Drug abuse counselor vs counselor

The differences between drug abuse counselors and counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a drug abuse counselor has an average salary of $49,420, which is higher than the $36,225 average annual salary of a counselor.

The top three skills for a drug abuse counselor include patients, drug abuse and substance abuse education. The most important skills for a counselor are patients, crisis intervention, and substance abuse.

Drug abuse counselor vs counselor overview

	Drug Abuse Counselor	Counselor
Yearly salary	$49,420	$36,225
Hourly rate	$23.76	$17.42
Growth rate	11%	10%
Number of jobs	27,596	77,536
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	39	44
Years of experience	6	-

Drug abuse counselor vs counselor salary

Drug abuse counselors and counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Drug Abuse Counselor	Counselor
Average salary	$49,420	$36,225
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $68,000	Between $19,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between drug abuse counselor and counselor education

There are a few differences between a drug abuse counselor and a counselor in terms of educational background:

	Drug Abuse Counselor	Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	University of Pennsylvania

Drug abuse counselor vs counselor demographics

Here are the differences between drug abuse counselors' and counselors' demographics:

	Drug Abuse Counselor	Counselor
Average age	39	44
Gender ratio	Male, 36.1% Female, 63.9%	Male, 38.5% Female, 61.5%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 15.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 3.5% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	12%	9%

Differences between drug abuse counselor and counselor duties and responsibilities

Drug abuse counselor example responsibilities.

Conduct group check-in and co-lead group psychotherapy sessions to help clients identify and manage problems associate with psychiatric conditions.
Consult with physicians regarding increase or decrease of methadone dosage.
Supervise and direct other workers providing services to patients.
Provide individual counseling services to opioid dependent clients in outpatient methadone maintenance treatment.
Participate in policy-shaping rehabilitation committee meetings.
Provide DBT group psychotherapy in inpatient, residential setting serving pregnant teenagers and young mothers.

Counselor example responsibilities.

Maintain a safe program through ongoing CPI training.
Utilize de-escalation skills (CPI) when necessary.
Instill confidence, improve all components of writing and reading, and study strategies.
Arrange ESL tutoring and perform as liaison between students, parents, and school administrators.
Advise students into their major field of study, and assisting them with choosing the correct curriculum.
Operate a full service litigation office that evolve from general litigation to criminal litigation to federal criminal trials.

Drug abuse counselor vs counselor skills

Common drug abuse counselor skills

Patients, 14%
Drug Abuse, 10%
Substance Abuse Education, 10%
Discharge Summaries, 10%
Methadone, 6%
Substance Abuse Issues, 5%

Common counselor skills

Patients, 13%
Crisis Intervention, 12%
Substance Abuse, 12%
Social Work, 10%
Community Resources, 4%
CPR, 4%