Career
Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors
Walk with people through addiction, crisis and recovery, and help them build healthier lives.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Maintain confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.
- Encourage clients to express their feelings and discuss what is happening in their lives, helping them to develop insight into themselves or their relationships.
- Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
- Perform crisis interventions to help ensure the safety of the patients and others.
- Fill out and maintain client-related paperwork, including federal- and state-mandated forms, client diagnostic records, and progress notes.
O*NET describes this work under “Mental Health Counselors”.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Maintain confidentiality of records relating to clients' treatment.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Writing.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
6 years of education after high school (master's degree), for a median of $59,350 a year and 50,500 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers$60,280 · +10.3%
- Marriage and Family Therapists$66,940 · +13.5%
- Healthcare Social Workers$67,880 · +8.5%
- Clinical and Counseling Psychologists$100,580 · +11.7%
- Rehabilitation Counselors$46,850 · +2.2%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
Not sure this fits who you are? Start with Vocational Finder →
Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.