Employment in Long-Term Recovery: When Is the Right Time to Get a Job?

For example, working as a substance abuse counselor would give you the opportunity to provide support to others in recovery. Counselors develop trust with their patients through therapeutic alliances, helping their clients to feel comfortable discussing their hardships through the lens of shared experiences. In these scenarios, you can help patients recognize problematic behaviors and teach them plans https://stylevanity.com/2023/07/top-5-questions-to-ask-yourself-when-choosing-sober-house.html to prevent relapse that have actually worked for you. While it is good to take care of your mental health, sometimes the lack of structure can be detrimental, particularly for those in recovery. This aimlessness and missing sense of purpose can be mitigated by the right employment. Having a job that you can actually look forward to each day can have huge effects on your self-esteem and well being.

• The association also provides speciality online training sessions focused on specific prevention and treatment issues, such as working with military veterans and using technology for clinical supervision.
• Furthermore, finding a career comes with its own unique challenges when you’re in recovery.
• To serve in a clinical role, addiction and recovery specialists must earn a state-issued license.
• Building self-esteem and establishing independence are important to be sure, but so too is the ability to be able to handle the stresses of employment.

This is a wonderful career path that blends the creative and communication skills learned in recovery. Remember, talk to your recovery counselor and sponsor about which jobs to avoid before setting your sights on a career path. Most importantly, you need a stable career that aligns with the goals of your long-term recovery plan. This means some jobs are more suited for people leaving recovery than others.

How to Choose a Career When You’re In Recovery

The bonds protect the employer against losses caused by the fraudulent or dishonest acts of the bonded employee for the first six months of employment at no cost to the job applicant or the employer. According to the BLS, professionals serving as substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors earned a mean annual wage of $49,950 in 2019. The salaries individuals earn in this field may depend on where they work, such as in an outpatient care center, mental health facility, or healthcare clinic.

• Finding a career in recovery can be helpful for both you and other recovering addicts.
• Ultimately, whether or not to disclose your recovery status to an employer is a personal decision and depends on your circumstances and needs.
• You will therefore have to find a way to make up for any skill gaps that may exist—either by taking courses, volunteering, or interning to gain relevant experience and build up your resume.

This independence helps build a strong sense of confidence as an addict learns to adapt to the challenges of day-to-day living and is often done in vocational development programs. In some cases, disclosing your recovery status can make it easier to guide someone through the process. The idea of having “been there, done that” can create a connection that allows clients to become more transparent in sessions and accept guidance from someone who intimately understands the experience of addiction and recovery. In other cases, however, it is possible that disclosure can affect the way a client perceives the level of care they receive in treatment and may discount its worth.

How to Advance Your Career in Addiction and Recovery

The association also provides speciality online training sessions focused on specific prevention and treatment issues, such as working with military veterans and using technology for clinical supervision. These managers work for hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers, and government agencies. They oversee the intake process, assess client eligibility and medical needs, and submit required paperwork to healthcare providers. They also collaborate with counselors and physicians to develop action plans.

For instance, working in an environment such as a restaurant may not be the best choice for someone following recovery. Exposure to alcohol, stress, and sometimes unstructured scheduling can make for a trigger-filled environment that may put you at risk for relapse. Instead, finding a job with clear and reasonable expectations, structured responsibilities that minimize high-stress or tight deadlines, and plenty of growth opportunities to motivate you. (a) Took medications prescribed for a chronic physical health problem in the past year (yes/no); (b) Infectious disease (HIV+ and/or HepC+) status ; (c) Physical health selfrating on a scale ranging from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). This is another situation where your own time in recovery may be advantageous. While there are no jobs for which being an addict is a requirement, there are many for which someone with experience in recovery could be more likely to succeed.

Ambien Addiction: Signs, Symptoms, & Treatment

After graduating a year-long program, Lyle felt compelled to give back and began doing service work. Quickly this turned into a passion to help others that led to study the treatment industry top to bottom. He learned state statutes and regulations, and studied counseling practices from several angles. It became Lyle’s passion to learn how to provide the best care possible and be able to treat people for the duration they needed as an individual, not the duration their bank account mandated.

A degree, or experience, in nutrition can also lead to opportunities in health-related retail, health food service, food labeling, food safety, and education. Most entry-level positions in this field require at least a bachelor’s degree. To take your career higher, consider pursuing a nutrition master’s program at Boston University, New York Chiropractic College, University of Connecticut, or John Hopkins Center for Human Nutrition. Like yoga, a career as a personal trainer aligns right with your recovery goals. You can maintain your physical fitness, help others, and apply communication skills learned in recovery. You could also pursue a career in physical therapy, eating disorder therapy, trauma therapy, or social work therapy.

Job goals and services are personalized with a focus on the unique needs of each individual. If you were a lawyer, for example, prior to entering treatment, you might consider how drug and alcohol use played a role in your ability to manage stress related to your job. It may not be the best thing for your recovery to immediately return to a fast-paced, high-stress job while you are trying to stabilize in recovery. Pretty much any job that is directly related to the procurement of drugs or alcohol, assisting others in engaging in heavy drinking or drug use, or in any way coming into contact with addictive substances is verboten in recovery. With a temp agency, you’re temporarily placed into various jobs, which may give you an idea of what career you’d like to explore permanently.

Temporary or part-time work can also help build up your recent work experience and demonstrate your reliability and commitment to sobriety. You can also be proactive in seeking out job openings that are more understanding of your situation. Additionally, consider seeking legal assistance to see if there are options for sealing or expunging your criminal record.