Mental health professional vs alcohol and drug counselor

The differences between mental health professionals and alcohol and drug 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 mental health professional, becoming an alcohol and drug counselor takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a mental health professional has an average salary of $49,119, which is higher than the $45,758 average annual salary of an alcohol and drug counselor.

The top three skills for a mental health professional include social work, patients and CPR. The most important skills for an alcohol and drug counselor are patients, social work, and crisis intervention.

Mental health professional vs alcohol and drug counselor overview

	Mental Health Professional	Alcohol And Drug Counselor
Yearly salary	$49,119	$45,758
Hourly rate	$23.61	$22.00
Growth rate	9%	-
Number of jobs	109,499	77,461
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	45	39
Years of experience	4	6

What does a mental health professional do?

The duties of a mental health professional will revolve around observing the behavior of patients. They are responsible for knowing their medical history, conducting consultations and assessments, diagnosing conditions, devising particular treatments and prescribing medication, and providing emotional support to patients. Furthermore, a mental health professional must coordinate with families and other mental health experts to monitor patients' behavior and develop care plans to help them in their road to recovery.

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.

Mental health professional vs alcohol and drug counselor salary

Mental health professionals and alcohol and drug counselors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mental Health Professional	Alcohol And Drug Counselor
Average salary	$49,119	$45,758
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $70,000	Between $30,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	Cupertino, CA	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Wellpath	Montage Health
Best paying industry	Finance	Professional

Differences between mental health professional and alcohol and drug counselor education

There are a few differences between a mental health professional and an alcohol and drug counselor in terms of educational background:

	Mental Health Professional	Alcohol And Drug Counselor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	California State University - Long Beach

Mental health professional vs alcohol and drug counselor demographics

Here are the differences between mental health professionals' and alcohol and drug counselors' demographics:

	Mental Health Professional	Alcohol And Drug Counselor
Average age	45	39
Gender ratio	Male, 26.2% Female, 73.8%	Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5%
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 mental health professional and alcohol and drug counselor duties and responsibilities

Mental health professional example responsibilities.

Lead training for staff on specific counseling interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders.
Monitor and manage preventative behavior with 2-3 MHA'S team and carry out a constructive routine with patients.
Provide individual treatment using CBT, DBT and motivational interviewing techniques to detainees with mental health and/or behavioral concerns.
Develop curriculum for and facilitate mental health groups including DBT education.
Provide comprehensive, recovery orient mental health skill building and support to patients with psychiatric disorder, including co-occurring diagnosis
Work with children and families as a psycho-social rehabilitation provider and qualify medical health assistant.

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.

Mental health professional vs alcohol and drug counselor skills

Common mental health professional skills

Social Work, 20%
Patients, 19%
CPR, 7%
Excellent Interpersonal, 6%
Clinical Supervision, 5%
Clinical Documentation, 5%

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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Mental Health Professional
Mental Health Professional vs Alcohol And Drug Counselor

Updated January 8, 2025

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