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 have read the brochures. What they have not got is someone in the middle of it describing what a week is really like, what a practicum in a jail program or an opioid treatment program actually asks of you, and how people handle coursework that is emotionally heavy.
That is the part only you can answer.
Taking part is up to you
Your school passed on the link, but this is our project and not theirs. Taking part is voluntary, it has no bearing on your standing in your program, and nobody at your school sees your answers before they are published.
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 fully anonymous with just your program and year. Pick whichever lets you answer honestly.
You're answering for yourself here, not for your school, and the consent wording says so.
Some of these questions touch on personal experience with addiction or recovery. Answer only what you're comfortable putting in public, skip anything you'd rather not, and remember the anonymous option above is there for exactly this.
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
- School
- When do you expect to finish
- Are you working while you study? If so, doing what
- Headshot (optional)
- Which program are you enrolled in
- What kind of setting is your practicum or internship in
Your week and costs
- Walk us through a typical week.
- How does it compare to what you expected when you enrolled?
- How are you paying for your program, and what costs did you underestimate?
Practicum and internship
- What kind of setting is your practicum or internship in? Examples might be residential, outpatient, an opioid treatment program, a jail or court program, a hospital, or a recovery community organization.
- How was it arranged, and what has surprised you there?
Support and growth
- This coursework can be emotionally heavy. How has your program helped you handle that, and what have you found helpful on your own?
- Describe a moment when a faculty member or supervisor made a real difference for you, or a time you needed support and had to find it yourself.
- Tell us about a course, client interaction, or experience that changed how you think about addiction or recovery, whether about medications, harm reduction, relapse, abstinence-based approaches, or something else.
- What kind of person do you think thrives in this program, and who might find it a tough fit?
If you have more to say (optional)
- What do you know now that you wish someone had told you before you applied?
Your connection to this work (optional)
- A reminder: you can choose to be credited anonymously.
- If a personal connection to addiction or recovery, yours or someone close to you, brought you to this field and you're comfortable sharing, how has it shaped your experience in the program? Please share only what you're comfortable with, and feel free to skip this question.
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.