Addiction Counselor Mock Interview

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

Question 8 of 30

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

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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.

"If a patient becomes aggressive, I always try to diffuse the situation by speaking calmly and asking them to take a moment and try to explain why they feel angry. Many times, reacting with a softer tone and giving a client an opportunity to calm down will help calm the situation before it gets out of hand."

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.

"Of course, the first priority is safety for the client and for myself. I would calmly ask the client to calm down. I would explain that I want to provide assistance, but that I also have to make sure we are all safe. It's really important for patients to understand that we are there to help, but we also have to firm and professional so that boundary lines are drawn."

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.

One of the things that people who deal with direct care, such as counselors, are faced with is the potential for a client to become angry or aggressive. It is important to understand what cues to look for that may be a precursor to aggression and know how to approach the situation before it gets out of hand. Being able to be vigilant as far as providing a safe environment for yourself and your clients and having an idea of how you will handle a possibly uncertain situation is very important. If you have ever had to deal with an angry or aggressive client, share that experience and how you dealt with it with the interviewer.

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 had an experience with a client who became aggressive during a counseling session before. It can be a frightening situation, but the important thing is to remember to stay as calm as possible. Most aggression comes from fear and anxiety. If we can learn to identify signs that a patient's anxiety is increasing, we can then engage efforts to decrease those feelings and try to prevent the patient from escalating to an aggressive state."

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Anonymous Answer

You do not engage them. For example, I had one client yell at me very close to my face because I'd asked him to please bring his voice down while he was using a phone that all residents had to share usage of and some were becoming upset and anxious because of the language he was using and the volume of his voice. I didn't yell back or attempt to quiet him, I told him to please bring his voice down and to use more appropriate language in the common area then I turned around and went back behind the main desk. This resident later apologized for his behavior towards me. The main thing is to keep yourself calm as best you can in this type of situation because nothing gets solved by two people yelling (or physically fighting) at each other while becoming more and more agitated. I have seen staff argue with residents and it's very non-productive and unprofessional.

Kristine's Feedback

Excellent answer! You will convince the interviewer you know how to deescalate a situation where a client begins to get aggressive. When telling a story, you want to say it way with a beginning, middle, and end. The STAR method can help with that, where S Situation, T Task, A Action, and R Result. I rearranged your response a bit so that it follows the STAR storytelling method.

I would not engage a client who began to be physically aggressive toward me. For example, I had a client who was using a phone that all residents shared, and the language he was using and the volume of his voice was making some people upset and anxious. I asked him to please bring his voice down while he was using the phone in the common area, and he yelled at me very close to my face. I didn't yell back or attempt to quiet him. I turned around and went back behind the main desk. This resident later apologized for his behavior towards me. The main thing is to keep yourself calm as best you can in this type of situation because nothing gets solved by two people yelling at each other or physically fighting while becoming more and more agitated. I have seen staff argue with residents, and it's very non-productive and unprofessional.

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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?