Social workers help individuals, families, and communities find ways to recover from substance use. They provide a much-needed ecological perspective to treatment that focuses on the client in relation to family and neighborhood environments, community support systems, cultural attitudes, and policies. 

Consequently, social workers trained in treating alcohol, tobacco, and other drug addictions can be found doing case management, group and individual therapy, family counseling, advocacy for jobs and housing needs, community resource development, education, and policy making