Thanks for agreeing to take part. We're building an interview series on SubstanceAbuseCounselor.org that puts real voices from addiction counseling programs in front of the people trying to choose one.
They can find a list of credentials. What they cannot find is someone who has done the work saying how the supervised hours came together, what the first year of documentation, co-occurring conditions and crisis calls was actually like, and what a good employer in this field looks like from the inside.
That is the part only you can answer.
You choose how you're identified
The form asks how you'd like your name to appear before it asks you anything else. Full name, first name and last initial, first name only, or credentials and job title with no name at all. Pick whichever lets you answer honestly.
You're answering for yourself here, not for your school or your employer, and the consent wording says so.
What we're asking for
About 10 to 15 minutes. The questions are grouped by topic. The last group is optional, for anyone who has more to say, so answer what's useful and skip anything that doesn't apply. A short paragraph per group is plenty.
We're after the honest version, not the polished one. If the honest answer to something is that it was harder than you expected, that's the answer we want.
Filling out the form
Everything marked required needs an answer, and both consent boxes at the bottom need ticking. The Submit button stays greyed out until they are, so if it looks inactive, scroll down to the consent boxes.
There's no save and resume. If you'd rather not do it in one sitting, draft your answers somewhere else first and paste them in. The full question list is below.
What happens after you submit
- You'll get an email confirming we received your answers, with a copy of what you submitted for your records, and a reminder of how you asked to be identified.
- We read every response. We can't publish all of them, so this isn't a guarantee. If yours is going into the series, we'll send you a direct link once it's live.
- If we publish, your answers appear substantially as you've written them. If you want to change something, or you'd rather we didn't publish after all, just reply to your confirmation email. That goes for after publication too.
We may fix the odd typo. We won't change what you've said.
Want to draft your answers first?
See all questions
About you
- Your name
- How would you like to be identified when we publish this
- Your email
- Your credentials
- Your current job title
- School where you earned your degree
- Year you graduated
- Link to your LinkedIn or professional profile (optional)
- Headshot (optional)
- Which credential or license do you hold, and in which state
- What kind of setting do you work in now
Your path
- What are you doing now?
- What was your path to credentialing or licensure like, including how long it took, how the supervised hours came together, and what surprised you?
- If you've moved states, how did your credential transfer?
Your first year on the job
- In your first year of practice, what did you feel ready for?
- What did you have to learn on the job? Think of things like documentation and insurance requirements, working with clients on medication treatment, co-occurring mental health conditions, or crisis situations.
The honest picture
- What should prospective students hear about the realities of this work? That could include caseloads, work settings, pay over time, or how funding changes affect your employer.
- What does a good employer look like in this field?
- How do you protect yourself from burnout, and how well did your program prepare you for that?
Looking back
- Which parts of the program mattered most to your career, and which mattered less than you expected?
- How did you pay for your program, and looking back, how do you feel about what it cost?
- If you were choosing a program again today, what would you weigh differently?
If you have more to say (optional)
- Tell us about a moment in your work that made it all worth it, or one that really tested you.
- What would you say to someone considering this field who isn't sure they're ready for it?
The questionnaire
Questions about any of this?
Email us at [email protected] and we'll get back to you. You can ask us to update or remove your Q&A at any time after it's published.