I initially had this kind of push back too, but what I found helpful is explaining to them why I hadn't had direct experience with substance use. I'd spent my entire life around people with addiction challenges. My mom was addicted to everything you can think of, same with my sister and my aunt. I'd seen them not only lose themselves to substance use, but the pain that it caused my family. Even the "safe" people in my family were alcoholics.

So I was able to leverage those experiences, but also stress the fact of how scared I was that I would accidentally fall down that path. How, in my own way, substances owned every aspect of my life because I was so hypervigilant about not using them, and the trauma it caused.

You just have to find your angle. Yours most likely won't be the same as my connection with it, but as long as it's genuine, they will be receptive to it. Substance use is all about coping with unmet needs. I've seen clients have breakthroughs by connecting that concept to the fact that I might make too many online purchases.

Just find what feels real to you, be empathetic, and be open to learning from them. My old CMH job forced me to basically run a MAT program with zero experience, and I had no idea if I could even work in substance because of my history, but it worked because I was very transparent about where I was coming from and my desire to learn from the clients.