Get Matched With Addiction Counseling Colleges
What is Substance Abuse Counseling?
Over the course of this new century, drug addiction has taken a drastic turn for the worse. Once pharmaceutical companies started urging doctors to overprescribe opioid medications such as oxycontin, rates of addiction and overdose ran out of control. The state of Kentucky was hit hard, as the state had formerly had little problem with hard drugs.
On top of the opioid epidemic, states like Kentucky were also hit with escalating rates of amphetamine abuse and addiction. Since the drug was easy to manufacture in both urban and rural areas, it spread throughout the state. State officials in government and higher education recognized the problems, however, and sprang into action.
An addiction counselor is a mental health professional who works exclusively with clients or patients who suffer from substance abuse disorder. In Kentucky, these counselors are needed to help treat the victims of the opioid epidemic, which as ravaged this state along with the rest of the nation. Thus, most addiction counselors work for drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers.
Rehabilitation centers service many different populations who are suffering with addiction. There are centers that may be exclusively for women, others cater to men only. There are also centers that have a specific religious focus and those that welcome all faiths. Addiction counselors also work with adolescents and, to a lesser extent, the aged.
Finally, addiction counselors may work in private practice, if their Kentucky licensure supports that professional choice. Others may work with state social service agencies, prisons, or private organizations dedicated to amending the scourge of addiction.