Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors
Counsel and advise individuals with alcohol, tobacco, drug, or other problems, such as gambling and eating disorders. May counsel individuals, families, or groups or engage in prevention programs.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $38,940 | $18.72 |
| 25th | $47,100 | $22.65 |
| 50th · Median | $59,350 | $28.53 |
| 75th | $76,530 | $36.80 |
| 90th | $97,590 | $46.92 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
Where does your number sit?
Compare an entered wage with the published thresholds for United States. Your entry stays on this page.
This compares wage amounts to published percentile thresholds. It does not estimate your personal percentile, adjust for your experience, or compare total compensation. Match the wage definition and occupation group before using the result.
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (28)
Typical tasks
- Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
- Attend training sessions to increase knowledge and skills.
- Develop client treatment plans based on research, clinical experience, and client histories.
- Complete and maintain accurate records or reports regarding the patients' histories and progress, services provided, or other required information.
- Review and evaluate clients' progress in relation to measurable goals described in treatment and care plans.
- Plan or implement follow-up or aftercare programs for clients to be discharged from treatment programs.
Expand more tasks (17)
- Intervene as an advocate for clients or patients to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.
- Coordinate counseling efforts with mental health professionals or other health professionals, such as doctors, nurses, or social workers.
- Interview clients, review records, and confer with other professionals to evaluate individuals' mental and physical condition and to determine their suitability for participation in a specific program.
- Participate in case conferences or staff meetings.
- Coordinate activities with courts, probation officers, community services, or other post-treatment agencies.
- Conduct chemical dependency program orientation sessions.
- Supervise or direct other workers providing services to clients or patients.
- Modify treatment plans to comply with changes in client status.
- Instruct others in program methods, procedures, or functions.
- Act as liaisons between clients and medical staff.
- Provide clients or family members with information about addiction issues and about available services or programs, making appropriate referrals when necessary.
- Train or supervise student interns or new staff members.
- Counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, and supporting clients or patients.
- Assess individuals' degree of drug dependency by collecting and analyzing urine samples.
- Develop, implement, or evaluate public education, prevention, or health promotion programs, working in collaboration with organizations, institutions, or communities.
- Follow progress of discharged patients to determine effectiveness of treatments.
- Confer with family members or others close to clients to keep them informed of treatment planning and progress.
Skills used in this work
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Expand more skills (29)
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Explore wages by location.
0 retained state and local wage references are available. Start with these selected locations, or search the full market directory for this career.
Local wage references are not retained for this occupation. The national view and employer evidence may still help.
Available links reflect retained source coverage for this career.
Find the next step that fits.
Look at current disclosed job ranges, explore supported employer salary evidence, or build a proposed hiring range with your own assumptions.