Clinician vs addictions counselor

The differences between clinicians and addictions counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a clinician, becoming an addictions counselor takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a clinician has an average salary of $60,150, which is higher than the $47,226 average annual salary of an addictions counselor.

The top three skills for a clinician include social work, patients and patient care. The most important skills for an addictions counselor are patients, social work, and chemical dependency.

Clinician vs addictions counselor overview

	Clinician	Addictions Counselor
Yearly salary	$60,150	$47,226
Hourly rate	$28.92	$22.70
Growth rate	9%	12%
Number of jobs	105,023	79,459
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	45	39
Years of experience	4	6

What does a clinician do?

A clinician specializes in providing diagnosis, treatment, and direct care to patients with different illnesses. A clinician's duties mainly revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis, providing medical care through various therapies, and improving one's overall health condition. Furthermore, a clinician must obtain and analyze a patient's complete medical history, provide diagnostic tests, always monitor the effects of treatment on a patient, provide prognosis and consider the overall impact on a patient's health and well-being.

What does an addictions counselor do?

An Addictions Counselor helps patients overcome personal addiction problems, such as dependence on drugs, alcohol, and other substances. They evaluate the condition of their client through examining, asking questions, and recommending the proper treatment options.

Clinician vs addictions counselor salary

Clinicians and addictions counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinician	Addictions Counselor
Average salary	$60,150	$47,226
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $103,000	Between $32,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Philadelphia, PA
Highest paying state	Nevada	Pennsylvania
Best paying company	Pace University	Wellpath
Best paying industry	-	Non Profits

Differences between clinician and addictions counselor education

There are a few differences between a clinician and an addictions counselor in terms of educational background:

	Clinician	Addictions Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Hunter College of the City University of New York

Clinician vs addictions counselor demographics

Here are the differences between clinicians' and addictions counselors' demographics:

	Clinician	Addictions Counselor
Average age	45	39
Gender ratio	Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7%	Male, 35.4% Female, 64.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	15%	12%

Differences between clinician and addictions counselor duties and responsibilities

Clinician example responsibilities.

Perform thorough substance abuse assessments incorporating instruments such as ASAM, SASSI and urine drug screens; provide individual therapy.
Spearhead the development of rehabilitation programs serving adults with chemical dependency and mental health diagnoses with the manager.
Follow all ethical CARF standards when treating the residential client.
Facilitate stabilization, assessment, care and compassion for those in critical need.
Provide CBT and motivational interviewing for individual and group therapy to clients' who are on methadone.
Used motivational interviewing to lead recovery and therapy groups for IOP and PHP programs in the evenings and on weekends.

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Addictions counselor example responsibilities.

Ensure and manage the compliance with Didi Hirsch policies and procedures, contracts and other regulatory agencies, HIPAA and DMH.
Develop treatment plans and recommend a level of care within ASAM and DSM-IV guidelines, and approve requirements.
Restore patients to productive roles by educating them about available community base organizations, and social and employment services.
Perform initial evaluations and intakes, make eligibility determinations, conduct rehabilitation planning and problem solving, and counseling.
Provide drug, alcohol, and rehabilitation counseling and education in a residential therapeutic community for female drug offenders.
Serve as an advocate for family with private/public school-relate agencies (IEP meetings/education plans).

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Clinician vs addictions counselor skills

Common clinician skills

Social Work, 26%
Patients, 14%
Patient Care, 4%
Individual Therapy, 4%
Mental Health, 4%
Mental Illness, 3%

Common addictions counselor skills

Patients, 18%
Social Work, 12%
Chemical Dependency, 6%
Crisis Intervention, 6%
Substance Abuse Treatment, 5%
Intake Assessments, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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