# Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors

> Counsel and advise individuals with alcohol, tobacco, drug, or other problems, such as gambling and eating disorders. May counsel individuals, families, or groups or engage in prevention programs.

- **SOC code:** 21-1011.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-21-1011-00
- **Also known as:** 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
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- 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.
- Conduct chemical dependency program orientation sessions.
- Follow progress of discharged patients to determine effectiveness of treatments.
- 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.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Therapy and Counseling _(knowledge)_
- Psychology _(knowledge)_
- Education and Training _(knowledge)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(transferable_skill)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Speech Clarity _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Psychology _(Specialized Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Active Learning _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- 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

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 53rd percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 76th percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 33rd percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 20th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 20% automation, 73% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 4.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** learning.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Provide clients or family members with information about addiction issues and about available services or programs, making appropriate referrals when necessary. _(3.9% of measured AI use; learning)_
- Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes. _(3.7% of measured AI use; learning)_
- Instruct others in program methods, procedures, or functions. _(2.5% of measured AI use; learning)_
- Modify treatment plans to comply with changes in client status. _(0.8% of measured AI use; learning)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me provide clients or family members with information about addiction issues and about available services or programs, making appropriate referrals when necessary.
- Help me counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
- Help me instruct others in program methods, procedures, or functions.
- Help me modify treatment plans to comply with changes in client status.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-21-1011-00_