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.
10-Year Growth
+16.8%
Annual Openings
48,300
Typical entry: Master's degree
21 of 23 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Conduct chemical dependency program orientation sessions.
AI: Fully automatable - Program orientation is largely standardized information delivery and Q&A that AI can present interactively and consistently, making it feasible to fully automate orientation sessions in many settings.
Complete and maintain accurate records or reports regarding the patients' histories and progress, services provided, or other required information.
AI: Partial - AI can automate generation and maintenance of clinical records and reports from inputs and EHRs but still requires human oversight for legal, ethical, and accuracy validation.
Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes.
AI: Partial - AI chatbots and therapeutic tools can deliver structured counseling and support (CBT, motivational interviewing prompts) but cannot fully replace human clinicians for complex, relational, and high-stakes cases.
Interview clients, review records, and confer with other professionals to evaluate individuals' mental and physical condition and to determine their suitability for participation in a specific program.
AI: Partial - AI can conduct intake interviews, extract information from records, and flag suitability, yet final suitability determinations and sensitive interviews require human clinical judgment and consent handling.
Develop client treatment plans based on research, clinical experience, and client histories.
AI: Partial - AI can draft evidence-based treatment plans from research and history, but integrating nuanced clinical experience and tailoring for individual cases still needs clinician review.
Review and evaluate clients' progress in relation to measurable goals described in treatment and care plans.
AI: Partial - AI can track measurable goals and produce progress analytics, but interpretation and decisions about clinical significance typically require human oversight.
Modify treatment plans to comply with changes in client status.
AI: Partial - AI can propose modifications to treatment plans in response to new data, but clinicians must validate and authorize changes to ensure safety and appropriateness.
Coordinate counseling efforts with mental health professionals or other health professionals, such as doctors, nurses, or social workers.
AI: Partial - AI can coordinate logistics, summarize cases, and facilitate information sharing, but cross-disciplinary clinical coordination still depends on human professionals for decisions and relationships.
Attend training sessions to increase knowledge and skills.
AI: Partial - AI can automatically consume and summarize training materials and complete e-learning modules, yet human practitioners attending interactive skill-building and credentialing remains necessary.
Participate in case conferences or staff meetings.
AI: Partial - AI can prepare agendas, summaries, and suggested talking points and participate as an informational assistant, but cannot fully replace human clinical judgment, real-time interpersonal dynamics, or legal/ethical responsibility in meetings.
Provide clients or family members with information about addiction issues and about available services or programs, making appropriate referrals when necessary.
AI: Partial - AI can provide accurate psychoeducation and suggest service options or referrals using databases, but verifying local eligibility, up-to-date availability, and making official referrals typically requires human oversight and authority.
Coordinate activities with courts, probation officers, community services, or other post-treatment agencies.
AI: Partial - AI can automate scheduling, document exchange, and generate coordination prompts, but cannot fully manage sensitive negotiations, legal interactions, or assume accountability for interagency decision-making.
Supervise or direct other workers providing services to clients or patients.
AI: Partial - AI can assist supervision with scheduling, monitoring performance metrics, training materials, and decision support, but cannot fully assume legal, ethical, and interpersonal responsibilities of human supervisors.
Train or supervise student interns or new staff members.
AI: Partial - AI can deliver training curricula, assess knowledge, and offer coaching resources, but cannot assume full supervisory responsibilities, evaluate complex clinical skills in person, or provide mentorship and ethical oversight alone.
Act as liaisons between clients and medical staff.
AI: Partial - AI can facilitate communication by summarizing records and translating questions between clients and medical staff, but cannot fully perform the relational, clinical judgment, and confidentiality responsibilities of a human liaison.
Plan or implement follow-up or aftercare programs for clients to be discharged from treatment programs.
AI: Partial - AI can design personalized aftercare plans, reminders, and monitor adherence using data, yet implementing, adjusting in complex real-world contexts, and managing crises require human coordination and clinical oversight.
Instruct others in program methods, procedures, or functions.
AI: Partial - AI can instruct others by delivering procedures, tutorials, and assessments effectively, but cannot fully replace human instructors for hands-on demonstration, nuanced feedback, and responsibility for trainees' clinical competence.
Counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, and supporting clients or patients.
AI: Partial - AI can provide psychoeducation, guided communication strategies, and supportive scripts to family members, but cannot fully substitute for empathic, legally accountable human counseling, especially in complex or high-risk situations.
Follow progress of discharged patients to determine effectiveness of treatments.
AI: Partial - AI can automate follow-up contact, aggregate outcome data, and analyze treatment effectiveness signals, but lacks the clinical judgement and contextual understanding required to definitively determine treatment effectiveness alone.
Confer with family members or others close to clients to keep them informed of treatment planning and progress.
AI: Partial - AI can generate summaries, draft communications, and remind family members about treatment planning and progress, but cannot fully replace human judgment, confidentiality management, and the interpersonal nuances of family conferencing.
Develop, implement, or evaluate public education, prevention, or health promotion programs, working in collaboration with organizations, institutions, or communities.
AI: Partial - AI can design materials, model program impact, and support evaluation and planning, but cannot fully replicate the community engagement, stakeholder negotiation, and on-the-ground implementation needed for these programs.
Intervene as an advocate for clients or patients to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.
AI: Not automatable - Crisis intervention and emergency advocacy demand real-time human judgment, authority, and ethical/legal accountability that AI cannot reliably provide in 2025.
Assess individuals' degree of drug dependency by collecting and analyzing urine samples.
AI: Not automatable - Collecting urine samples requires physical interaction, chain-of-custody, and lab procedures that AI alone cannot perform, and while AI can analyze digital lab data, it cannot execute the full end-to-end task.