Can you counsel alcoholics with a Social Work degree?

Question

Can you counsel alcoholics with a Social Work degree?

Answer 1

go to a local AA meeting and see what your clientel will include and gain useful tools should you choose to follow this path

Answer 2

It's very possible. They will probably require you to undergo some additional training, but I know that a lot of community service agencies will hire people from all kinds of human services backgrounds if the need for counselors is high and the pool of available people with the perfect training is low. I would definitely apply for jobs, even if the list of qualifications seems daunting compared to your background. My sister got a job in social services that said it required a Masters of Social Work and she only had a few undergraduate college semesters with a major in English !

Answer 3

I'm in my fourth and final year of a Social Work degree, and that is what we are trained to do. We work in a variety of areas, inc. Drug and alcohol; youth and families; disability etc... In case work, one on one counselling is common.

Usually it does depend on the organisation at hand, but my training and study is not only about the turbulent social issues of today, but what skills need to be utilised in counselling.

All the best!