MAMAS, DON'T LET YOUR BABIES GROW UP TO BE SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROFESSIONALS

Occasionally, I still see some school's advertisement, encouraging people to go into the field fo Substance Abuse Counseling. I am here to tell you about all you will accomplish by doing that is to keep the school in business, that is if you live in the state of Georgia, or any other republican dominated state. Substance Abuse Counseling always paid low, but career advancement was once possible for those who worked smart, and were willing to relocate to where higher positions were available. I did both.

Today, budgets have been cut for Substance Abuse Services in almost every state. Most Substance Abuse Services are conducted by Licensed Professional Counselors who in many cases do not even have a Certification. My state put most counseling services into the hands of the private sector, which means one must have private insurance in order to obtain them. Unfortunately, people with substance abuse problems don't have private insurance benefits. They aren't even able to work, and thanks to the new developments described above, neither are those who once treated them.

What is Required to Become a Substance Abuse Professional

In order to become a Substance Abuse Professional one must first obtain a bachelor's degree, four years of college education. Simply having a bachelor's degree does not qualify you to be a professional; however, and in order to become one, you must obtain another two years of education. At the Masters level you are considered a professional, but you must obtain a Substance Abuse Certification in order to bill medicaid for substance abuse services, meaning that you will not be able to rise above front line level counseling without obtaining one. It takes another two years to obtain a Certification. At that point you are determined to be a qualified professional who is eligible to bill for medicaid services. At one time it was possible to become a substance abuse supervisor, or program director with this certification. I worked my way up the ladder and accomplished both. I also actually obtained a three year Masters Degree with a Masters in Divinity as well as a specialty in psychology and counseling. It is no longer possible; however, to advance one's career as a Substance Abuse Professional with only seven formal years of education and two more years of supervision in order to obtain a Substance Abuse Certification. it is now necessary to become licensed as a professional counselor, something that would require five more years in my case, and would leave me 65 years old, old enough to draw my full retirement social security benefits. Now let us take a look at what Substance Abuse Counseling has to offer.

What Does Substance Abuse Counseling have to offer?

Today, a Substance Abuse Counselor with a Master's degree can expect to start out only at about $26,000 annually in the state of Georgia. While salaries vary depending on location, it is fair to assume that where salaries are higher, the cost of living is also higher. Today, $26,000 offers only a very low standard of living. In many cases, in Georgia, in order to even work on a counseling level, one must also be licensed or license eligible. This includes additional time, over the original six (or in my case 7) formal years of education, in time spent to obtain one's license. While having a certification and/or a license may raise the entry level pay to $30,000, that is still hardly a professional level income for most graduate degrees.

Is Advancement Possible?

Today, advancement with only a Masters Degree and a Certification is possible in very few settings, and most of these are very undesirable places in which to work. In order to advance one's career to the level mine reached previously, one must now obtain a bachelor's degree, a masters degree, a license, and a certification. Since I spent nine years obtaining credentials in order to work that did not include a license, I would expect the addition of a license to take still more time. I also started out earning only $23,000 annually, and only after relocating to strange towns in different states three times did my income reach even $31,000 annually. We are thus talking about over ten years of study to earn at the most $60,000 annually, and that is after being promoted a number of times or changing jobs in order to promote one's self. My brother who dropped out of college earns more than that today.

Where are Jobs Available for Substance Abuse Counselors?

About the only place a Substance Abuse Counselor who is not also a Licensed Professional Counselor can expect to advance today is within the prison system, and many female counselors would not be comfortable or happy taking that route. Previously, I supervised and directed programs, and was able to enjoy a high enough income to purchase nice clothes in order to maintain my physical appearance on the job. While expensive clothes are a thing of the past for me, my physical appearance continues to matter. In my previous director positions, I was able to interact with clients and staff in a comfortable environment while feeling like a reasonably attractive woman. This enhanced my self esteem, promoted confidence, and provided high energy throughout the day. A few weeks ago, I interviewed for a counseling position at a prison, mostly out of desperation. My experience was about as bad as being sentenced to prison time.

First of all, to the interview I wore a black dress with a long black jacket, something I would have worn on any normal work day while working in any of my previous management positions. To my shock, I was not even allowed to enter the prison in order to be interviewed, because the dress was slightly "over my knees, and had a 1/2 inch slit on the side." While I was not told in advance to wear pants to the interview, I was rudely told by strangers that "the men would be able to look up my dress." I have never felt more demeaned or angry. The group behaved as if I had shown up for a job interview in a wet t-shirt with no bra. I knew immediately this was no job I wanted to do. So after seven years of formal education, and two more years obtaining my Certification, there is no job fit for me in my field. For this female, working as a cashier for Ingles Supermarket holds more promise of joy than trying to look as ugly as I can all day in order to avoid harassment from clients or staff.

My Choice

I regret that I chose Substance Abuse Counseling as my life's work. While I hope I was able to provide hope for someone else in some small way during my years of service, the career no longer offers me any hope. I turn 60 years old on the 26th of this month, and will most likely never work professionally again. Unless some miracle occurs, I will never rise again to the level I once enjoyed, greet staff or conduct any training. I will never complete another assessment or encourage anyone to change his or her life for the better. I will never take pride in being able to manage my own affairs, pay my own bills, and make responsible financial choices or careless risky ones. I have ceased to be a functioning member of the human race. Life passes me by as if I were already dead. All I have to look forward to at this point is working on some part time dead end job for two more years until I can draw social security and cease working completely. Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Substance Abuse Counselors. We're living like slobs, and we can't find a job, doing the thing that we love.