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Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor resume example

A resume for a Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor needs to show the work itself: counsel and advise individuals with alcohol, tobacco, drug, or other problems, such as gambling and eating disorders. Day to day that means work like this: complete and maintain accurate records or reports regarding the patients' histories and progress, services provided, or other required information; counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Addictions Counselor
  • Chemical Dependency Counselor
  • CD Counselor
  • Counselor
  • Substance Abuse Counselor
  • SA Counselor
  • Case Manager
  • Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor
  • ADAC
  • Chemical Dependency Professional
  • Clinical Counselor
  • Drug and Alcohol Treatment Specialist
  • DATS
  • Prevention Specialist
  • Behavior Tech
  • CADC
  • LADC
  • LPC

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

  • Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ADAC)
  • Chemical Dependency Counselor (CD Counselor)
  • Drug and Alcohol Treatment Specialist (DATS)
  • Substance Abuse Counselor (SA Counselor)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Complete and maintain accurate records or reports regarding the patients' histories and progress, services provided, or other required information.
  • Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
  • Assess individuals' degree of drug dependency by collecting and analyzing urine samples.
  • Follow progress of discharged patients to determine effectiveness of treatments.
  • Conduct chemical dependency program orientation sessions.
  • Review and evaluate clients' progress in relation to measurable goals described in treatment and care plans.
  • Coordinate activities with courts, probation officers, community services, or other post-treatment agencies.
  • Develop client treatment plans based on research, clinical experience, and client histories.
  • Modify treatment plans to comply with changes in client status.
  • Coordinate counseling efforts with mental health professionals or other health professionals, such as doctors, nurses, or social workers.
  • Plan or implement follow-up or aftercare programs for clients to be discharged from treatment programs.
  • Intervene as an advocate for clients or patients to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.

23 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Complete and maintain accurate records or reports regarding the patients' histories and progress, services provided, or other required information, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Assess individuals' degree of drug dependency by collecting and analyzing urine samples, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Follow progress of discharged patients to determine effectiveness of treatments, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • ACMS Casewatch Millenium
  • Addison Health Systems WritePad EHR
  • Allscripts Canopy
  • Anasazi Software Assessment and Treatment Plan Systems
  • Athena Software Penelope Case Management
  • Cadence Solutions extendedReach
  • Case management software
  • CaseManagement.com E-Reports
  • Client System
  • danic Technology
  • Database software
  • Economic Analysis Group EAG CaseTrack
  • Email software
  • IBM Lotus Notes

31 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • Breathalyzers
  • Desktop computers
  • Notebook computers
  • Personal computers
  • Personal digital assistants PDA

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

  • ACMS Casewatch Millenium
  • Addison Health Systems WritePad EHR

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Active Listening
  2. 02Speaking
  3. 03Critical Thinking
  4. 04Social Perceptiveness
  5. 05Monitoring
  6. 06Reading Comprehension
  7. 07Writing
  8. 08Judgment and Decision Making
  9. 09Persuasion
  10. 10Service Orientation

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • Therapy and Counseling
  • Psychology
  • Education and Training
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • English Language
  • Administrative
  • Administration and Management
  • Sociology and Anthropology

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 41%Master's Degree
  • 24%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
  • 24%Associate's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Extensive Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Common questions

What does a Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor do?
Counsel and advise individuals with alcohol, tobacco, drug, or other problems, such as gambling and eating disorders. Day to day that includes work like complete and maintain accurate records or reports regarding the patients' histories and progress, services provided, or other required information and Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
What skills should a Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor put on a resume?
O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness, and Monitoring among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes ACMS Casewatch Millenium, Addison Health Systems WritePad EHR, Allscripts Canopy, Anasazi Software Assessment and Treatment Plan Systems, and Athena Software Penelope Case Management. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Addictions Counselor, Chemical Dependency Counselor, CD Counselor, and Counselor. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 41% reported their level of education as "Master's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.