r/DrugCounselors

I recently heard someone say this about a woman, in recovery and in recovery from addiction/alcoholism and in recovery from an eating disorder-this woman is also vegan-
“If they see what we both eat at least you could concentrate on bulimia instead of anorexia. That way, I could eat what I want and you could just throw up!”
As a counselor and aspiring psychology/therapist, having been I and around the recovery environment in a multitude of capacity- i have seen and heard so many people more concerned with the free meal they receive at whatever agency or for being part of a club. They have no compassion or comprehension of eating disorders.
This woman isn’t a counselor, and I still expected a certain level of decorum from her, anyway. The blatant lack of knowledge that:
1.) a eating disorder isn’t about food

2.) people don’t care when they’re insensitive about eating disorders

3.) it’s one of the most difficult to treat because the patient always has to have food to survive as a human.

4.) There are no know medical procedures or medications that specifically treat eating disorders-
( I don’t support pharmaceutical answers to any problem for anything longer than a detox for addicted individuals, but she does, so she should know this since she supports pharma)

5.) since the closing of many “psych “ units and loss of facilities specifically designed for eating disorders. substance abuse treatment is left with the additional need for facilitation of groups and treatment for these individuals with less than adequate curriculum.
in this case, personal “complications” of veganism are confused with “diet” and she took her anger out, on a selfish, uneducated display of insensitivity.
As a counselor and empathetic lover of life and living beings, that I don’t ever cause someone to feel this way or make harsh comments about something so intimate and personal.
I am taking into consideration she’s uneducated on the matter, and doesn’t seem interested no in anyone but herself, so I should keep that in mind.
Has anyone else experienced this disconnect in a clinical setting for addictive disorders?

Along with gambling, it seems like people with eating disorders are left to their own devices because other people don’t relate to it and don’t want to. Dual diagnosis curriculum barely covers these issues along with addiction. So, how are we, as counselors, clinicians, therapists and human beings, supposed to approach a person exhibiting hostility against these issues they don’t have a desire of knowing about? Some of them have struggling family members relying on support from those that say they care about them? I hate the answer is sometimes that they just really don’t care? And we aren’t trained to teach them.

I (17f) have been considering different career paths as I just graduated high school and enrolled in college. I am passionate about community, human connection, understanding, and kindness. I want a job that helps people who are typically given an unfair opportunity. I was born and raised in Albuquerque and have witnessed extreme poverty, mental illness, and police terror my whole life. However, I have also met kind, insightful, capable, and competent people who are written off because they are poor or dependent on drugs.

This experience has led me to desire a career in which I can be a support system for people. My main support systems growing up were teachers and that was my plan for a long time. Then I changed my mind and set my heart on becoming a social worker, which I later learned from my mother was a lot less positively impactful than the government makes it out to be. I then moved on to going to law school to become a public defender, but every lawyer I talked to advised against it. I feel very lost. I know I am so young, but I enjoy having a plan. Ever since getting into the college I carefully crafted an application for after two years I’ve been in a slump. I need a goal to work at.

I recently have been looking into substance abuse counseling and it seems very up my alley. My biological mother whom I live with has been an on and off opiate and amphetamine user since my childhood. I don’t say that to ask for any condolences everyones got their stuff going on, I only bring it up to say that I have firsthand experience with how to deescalate situations involving individuals under the influence, how to recognize signs of drug withdrawal, impairment, and overdose, a familiarity with street and prescription drugs and understanding of humanity behind addiction. I am wondering how substance abuse counselors impact their patients, and how different forms of counseling create different patient/counselor relationships. I think I’d be best suited working at an inpatient rehab center or a correctional facility/prison but also don’t quite understand how that placement works and what experience/education each requires. I would prefer to work for a federal/public agency as I have personal ethical reservations regarding the privatization of healthcare and education but I am curious as to how private/public facilities differ and which is better.

If I were go down the route for substance abuse counseling, would I have to study psychology? I have involuntarily been in therapy for multiple years on and off and would get so sick of hearing about it, especially anything that didn’t directly correlate with addiction. The college I’m enrolling in has a program where you can get a BA and MA in social work in six years, would that be a good option? Would working in Albuquerque be the best option or should I explore other cities/states?

Super curious about people’s experiences with their substance abuse counseling careers and people who have been treated by substance abuse counselors, did you/they feel helpful? Or was it more harm than good as often comes from government funded community intervention? Thank you for reading my long post! I appreciate any and all feedback and apologies if I sound stupid or unrealistic with anyof my aspirations or ideas, I don’t really know anything about working other than the part time jobs I’ve had through high school. I hope you have an amazing day thank you!!

I’ve been recovered alcoholic for over a decade and I just tried to get my license restored but they had me take the substance use psychological exam. Is it possible to score 98% severe alcoholic after being sober for over a decade or did I answer the questions wrong? Because some questions I wasn’t sure if you answer how you live now or how you lived when you were using. Michigan

Hello people.

I've been a hotline counselor for a bit over two years for a non-profit and I love my job, but sometimes I feel like it's all pointless.

For every call that I feel like I truly help the person, there's about ten that are just the same people who feel like they're just throwing up their problems at me night after night. Not to mention all the hostility, arrogance and other difficult attitudes that result from the concurrent mental health disorders a lot of them have.

Where I live (Quebec) I need a different diploma than what I have to work in rehab, and I plan to get it when I have the headspace for it.

Like I said, I love my job, and I love that we help people that have a harder time getting help for a variety of issues. All these things I am having trouble with I can handle just fine when I have had a long weekend or time off. But near the second half of the work week I feel drained and less patient.

So how do you guys deal with the bad behaviour and seeing the same people over time and not seeing any change ?

I’ve taken all the classes, just need my 1000 supervised work hours and I’m job/intern hunting now. Any advice for a newbie, regarding applying for jobs vs starting as intern? Also, any recommendations on CADC study guides? Im nervous to take the test. I’m in OR, any advice is helpful. Thanks in advance.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I am getting lots of conflicting, confusing information online...

I am currently pursuing my Bachelor's degree in General Studies with a minor in Psychology from a university in Texas. My expected graduation is May 2027.

I would like to become an LCDC in the state of Texas. I understand I first need to meet the educational requirements.

Where can I go to get this education? Can it be a certificate since I will already have a degree? Can it be online?

I am so lost!!!

Thank you so much for any help you can offer.