by nogger

Question by Andy: What Kind Of Salary Can an LCSW in Texas Expect?
I’m currently a 23 year old male graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin. I’m doing the Masters of Social Work program in order to allow me to earn an LCSW after I graduate. My ultimate career goal is to have a private practice, working primarily with people with mood disorders, drug issues, and perhaps couples therapy.

What kind of salary can I expect out of the gate? Ten years from now? Anyone have any general advice they’d like to share? It’s all appreciated, thank you!

Best answer:

Answer by DS
http://www1.salary.com/TX/Licensed-Clinical-Social-Worker-salary.html
http://www.indeed.com/salary/q-Master-Social-Worker-Lmsw-Lcsw-l-Texas.html
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Licensed_Clinical_Social_Worker_(LCSW)/Salary

Private practice is risky. You’re obviously not going to open out up right off the bat so find a good job at a hospital and put in your time. Look in to specializing in PTSD since thats going to be a big thing going forward with all the vets coming back from over a decade of continuous war. There is also a lot of government funding going to PTSD research (which is more on the psychologist side of things) but some of that will trickle down to therapy and insurance reimbursments.

Answer by monique
If you have a private practice, don’t think “salary”, because you will be paying yourself (so to speak). If your goal is to have a private practice, you will definitely want at minimum another therapist working for you or a partner who buys into the practice. Your stress will be high if you are a one man show, and then you will be the one needing therapy! Self care is so important, because you are taking on the problems of individuals 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. So if you decided to set up a private practice with a partner you would of course need your business plan. How much money you would need upfront. You would need money upfront for signing a lease for your practice site. As you probably know insurance does not pay you the next day after the session, which is why you definitely need to have money in the bank to pay the lease, utilities and any staff you may have…ie. receptionist.

In looking at income, private practice income is across the board. Your income will depend on several factors….who is your bulk of clients? Those with insurance, private pay, Medicaid? If your clients have good health insurance you will be reimbursed at higher rates, than lets say Medicaid. Some therapists have an income of six figures, some have an income of $ 50,000…..it all boils down to “reimbursement”.

I would say that typically while some therapists are “generalists” in that they see all populations (children, adolescents, young adults, etc) for various types of needs (mood disorders, anxiety, etc), drug and alcohol abuse is usually a unique field. And dual diagnosis requires specialization……those diagnosed with mentall illness and diagnosed with alcohol/drug abuse. That is why you notice drug/alcohol abuse centers that only specialize in that area. Even with standards of practice, if I were a therapist and a client came and told me they were addicted to drugs, since you can’t do therapy on someone who is actively using or addicted, the standard of practice is to refer them to a trained alcohol/drug abuse counselor/therapist. That is not something a generalist therapist can handle.

So if your main interest is drug/alcohol abuse and perhaps dual diagnosis that would be an area you would need to focus strictly on. Many states require additional certifications as well for drug/alcohol abuse therapists/counseling because it is very different than doing therapy with someone who has depression. You have the substance on top of the problems.

Examples of job searches for drug/alcohol abuse counselors/therapists

“Chemical Dependency Counselor
Travis County – Austin, TX
Licenses, Registrations, Certifications, or Special Requirements: Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC); OR, Qualified Credentialed Counselor (QCC) must be obtained within six (6) months of date of hire. Valid Texas Driver’s License.” http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=drug+abuse+counselor&l=tx#jk=7ca0b3f65e9dba4f

Another example:
“Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor
Department Of Veterans Affairs – El Paso County, TX
Education: Hold a master’s degree in mental health counseling, or a related field, from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Examples of related mental health counseling fields include, but are not limited to, Addiction Counseling; Community Counseling; Gerontology Counseling; Marital, Couple, and Family Counseling; and Marriage and Family Therapy. A doctoral degree in mental health counseling may not be substituted for the master’s degree in mental health counseling,”

Another job search example:
“Substance Abuse Counselor-San Antonio
Qualified candidates will have an LCDCI or LCDC certification in the state of Texas”
http://cmglp.catsone.com/careers/index.php?m=portal&a=details&jobOrderID=562573&ref=indeed

Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors are licensed by the state of Texas Department of State Services:
“A licensed chemical dependency counselor (LCDC) is licensed to provide chemical dependency counseling services involving the application of the principles, methods, and procedures of the chemical dependency profession as defined by the profession’s ethical standards and the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) as defined by rule in 25 TAC ch. 441 (relating to General Provisions).”
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/lcdc/lcdc_counselor.shtm

So if you want to focus on alcohol/drug counseling and want to work in a good drug/alcohol abuse treatment counseling center, you would definitely want to pursue additiona licensure like above that is offered in the state of Texas.

For more information on Dual Diagnosis:
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/index.cfm?objectid=c7df9405-1372-4d20-c89d7bd2cd1ca1b9

Best wishes in your career endeavors!

Rutgers forum addresses addiction; Experts seek more treatment options
Niles, the assistant director of the First Step Clinic of the Cumberland County Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Services Department, went to post a comment to an article online and was taken aback by what she saw. “Other people had posted before me and the …
Read more on Cherry Hill Courier Post

Question by Dylan: What does the song “Hotel California” mean?
Everyone knows “Hotel California” by The Eagles and some people know some songs have deeper meanings. I speculate its about drug rehab. Anybody know exactly what its about though?

Best answer:

Answer by buddy1
This might help

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_California_(song)

Answer by mitch
it’s about smoking pot and drug abuse.

Question by Jasmine Diaz: I need a short summary about Adam liptaks article “American Exception: Suppressing the evidence?
I also need to know what side he was taking and what was he trying to prove? i need and anser ASAP PLEAAAAAASSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Best answer:

Answer by Sumo Bob
Lets say that a couple is going through a severe Custody Battle on a divorce case; the women has one child and is currently self employed as a wedding planner & making cakes, while her soon to be ex husband is a detective on a police force.

The detective threatens his soon to be ex wife…by saying, ” i’m going to make sure that you don’t have any friends when i’m done with you because I got friends on the force that will do whatever I say, and I will tell them that your friends are selling drugs!”

Then one of her friends are arrested for their own prescribed medications based supposedly upon the narcotics officer dog smelt drugs permeating under a closed door at 4am, when her friends have been staying at a motel for 2 weeks.

The police claimed that they witnessed the couple bring in plenty of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, that people were going in and out of that apartment, that their witness stated that plenty of money was within the house and a list of names on who owes what. When her friends return home that afternoon, during the evening hours they are raided by her husband’s Police friends and they go to her friends cellphone, and find her number and her friend that is courting her, and only questions this couple about these two people.

Well, whenever this goes to Court, this case should be thrown out because the police force abused their discretion, and did not find anything that was alleged; “this is what Adam Liptak is trying to explain about the suppression of evidence for the wrongdoing of the police force abuses.”

Mr. Liptak, was a neutral source and expounding upon “How some of the Justices are considering on re-debating the 4th Amendment’s exclusionary principle.”

Child abuse, neglect cases in Oklahoma rise for third year
The department is not legally able to address situations where child abuse has not yet occurred, Powell said. Other agencies are charged with addressing situations such as drug abuse and domestic violence that statistics show could potentially lead to …
Read more on Tulsa World

Old drug making a comebackas 'Molly'
MDMA's euphoric effects, which last between three and six hours, include enhanced sensation, empathy and increased energy, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. But coming down from such a great high can result in dehydration, nausea, …
Read more on Asbury Park Press

Ohio AG on Fighting Prescription Drug Abuse
Ohio was late in recognizing the gravity of the problem. I think part of that was because some of the people who are addicts did not fit a traditional profile of people who have drug problems. They were just average people — in many cases, working men …
Read more on Medscape

by Phil Roeder

Question by Amanda: What can Percocet abuse do to your baby during pregnancy?
A girl I know is due in August and has been abusing the pills before she found out and ever since she found out. She has been taking 5-8 a day. The doctor supposedly tells her everything looks/sounds good but I’m doubtful. Could something be wrong with her baby when it’s born? Thanks for any answers. She also has not told her doctor about her substance abuse.
Could the doctor be able to tell anything is wrong through listening to the heart beat? Or any ultrasounds? It’s not fair to make your baby suffer while you get high.

Best answer:

Answer by ladystang
birth defects up to death

Answer by Trustinno1
yea her baby could be born opiate dependent an have problem with brething heart rate an withdrawl plus if u live in the us she has a real chance of having here baby takin from her she need to try an get some help for her an her baby

Treatment courts seek to aid Mass. veterans with mental health, substance …
But that's exactly what he did recently as he made his weekly visit to the Norfolk Country Veterans Treatment Court in Dedham, where he and 25 other veterans are going through a program aimed at helping them deal with criminal charges, substance abuse …
Read more on The Republic

American College Of Physicians Urges Stricter Controls To Address Prescription …
Faced with the difficulty of preventing or reducing prescription drug abuse while preserving patient access to appropriate treatment, the Health and Public Policy Committee of ACP developed the position paper to provide proper guidance to medical …
Read more on Forbes

Gilbert Treatment Center Launches Program to Stop Prescription Drug Abuse
A Gilbert treatment center is announcing a new program geared toward eliminating prescription drug abuse within an individual is now available through Drug Addiction Treatment Centers. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human …
Read more on PR Web (press release)