Working in a rehab center can be a very rewarding career. Knowing that you’re making a difference for someone, especially for people who feel like they’ve never really had someone looking out for them, can feel truly enriching and fulfilling.
It can also be a very stressful job, it can be discouraging, it can be frustrating, and it can be really sad and emotional.
You’ll run the gamut of human emotions when you’re working at a rehab center, but it can be a lot more interesting than many other jobs, and the dynamic work environment can help the time pass much more quickly than sitting in a cubicle and sorting staples.
Did you know? It’s not super uncommon for somebody who has overcome alcoholism in their own life, or who grew up around people who are alcoholics, to seek out a career in treatment at a rehab facility.
What Types of Jobs Are There at Rehab Centers?
Rehabilitation jobs, or jobs at a rehab center, come in a surprising amount of different varieties. It’s not just nurse, counselor, or housekeeping, or whatever you might expect.
Here’s a look at different types of rehab jobs that exist at everyone, or nearly every, rehabilitation clinic and adjacent places (For example, you could work at a school, at a correctional facility, and so on.)
Case manager at a Rehab Center
A case manager works with people and their families or loved ones on an individual level to help guide them through the process, and to act as a support contact, they help to get people in touch with the resources they need for recovery.
Working as a Substance Abuse Counselor
A substance abuse counselor is one of the jobs at a rehab center that come to mind right away. This job exists to help council individuals and walk with them down the path to recovery. As a substance abuse counselor, you’ll work with clients and patients of rehab to create a plan. You’ll keep track of their physical and mental responses to various types of treatment, and you’ll be familiar with what it takes to help them heal. It’s a very hands-on type of job, you’ll be working directly with people in some of their most difficult, and most vulnerable moments.
Healthcare Specialists
Doctors and nurses can also work in rehab centers, either as a full placement or on a temporary or as-needed basis, depending on the type of program.
This would require a lot of training, you’d need to go to medical school and gain a lot of experience, so this is certainly not an entry-level position. Other rehab jobs on this list also require training, but becoming a doctor or a nurse is quite a bit more.
There are other types of health-care aids as well, that don’t require as much training or investment to attain, so those could be worth looking into as well, you can check out job listings at rehab centers in your area or in areas you might move to, to see what’s available.
Program Coordinator
This is the person that the substance abuse counselors will work with, they will often report to the coordinator/manager, who takes a more macro view of the facility and the programs, rather than working with patients on an individual basis. The coordinator structures various parts of the program.
Wellness Coordinators
Depending on the program and facility, there can be all sorts of additional support workers who will organize various activities. A good example of this could be a rehab that has on-site Yoga classes and hires somebody to teach those classes, which could amount to multiple classes throughout the day.
Cooks, Maintenance, Housekeeping
Rehab centers could have a kitchen that hires cooks and chefs to take care of catering for staff members and patients that are staying in the facility. This is a lot different than working in a standard restaurant. You’ll often be preparing a lot of the same meal, rather than having the same stress levels and
Peer Support Workers at Rehab Centers
This is a role that appeals to people who have overcome addiction in their own lives. Once they’ve figured out how to make it work for them, some people who have overcome their addictions will want to pass that on to others, so they’ll become a peer support worker.
Getting a Job in a Rehab Center
Do you want to work in a rehab center, and you’re wondering how to work In a rehab center?
Start by thinking about which type of work appeals to you the most.
Next, find a list of rehab centers in your area near you, or that you would be willing to relocate for. Visit their websites, and look for a link in the bottom menu somewhere that says “Careers” or something similar, and you’ll be able to see which jobs they’re hiring for and which the qualifications are.
Once you know what you want to do, you can start working on getting the necessary education, training, or qualifications to work there.
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