Addiction Counselor Mock Interview

Practice 30 Addiction Counselor interview questions covering ethical dilemmas, crisis intervention, and client-centered approaches.

Question 21 of 30

Have you ever considered choosing a different specialty?

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Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"Actually, I had initially thought that I would become a pediatrician. Something about counseling and helping those with addictions was just very intriguing to me and I knew I wanted to make a career in this specialty area."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"Becoming an addiction counselor was the only thing I ever wanted to do. There are other areas that are interesting to me, but nothing that I would consider leaving this career for. I am quite happy with my choice of specialty and look forward to many more years of helping people."

Heather Douglass

Heather Douglass has over 20 years of experience as a Career Coach, Recruiter, and HR Specialist. Much of her experience is as a Technical Recruiter in the healthcare industry.

Many employee candidates are unsure of how to answer this question. Most feel that if they say they may have other interests that the interviewer will not recommend them for employment. This is not necessarily the case. This is simply an opportunity for the interviewer to get to know your interests.

Heather Douglass

Heather Douglass has over 20 years of experience as a Career Coach, Recruiter, and HR Specialist. Much of her experience is as a Technical Recruiter in the healthcare industry.

"I have never considered any career other than addiction counseling. I am happy to take classes and continue my education, perhaps for an advanced degree that may go hand in hand with my current role, but I am not interested in changing my specialty."

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Anonymous Answer

I used to want to become a certified medical coder. This was back in the late '90s.

Kristine's Feedback

Good start. Try to elaborate a bit so that the interviewer can understand more about your interests. Why were you considering becoming a certified medical coder? What was appealing about it? Why did you ultimately choose the path to become an addiction counselor?

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30Addiction Counselor Interview Questions & Answers

1.What made you choose a career as an Addiction Counselor?

2.What is something that is difficult for you to deal with being an addiction counselor?

3.If you had a client who told you he was only coming to counseling because he was ordered to by a judge and that he had no intention of quitting drugs, how would you handle the situation?

4.What are some addictions that you have worked with previously and can you share something about one addiction with me?

5.Have you or a loved one ever been directly affected by an addiction?

6.What would an ideal work schedule be like for you?

7. What is something that is rewarding to you about being an addiction counselor?

8.If a client began to be physically aggressive toward you, how would you handle the situation?

9.How would your coworkers describe you?

10.If a client has a food addiction, what are some things that you like to do with them as part of their counseling?

11.Do you have experience doing group counseling sessions, and if so, what are your thoughts?

12.What makes you feel you will be a good fit for our organization?

13.Other than individual counseling, what are some other services you have provided to clients and/or their families?

14.What are some major factors that may cause a patient to relapse, and how do you approach preparing clients to cope with or avoid these risk factors?

15.If you were the person responsible for hiring new employees, what qualities would you look for in a candidate, and do you think you possess those qualities?

16.If you were to teach a counseling intern regarding signs to observe for that may indicate signs of drug abuse, what would you tell them?

17.Tell me about a time you were trusted with confidential information regarding a patient's care.

18.Is there a type of patient or specific diagnosis that you find it more difficult to treat?

19.What are you thoughts regarding involving a client's family in their treatment, and how do you go about doing that?

20.If you had a client who consistently lied to you regarding his continued substance abuse, how would you handle that situation?

21.Have you ever considered choosing a different specialty?

22.What are your thoughts about inpatient treatment facilities, and what do you think could make the chances of staying in recovery better for clients after they have been discharged from inpatient care?

23.Has there ever been a time that you had a disagreement with a coworker, and if so, how was it resolved?

24.What characteristics do you think are important for an addiction counselor to possess?

25.Under what circumstances would you feel that you need to turn the care of a client over to another counselor?

26.Have you ever done any volunteer work or public education related to substance abuse or addiction disorders?

27.If a client was under the care of another counselor at your place of employment, but that client came to you and suggested that his current counselor had made inappropriate advances toward him, how would you respond?