AI exposure: Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors
Counsel and advise individuals with alcohol, tobacco, drug, or other problems, such as gambling and eating disorders. May counsel individuals, families, or groups or engage in prevention programs.
Reading this score
computedAt 19.1% of weighted task load, Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors sits at the 33th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 56.7% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 23 tasks it averages 2.38 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Complete and maintain accurate records or reports regarding the patients' histories and..., at 70.0%. The least is Assess individuals' degree of drug dependency by collecting and analyzing urine samples, at 0.0%. A gap of 70.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within community and social service occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 25.4% across the group's 14 roles, with 13 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 23 tasks, 4 are currently banded exposed, 7 assisted and 12 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take a change in who is permitted to sign the work, which is a question for regulators rather than for engineers. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 1.67 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.85 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 2.25 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.85 | 0-3 |
| Context | 2.38 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 2.07 | 0-3 |
Task by task
23 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complete and maintain accurate records or reports regarding the patients' histories and progress, services provided, or other required information. | 70.0% | 30.0% | 0.0% | 4.64 | exposed |
| Develop, implement, or evaluate public education, prevention, or health promotion programs, working in collaboration with organizations, institutions, or communities. | 43.3% | 31.7% | 25.0% | 3.65 | exposed |
| Provide clients or family members with information about addiction issues and about available services or programs, making appropriate referrals when necessary. | 42.5% | 32.5% | 25.0% | 4.00 | exposed |
| Attend training sessions to increase knowledge and skills. | 36.7% | 13.3% | 50.0% | 4.65 | exposed |
| Develop client treatment plans based on research, clinical experience, and client histories. | 30.0% | 45.0% | 25.0% | 4.65 | assisted |
| Plan or implement follow-up or aftercare programs for clients to be discharged from treatment programs. | 30.0% | 45.0% | 25.0% | 4.48 | assisted |
| Act as liaisons between clients and medical staff. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.00 | assisted |
| Coordinate counseling efforts with mental health professionals or other health professionals, such as doctors, nurses, or social workers. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 4.29 | assisted |
| Participate in case conferences or staff meetings. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 4.27 | assisted |
| Coordinate activities with courts, probation officers, community services, or other post-treatment agencies. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 4.22 | assisted |
| Interview clients, review records, and confer with other professionals to evaluate individuals' mental and physical condition and to determine their suitability for participation in a specific program. | 13.8% | 23.8% | 62.5% | 4.29 | untouched |
| Modify treatment plans to comply with changes in client status. | 13.3% | 36.7% | 50.0% | 4.05 | assisted |
| Conduct chemical dependency program orientation sessions. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.19 | untouched |
| Instruct others in program methods, procedures, or functions. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 4.00 | untouched |
| Train or supervise student interns or new staff members. | 9.2% | 15.8% | 75.0% | 3.94 | untouched |
| Supervise or direct other workers providing services to clients or patients. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.11 | untouched |
| Review and evaluate clients' progress in relation to measurable goals described in treatment and care plans. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 4.52 | untouched |
| Counsel family members to assist them in understanding, dealing with, and supporting clients or patients. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 3.89 | untouched |
| Follow progress of discharged patients to determine effectiveness of treatments. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 3.65 | untouched |
| Confer with family members or others close to clients to keep them informed of treatment planning and progress. | 5.0% | 20.0% | 75.0% | 3.55 | untouched |
| Counsel clients or patients, individually or in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes. | 3.3% | 21.7% | 75.0% | 4.73 | untouched |
| Intervene as an advocate for clients or patients to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.36 | untouched |
| Assess individuals' degree of drug dependency by collecting and analyzing urine samples. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.76 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.