What Patients do Addiction Therapist Deal with in Tennessee?

If you are an addiction therapist or a prospective addiction therapist in the state of Tennessee, you might be wondering where you can find work. The good news for you is that, right now, there are tons of jobs for addiction therapists and substance abuse counselors of all levels in the state. Furthermore, addiction therapists in Tennessee work in a wide variety of different environments and with different types of patients, so you'll have a lot of choice when it comes to finding a job. You can either try something entirely new that you are qualified for or stick to the job you've always done or have always wanted to do. The field is wide open in Tennessee.

Many Tennessee addiction therapists work in hospitals, helping to perform intake and assessments of patients struggling with addiction or substance abuse. They may also be required to diagnose addictions or medical complications caused by addictions and to work with the patients during their stay. Often times, addiction therapists at traditional hospitals will refer patients to other resources that can help them to overcome their substance abuse problems when they are discharged. It is also important to note that hospitals are some of the most highly paying atmospheres in which an addiction therapist may work.

Some addiction therapists take on jobs in rehabilitation centers. Rehabilitation centers can be geared toward all kinds of addicts or can focus on just one specific group, such as eating disorder patients or alcoholics. Typical jobs at rehabilitation centers involve intake and assessment of patients, one on one counseling sessions, facilitating group counseling sessions, deciding when to discharge patients, and creating plans for living an addiction free life after completing treatment or being discharged from the rehabilitation program. Typically, addiction therapists working in this manner also tend to be within the higher income brackets for the profession.

As an addiction therapist in Tennessee, you might also choose to work in the school system. Usually, within the school system, your job is to provide information about drugs and alcohol abuse and to design and implement prevention programs. Your goal within the system is to target the state's children, hoping to make drug and alcohol abuse never come into the picture. You might also counsel the children of addicts who are experiencing difficulties or stress as a result. On the college level, you could counsel students battling their own addiction problems.

Still, there are more choices for working in addiction therapy in the state. Some therapists choose to work with inmates at the state prison, helping them to understand how their various addictions and problems have impacted their lives and helping them to prepare for a substance abuse free life on the outside. Addiction therapists can also work in juvenile detention centers, counseling young people whose crimes were committed as a result of or in conjunction with drug or alcohol abuse or other addictive problems or tendencies. These jobs also pay fairly well and typically come with great benefits.

Of course many Tennessee addiction therapists also practice traditional, one on one counseling in a clinical atmosphere. These individuals may own their own practices, work for a private practice, or work for the state or local mental health department. Their job is to conduct counseling sessions with addicts and to try and help them work through their substance abuse and/or other issues and to become better, more fully functioning, more productive members of society.

The choices don't stop there either. Addiction counselors may work with local non-profit groups that spread awareness about drug and alcohol addiction. They might also work in group homes or halfway homes for those in transition from being addicts to being normal members of society. Homeless shelters frequently hire addiction therapists to help the people who come into the shelter and who have problems with drugs and/or alcohol. As an addiction therapist , you could even be hired or start your own independent job as a sober living coach, someone who literally coaches recovering addicts, helping them to resist temptation and to learn how to cope with their problems and their own daily struggles without the use of drugs and alcohol.