Alcohol and Other Drugs Counsellor
What the work is
Provides support and treatment for people struggling with substance abuse and addiction, identifies underlying causes of addiction, develops coping strategies to manage change, and provides community education.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Assesses substance abuse and alcohol consumption history
- Provides individual and group counselling sessions to help the individual understand the underlying causes of addiction and overcome the addiction
- Provides education and resources to individuals about the risks and consequences of substance abuse
- Facilitates referrals to Health Professionals or community resources, such as detoxification programs and support groups
- Monitors progress and supports individuals to stay on track with their treatment plans
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a community counselling service with small, quiet rooms and a busy front desk. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A client who struggled to speak in the first session laughs about something in the fifth
- Someone leaves with a plan and a small, real sense of relief
- A referral you made connects a person with exactly the help they needed
Hard days
- Carrying other people's heavy stories home in your head after a long day
- A client stops coming and you never learn how things turned out
- A full caseload, a waiting list and a person who needs more time than you have
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 261132, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.