Medical social worker vs alcohol and drug counselor

The differences between medical social workers and alcohol and drug counselors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a medical social worker, becoming an alcohol and drug counselor takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a medical social worker has an average salary of $57,093, which is higher than the $45,758 average annual salary of an alcohol and drug counselor.

The top three skills for a medical social worker include social work, patients and home health. The most important skills for an alcohol and drug counselor are patients, social work, and crisis intervention.

Medical social worker vs alcohol and drug counselor overview

	Medical Social Worker	Alcohol And Drug Counselor
Yearly salary	$57,093	$45,758
Hourly rate	$27.45	$22.00
Growth rate	9%	-
Number of jobs	87,792	77,461
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	45	39
Years of experience	2	6

What does a medical social worker do?

A medical social worker specializes in managing a patient's health care and welfare while communicating with guardians or families, focusing on helping them cope and understand the medical conditions and situations. They are primarily responsible for assessing a patient's condition to identify their needs, conducting interviews to gather background information regarding the patient and family, and referring any social service programs that may provide them with the assistance or help they need. Furthermore, it is crucial to identify any signs of abuse or neglect and conduct intervention procedures right away.

What does an alcohol and drug counselor do?

A drug & alcohol counselor treats addicts in either one-on-one or group settings. They help by educating and developing possible treatment plans for patients to support them in coping with their addictive personalities. A drug and alcohol counselor will evaluate to determine the progress has been successfully made towards recovery. They help patients better understand and overcome their addictions. Counselors help through offering support, rehabilitation, and guidance by using various techniques. Drug & alcohol counselors seek to help an addict find the source of their addiction.

Medical social worker vs alcohol and drug counselor salary

Medical social workers and alcohol and drug counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Social Worker	Alcohol And Drug Counselor
Average salary	$57,093	$45,758
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $77,000	Between $30,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	California
Best paying company	Health Advocates	Montage Health
Best paying industry	Health Care	Professional

Differences between medical social worker and alcohol and drug counselor education

There are a few differences between a medical social worker and an alcohol and drug counselor in terms of educational background:

	Medical Social Worker	Alcohol And Drug Counselor
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Social Work	Psychology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	California State University - Long Beach

Medical social worker vs alcohol and drug counselor demographics

Here are the differences between medical social workers' and alcohol and drug counselors' demographics:

	Medical Social Worker	Alcohol And Drug Counselor
Average age	45	39
Gender ratio	Male, 14.3% Female, 85.7%	Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 19.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 3.3% White, 58.5% 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	13%	12%

Differences between medical social worker and alcohol and drug counselor duties and responsibilities

Medical social worker example responsibilities.

Understand manage care, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Humanize the medical setting for elderly patients by using appropriate compassion in explaining complex information.
Provide crisis intervention, supportive counseling and trauma/grief counseling for patients and their families experiencing acute or chronic traumatic events.
Provide hands-on assessment and monitoring of suspect child abuse and neglect cases of children needing intensive rehabilitation and specialize care.
Provide social casework to patients having difficulty in social functioning, primarily as it affects their health and emotional rehabilitation.
Facilitate family counseling, crisis intervention, and assessments of specials population including geriatrics, homeless and substance abusing veterans.

Alcohol and drug counselor example responsibilities.

Plan and implement follow-up and aftercare programs for clients to be discharge from treatment programs.
Practice cognitive behavioral, motivational enhancement and structural family therapy.
front office, counseling and aftercare.
Administer UA test onsite and send out.
Improve IOP successful completion rate while facilitating seven groups per week.
Collect and organize statistical data as required by DASA, and NEWTA.

Medical social worker vs alcohol and drug counselor skills

Common medical social worker skills

Social Work, 24%
Patients, 19%
Home Health, 11%
MSW, 7%
Patient Care, 6%
Crisis Intervention, 3%

Common alcohol and drug counselor skills

Patients, 15%
Social Work, 11%
Crisis Intervention, 8%
Rehabilitation, 7%
Substance Abuse Treatment, 6%
Treatment Services, 6%

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Medical Social Worker
Medical Social Worker vs Alcohol And Drug Counselor

Updated January 8, 2025

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