How happy are you, working as a substance abuse counselor??

On a scale of 1 - 5, with (1) being unhappy and (5) being very happy, how would you rate your happiness working in the substance abuse counseling profession? PLEASE explain in detail the reasoning for your answer i.e. pitfalls, burnout, rewards, hours, success rate or any other personal reasons for your answer.

This question is for past or current substance abuse professionals. I am looking into a possible career in the area.

4,

Burnout rate is high
Other Peoples problems all day
Rewarding on a mental level - pay not a motivating factor
Hours can be as long/troublesome as you like them to be.

Boss is an **** -but then again - arent they all!

5 very happy
I'm a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a Certified Apprentice Substance Abuse Counselor. With respect to having a substance abuse credential in addition to the mental health credential:

Pros
Having a mental disorder puts people at greater risk of having a substance use disorder. Many of the people seeing me for mental health disorder also have a substance use disorder.
There is a shortage of people treating substance use disorders in my area, so I get more referrals.
What I've learned about helping people get motivated for substance use treatment also helps motivate people for treatment of mental disorders.

Cons
Extra expense and time for continuing education in substance use disorders.
People with substance use disorders tend to be less reliable about showing up for appointments.

I'm in private practice. I'm my own boss. I don't provide care during the acute withdrawal phase.

My boyfriend is a substance abuse counselor and I think he would rate his job a 3. He gets alot of baker-acted clients and he has to restrain them alot and he hates that part of it. He has to be on guard most of the day and he's had people throw things at him, spit on him and bite him, etc.

I give alot of props for Drug counselors that can reach out to Addicts its a very hard thing to do. But with patience,understanding and support it'll get a long way..

On the other hand what is the deal with drug counselors dating thier patients/clients?

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