor… but what exactly do they do and how much do they make… ive looked on the internet but they never really gave me a straight answer (the area i would work would be San Diego/Los Angeles California area)

Best answer:

Answer by jannsody
I am so sorry for the loss of your loved one. How terrific that you’re wanting to make a difference though. A drug and alcohol counselor (or “addictions specialist” or “substance abuse counselor”) needs to get certified and have gotten a lot of clinical fieldwork experience with an actual patient caseload under supervision. A lot of jobs prefer those with a master’s degree. Some community colleges offer an associate (two-year) degree program in addictions counseling and that may help one to realize if he or she would like to continue in the field with training. There may be a bachelor’s degree in substance abuse counseling, too.

For general career info: http://www.bls.gov/oco and can search ‘counselors’ or such.

This site has more specific information about addictions counseling: http://www.naadac.org and can click “education” and then “certification” or such.

For more information about addictions (and other types of) of counseling and to search for accredited programs in counseling: http://cacrep.org/index.cfm/for-students

With schooling, please avoid those private overly priced For-profit schools such as strayer, ashworth, devry, ITT tech, capella, argosy, keiser, aiu, walden, university of phoenix, colorado tech, kaplan, ashford, sanford brown, anthem, pima institute, brown mackie and others as they are merely out to “make a profit” (** and their course credits may NOT transfer to other schools).

These consumer sites have negative posts by former students about those private $ $ for-profit schools, and please heed the students’ warnings:

– http://www.ripoffreport.com

– http://www.pissedconsumer.com

– http://www.complaintsboard.com and can search.

U.S. colleges: http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ

To search for possible local volunteer opportunities (including perhaps for a Crisis Helpline in which one would listen to the callers as opposed to giving advice): http://www.volunteermatch.org

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Question by Adamismyname: Is this common for an alcoholic to recover the way I describe below?
I am wondering if it is common that an alcoholic, in the case of the neighbor a severe alcoholic, can just get better on their own as this neighbor of my parents did. The neighbor just died of cancer (unrelated to her past alcoholism) and was much better in her last 10+ years of life to the point of being sober for about 6 years or so. She did not go to AA or therapy and just on her own seemed to get better. The son of hers who told my parents this at the funeral was very open about her drinking so he seemed sincere in saying that for unknown reasons it just got better. He credits prayer and I wondered if this happens sometimes. She had been an alcoholic for about 20-25 years before getting better.
So I was just curious if this happens or if it almost always requires detox and therapy?

Best answer:

Answer by zeldaslexicon
No, “detox” is not necessarily a requirement for an alcoholic (or anyone with an addiction problem) to “get better”. Some people deal with alcohol or drug addiction without the help of a doctor, AA, counseling, or similar. While detoxing off alcohol is perhaps more dangerous than detoxing off other drugs of abuse, it can and has been done.

It’s not uncommon for those with an addiction to “transfer” their addiction to something else while in recovery. Many find that religion works well for this, and become, in effect, “addicted” to religion or prayer instead of alcohol or drugs. Others may become “addicted” to exercise, or food, or some other coping mechanism that is a bit less damaging to their physical health and more socially acceptable. So it may be that your neighbor found prayer to be an acceptable substitute for alcohol.

Some people actually become “addicted” to therapy. But it’s not required. Many have kicked a bad habit on their own.

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