Alcoholism counselor trainees tend to be older than other therapists, have completed high school or a year or two of college, be active Alcoholics Anonymous members with several years of abstinence, and have had some work experience in the alcoholism field. Alcoholism counselors come into training with a wide variety of life experiences and educational backgrounds. An important source of stress among alcoholism counselors involves ideological conflict stemming from the influx of scientific and professional methods and research-based concepts in a field long dominated by subjective and intuitive values and traditional alcoholism concepts. Alcoholism counselors often have an anti-professional bias and tend to focus on the individual with the alcohol problem. They may face a loss of or threat to their expertise when they enter training and may experience stress as they struggle to achieve an identity as a counselor. In addition, they may encounter stress associated with clinical supervision. Resulting emotional difficulties may interfere with acquiring the skills and knowledge needed for effective alcoholism counseling. Recommendations are offered to reduce psychological and social stresses that predispose, precipitate, and perpetuate emotional problems, with attention paid to the significance of emotional disturbances in the learning of alcoholism counseling skills. 33 references